INXS - Full Moon, Dirty Hearts

Fans have long hailed INXS for the soulful intensity of its live shows, but the rap on the Australian sextet has been that it makes uninteresting, one- dimensional studio albums. Recently, the group has aimed for complex studio creations in the style of U2's Zooropa or Achtung Baby, and the result has been uninteresting but multi-dimensional. It's a minor improvement, and though Full Moon, Dirty Hearts is better than many of the group's recordings, it isn't as good as the weirder 1992 release, Welcome to Wherever You Are. Ambitious, bizarre productions can't mask the fact that INXS has been riding the same groove since 1981, and it's more than a little bit tired. --Jim DeRogatis Amazon.com

Raw and Simpler - Inxs once again doesn't get the respect they deserve

In 1992, Inxs released the album "Welcome to Wherever You Are". This was a classic case of an album being a disappointment from a sales standpoint, but being an outstanding album from a quality standpoint. One thing that made "Welcome" such an interesting album was that Inxs did some outstanding arrangements from a musical standpoint - such as the incorporation of an orchestra and a variety of musical influences. Much of the credit goes to producer Mark Opitz. Opitz had produced Inxs' big breakthrough album, "Shabooh Shoobah". One thing that Opitz did on "Welcome" is that he arranged the tracks into 45+ minutes of continuous music - another outstanding feat. While Inxs had done a job they could be proud of, they must have been disappointed with the album sales. So for their follow-up album they decided to once again team up with Opitz, but this time take a simpler approach. The result is another very good effort - "Full Moon Dirty Hearts".

One fact that I find amazing about Inxs is that this six member band stuck together from their formation in the late 1970s through Michael Hutchence's untimely death in 1997. During this period, the band would release 10 studio albums, 1 Greatest Hits album, and 1 Live album. This has allowed the band to meld together and grow professionally. Much of this is due to the fact that three band members are brothers: Andrew Farriss (Keyboards), Jon Farriss (Drums), and Tim Farriss (Guitar). The other three members also stuck tightly with the band the whole way. These members include: Hutchence (Lead Vocals), Garry Gary Beers (Bass), and Kirk Pengilly (Guitar and Sax). Hutchence - known for his long hair and theatrical performances in concert often gets the most publicity. But the remaining five members all make major contributions from a musicianship standpoint. In addition, Hutchence is not just eye candy - he has also played a key role in the songwriting. From a songwriting standpoint, "Welcome to Whenever You Are" had deviated from the majority of the songs on an Inxs album being written by the Andrew Farriss/Hutchence combination. For "Full Moon Dirty Hearts", Inxs returns to the Andrew Farriss/Hutchence combination - with the exception of one track.

As mentioned on "Full Moon Dirty Hearts", Inxs gets away from the more complex arrangements seen on "Welcome". Most of the tracks on "Full Moon Dirty Hearts" have more of a harder rock to a lesser extent a blues and funk edge. Despite getting "simpler", Inxs isn't afraid to mix things up - this time they bring in guest vocalists on two of the tracks. While the inclusion of Pretenders' lead singer Chrissy Hynde is not a big surprise, we see a most interesting combination with the legendary blues singer Ray Charles. To a lesser extent, Opitz continues the concept he introduced on "Welcome" by arranging a continuum of the tracks. While this worked extremely well on "Welcome", the segues from track to track on "Full Moon Dirty Hearts" aren't quite as smooth.

Here is a track by track review of the collection:

"Days of Rust": This song demonstrates a hard guitar edge and a raw sound. While this isn't something new to Inxs, this really helps to set the tone for the whole album.

"The Gift": This track was penned by Jon Farriss with Hutchence. Once again Inxs demonstrates a raw guitar edge sound.

"Make Your Peace": This track while also having a raw sound, showcases some of the funk influences that have been present in Inxs songs. The chorus is very catchy - overall a very good track. This could have easily been a hit single with the right promotion (that the record company did not give Inxs for this album).

"Time": Another track with a harder rock edge. Demonstrates some more guitar riffs. While the chorus isn't quite as catchy as "Make Your Peace", it is still a very good one.

"I'm Only Looking": This is probably one of the least "raw" track of the collection. It also some more of the of the "grooves" that Inxs has been known to incorporate into their music. This is the first track (up to this point) with Pengilly's saxophone..

"Please (You Got That)": This song has a very blues-y feel to it. Once again raw and simple. Ray Charles was perfect for this song - and he really pulls off a terrific duet with Hutchence. This should have also been a hit single.

"Full Moon, Dirty Hearts": This has a classic blues/rock feel to it. While I've never been a Chrissie Hynde fan, she is perfect for this song - and once again a duet with Hutchence comes off flawlessly.

"Freedom Deep": This song also doesn't have the"raw" feel to it that most of the album has. I love how this song slowly "builds" up.

"Kill the Pain": I'm a big Tears For Fears fan and this song sounds a lot like them. You won't hear raw guitar here. It almost sounds like a simpler version of the orchestral-style found on the "Welcome" album.

"Cut Your Roses Down": This song is a lot like "Make Your Peace" - raw sound showcasing some of the trademark funk influences.

"The Messenger": Best song of the collection. This combines the raw hard sounding guitar with a touch of the "grooves" that are an Inxs trademark. Hutchence shines on vocals here.

"Viking Juice": This is an experimental track. Once again funk has an influence, but this time Hutchence uses spoken word vocals. He pulls it off perfectly. The last line "It's called the end of Rock and Roll" works perfectly for a final track.

The liner notes include a write-up by Inxs who discuss how this collection was made. The liner notes also includes all of the songwriting and musician credits. Like "Welcome" this is an album that didn't get the credit it so richly deserves. It is one that I'd recommend for both long-time and new Inxs fans. May 15, 2007

Inxs Full Moon , Dirty Hearts

Being an INXS fan, this is one of theirs that I hadn't heard much of. I didn't listen to their music much after X. So, I decided to try to rediscover some of their music that I hadn't heard. I decided to buy this and give it a try. It is defintely very good, and I wish I had bought it back when it came out. But, better late than never. Their sound on this cd is a little different, and I like it. The gift, I'm only looking, and please you got that..., definitely stand out to me. Their music to me is timeless, and this cd is worth buying if you like Inxs. January 23, 2007

Much better in hindsight

I loved the majority of Inxs albums, although this album, along with the X album, was to be their most bland ( or so I thought at the time), and I have long since traded those albums in.

However in hindsight both albums have grown on me again, with this one standing out over 'X'. With this album Inxs display themselves as a highly creative band, with Michael being quite introspective at times. Perhaps his forboding musings of "This is the end of rock'n'roll..." in the track 'Viking Juice' was prophetic regarding his own life perhaps.

This album was commercial suicide at the time of its release. The market had grown bored of Inxs after the 'X' album (their most over-produced album). The superb Welcome to Wherever You Are album followed 'X', but failed to reach the heights it deserved, and poor promotion of the album didn't help things either.
When Inxs came to record this album the band was in the doldrums commercially - their previous fans wanted another Kick album, while the new crowd of rock fans were digging the grunge scene, which excluded Inxs from the pack.

In any case I am now aware that this album deserved more praise than when it was released, and anyone who wants to know Inxs beyond their greatest hits would do well to purchase this album when they can.

UPDATE: I have since purchased both 'X' and 'Full Moon" since I originally wrote this review. 'X' remains over-produced and just as bland as I originally thought it was. 'Full Moon' on the other hand sounds quite fresh at times, and many of the tracks may suit today's audiences tastes better than those of the mid 90s. Strangely enough,and despite its Funk leanings as opposed to New Wave, I can now see a link with their early 80s material which was much less commercial than the Listen Like Thieves / Kick / X period that put them in the charts. Perhaps therein lays the appeal of this album

Summing up, 'Full Moon, Dirty Hearts' has been a great re-purchase for me, and I highly recommend it for any fan of Inxs January 18, 2007

Achtung Moon

DUETS WITH RAY CHARLES AND CHRISSIE HYNDE.

Released in 1993, this is INXS's nineth studio album. It came as the group was on the downside of its popularity. It is 40 minutes long and has very good sound quality.

This CD is heavily influenced by U2's Achtung Baby. Many of ths songs on this CD sound like they could have been on Achtung Baby,with the crashing guitars and metallic sound. At the same time, it has that unmistakable Australian sound. You can hear it in all Australian bands, like Men At Work and even AC/DC.

Even though it is not original, this CD is at its best when the band copies styles of others, especially U2. There is also the duet with the Pretenders' Chrissie Hyndes (duets with Hynde was all the rage in the 1990's, with groups like UB40, Elvis Costello and Moodswings). The weak songs go back to the older pop style of the Kick days.

There are some great songs on this CD, like Kill the Pain and Days of Rust. There aren't any real bad ones either, although some of the standard pop songs do get a little boring.

I think where INXS got adventerous and experimental, they scored big. Fans of Kick might not like this CD. The best songs on it are nothing like Kick. The ones that follow the Kick formula are tired and not as good. August 4, 2006

FULL STRENGTH, DIRTY ROCK

I just finished reading the thankfully detail-rich INXS autobiography STORY TO STORY and even the band hates 1993's much-maligned FULL MOON, DIRTY HEARTS. Don't let that (or the butt-ugly cover, featuring the band looking as serious as they possibly can in the back of a tour van, with guitarist Tim Farriss appearing as if he might be contemplating a future audition for Pearl Jam) deter you from checking it out; as far as late-era INXS, it just doesn't get much better than this adventurous, feisty effort.

FULL MOON was recorded on the island of Capri shortly after finishing WELCOME TO WHEREVER YOU ARE . I like to think of FULL MOON as a latter-day LISTEN LIKE THIEVES following THE SWING. Where WELCOME was lush and exotic (a la THE SWING), FULL MOON is sweaty and well, dirty (LISTEN LIKE THIEVES was this in spades). It sounds as if INXS were issued this edict: make a kick-ass record or you're not leaving the studio. Or, at the very least, producer Mark Opitz threatened to leave the air-conditioning off until a modern rock opus was completed.

At just under 40 minutes, FULL MOON is as tight as a washboard stomach. "Days Of Rust" starts things off with a Clash-influenced bang, gang vocals elevating the track to gorgeously bone-crunching heights. Midnight Oil had to be proud of their fellow countrymen. "The Gift," the bold first single, which approaches near-industrial audio damage, is the sound of INXS likely losing faint-of-heart fans but gaining points for taking chances. "Make Your Peace" (like "The Messenger," which appears late in the record like an urgent phone call after you're already well asleep) is a perfect marriage of rock and funk that would've been a huge chart hit had it been released in the late 80's or early 90's.

"Please (You Got That") and "Full Moon, Dirty Hearts" are successful duets with Ray Charles and The Pretenders' Chrissie Hynde, respectively, that effectively highlight the strengths of both the band and the featured singers, a rarity in pairings of this type. "Freedom Deep" and "Kill The Pain" could have easily appeared on WELCOME and are as breathtakingly beautiful as anything on that record (or ballads on any of their other records, for that matter).

"Viking Juice," a speedy, spoken word funk jam, finishes things off on an exhilarating, yet foreboding note: "It's called the end of rock `n' roll." And that it was. Barely anyone bought FULL MOON and INXS took three years off before unleashing the slightly underwhelming ELEGANTLY WASTED to a completely disinterested public. Soon after Michael was gone. FULL MOON, DIRTY HEARTS is how I like to remember him (and INXS). January 19, 2006

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