Welcome to Wherever You Are
| Welcome to Wherever You Are | ||||
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| Studio album by INXS | ||||
| Released | 3 August 1992 | |||
| Recorded | 1991-1992 at Rhinoceros Recordings, Sydney, Australia | |||
| Genre | Alternative rock | |||
| Length | 45:49 | |||
| Label | Atlantic (US) Mercury Records East West Records |
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| Producer | Mark Opitz and INXS | |||
| INXS chronology | ||||
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Welcome to Wherever You Are is the eighth album by the Australian rock music group INXS, which was released on 3 August 1992. With grunge music and alternative music breaking into the mainstream, INXS tried to establish a new direction for itself, à la U2 and Achtung Baby, incorporating sitars, a 60-piece orchestra, and a much more "raw" sound to their music. In its four star review of the album, Q called it "...a far more engaging and heartfelt collection than anything the group has put out in recent memory... It rocks," and listed it as one of the 50 Best Albums of 1992.
Ultimately, however, with lack of promotion by their label and the band not touring for the album (wanting a break), the record failed to match the success of INXS's two previous albums, Kick and X. However, it still reached number-one in the UK, but the band's popularity soon waned. While the single "Baby Don't Cry" was a Top 20 hit in the UK, the album's biggest American hit was "Not Enough Time", which reached No. 2 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart, and stayed there for five consecutive weeks.
In 2002, a remastered version of the album was released that included five previously unreleased tracks.
Contents |
[edit] Further background
The album was produced by Mark Opitz who was also behind the production of the band's third studio album, Shabooh Shoobah, which was also considered to be a change of direction for the band at the time. Opitz went on to produce the follow-up, Full Moon, Dirty Hearts a year later continuing the band's experimentation with their musical style.
[edit] Critical reception
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |    [1] |
| Rolling Stone | [2] |
| Independent | (favourable)[3] |
| Q | [4] |
The album was generally positively received by the critics and fans, particularly in Europe and the UK, where it went to the top of Album charts in the UK. The Independent and Q Magazine also included the album in their top 10 albums of the year of 1992.[3][4] However, Vic Garbarini, for Rolling Stone, was less positive and felt "this is music that attracts but hasn't the gravity or resonance to hold your attention... Hutchence seems dissociated from his material, dispassionately competent... the wealth of musical gifts on the album makes the one-dimensional delivery stand out all the more dramatically".[2]
[edit] Track listing
All songs written by Andrew Farriss and Michael Hutchence, except where noted.
- "Questions" (A Farriss) – 2:19
- "Heaven Sent" (A Farriss) – 3:18
- "Communication" – 5:29
- "Taste It" – 3:27
- "Not Enough Time" – 4:26
- "All Around" – 3:30
- "Baby Don't Cry" – 4:57
- "Beautiful Girl" – 3:33
- "Wishing Well" – 3:40
- "Back on Line" (Jon Farriss, Hutchence) – 3:24
- "Strange Desire" – 4:39
- "Men and Women" (Hutchence) – 4:38
[edit] Personnel
- Garry Gary Beers – bass guitar
- Andrew Farriss – guitar, keyboards
- Jon Farriss – percussion, drums
- Tim Farriss – guitar
- Michael Hutchence – vocals
- Kirk Pengilly – guitar, saxophone, vocals
[edit] Bonus tracks on 2002 Remaster
- "The Answer" – 4:53
- "Wishing Well" (Alternate version) – 3:30
- "All Around" (Alternate version) – 3:25
- "The Indian Song" – 4:50
- "Heaven Sent" (Waltz version) – 3:01
[edit] Singles
- "Heaven Sent"/"It Ain't Easy" (June 1992)
- "Not Enough Time"/"Light the Planet" (August 1992)
- "Baby Don't Cry"/"Questions" (September 1992)
- "Taste It"/"Light the Planet" (November 1992)
- "Beautiful Girl"/"Strange Desire" (remix) (February 1993)
[edit] References
- ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Welcome to Wherever You Are – INXS". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. http://www.allmusic.com/album/r60063. Retrieved 2001-12-10.
- ^ a b Garbarini, Vic (1992-09-03). "INXS: Welcome to Wherever You Are". Rolling Stone. Jann Wenner. Archived from the original on 2008-06-16. http://web.archive.org/web/20080616080407/http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/inxs/albums/album/7583906/review/6211542/welcome_to_wherever_you_are. Retrieved 2011-12-10.
- ^ a b "Rock / Records: Going public with the personal: Andy Gill listens to INXS discovering The Beatles, and Sophie B Hawkins discovering herself". The Independent (Alexander Lebedev, Evgeny Lebedev). 1992-08-06. http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/rock--records-going-public-with-the-personal-andy-gill-listens-to-inxs-discovering-the-beatles-and-sophie-b-hawkins-discovering-herself-1538425.html. Retrieved 2011-12-10.
- ^ a b "1992:Q Magazine Recordings of the Year". Rocklist.net (Julian White). 2011-04-12. http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/qlists.html#1992. Retrieved 2011-12-10.
| Preceded by The Greatest Hits: 1966–1992 by Neil Diamond |
UK number one album 15 August 1992 – 21 August 1992 |
Succeeded by We Can't Dance by Genesis |
