X (INXS album)
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| Studio album by INXS | ||||
| Released | 25 September 1990 | |||
| Recorded | 1989-1990 at Rhinoceros Studio 2, Sydney, Australia | |||
| Genre | Alternative rock, pop rock | |||
| Length | 41:42 | |||
| Label | Atlantic US Mercury EU WEA AU |
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| Producer | Chris Thomas | |||
| INXS chronology | ||||
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| Singles from X | ||||
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X is Australian rock band INXS's seventh studio album, released in 1990. It peaked at No. 1 in Australia, No. 5 in the United States, No. 2 in the United Kingdom, No. 5 in Switzerland and No. 10 in Sweden. The album contains four hit singles, "Suicide Blonde", "Disappear", "By My Side" and "Bitter Tears". It was the third consecutive INXS album produced by Chris Thomas following Listen Like Thieves (1985) and Kick (1987).
The title, the Roman numeral for "10", represents the band's tenth year since their debut album was released in 1980. X features a sample of blues-harp player Charlie Musselwhite on "Suicide Blonde", and Musselwhite himself playing on "Who Pays the Price". In 2002, a remastered version of the album was released which included five previously unreleased tracks.
Both hit singles "Suicide Blonde" and "Disappear" were used in the 1991 teen movie '"Mystery Date"
Contents |
[edit] Background
In 1987 and 1988, INXS toured heavily in support of their sixth album, Kick.[1] During 1989, the band took a break to work on side projects. Hutchence collaborated with Ian 'Ollie' Olsen in a band, Max Q,[2] the two had previously worked together on Richard Lowenstein's film Dogs in Space. INXS soon returned to the studio to record their follow-up album to Kick, which was X. Its title, the Roman numeral for "10", represents the band's tenth year since their debut album was released in 1980.
In September 1990, they released X, produced by Chris Thomas—his third consecutive album with them.[3] It peaked at No. 1 in Australia,[4] No. 5 in the US,[5] No. 2 in the UK,[6] No. 5 in Switzerland and No. 10 in Sweden.[7][8] It followed in the same vein as Kick, and added harmonica to some songs, mostly through the contributions of Charlie Musselwhite. X scored hits with "Suicide Blonde" and "Disappear" (both Top 10 in the US),[9] "Suicide Blonde" peaked at No. 2 in Australia, No. 11 in the UK[6] and in Switzerland.[10] Two other singles from X were "Bitter Tears" and "By My Side" but they had less chart success.[2] A fifth single, "The Stairs" was only issued in The Netherlands to coincide with the release of the Live Baby Live album.
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |    [11] |
| Rolling Stone | [12] |
| Q | [13] |
[edit] Track listing
All tracks by Andrew Farriss and Michael Hutchence except where noted[14]
- "Suicide Blonde" – 3:53
- "Disappear" (Jon Farriss, Hutchence) – 4:10
- "The Stairs" – 4:56
- "Faith in Each Other" (J. Farriss, Hutchence) – 4:09
- "By My Side" (A. Farriss, Kirk Pengilly, Chris Thomas) – 3:06
- "Lately" – 3:37
- "Who Pays the Price" – 3:37
- "Know the Difference" – 3:18
- "Bitter Tears" – 3:49
- "On My Way" – 2:56
- "Hear That Sound" – 4:05
Bonus tracks on 2002 remaster
- "Waiting to Be Free"
- "Deepest Red"
- "Salvation Jane" (Demo)
- "Who Pays the Price" (Demo)
- "Dark of Night" (Demo)
[edit] Personnel
- Gary Beers – bass guitar
- Andrew Farriss – guitar, keyboards
- Jon Farriss – drums, keyboards
- Tim Farriss – guitar
- Michael Hutchence – vocals
- Charlie Musselwhite – harmonica
- David Nicholas – engineer
- Kirk Pengilly – guitar, saxophone, vocals
- Chris Thomas – producer
[edit] Chart positions
| Year | Chart | Position | Certification |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | Australian ARIA Albums Chart | 1 | |
| 1990 | Billboard 200 Albums Chart (USA) | 5 | 2× Platinum[15] |
| Preceded by Chain Reaction by John Farnham |
Australian ARIA Albums Chart number-one album 15 August 1990 – 21 August 1990 |
Succeeded by In Concert by The Three Tenors |
[edit] References
- ^ St John, Ed; INXS (1992). INXS: The Official Inside Story of a Band on the Road. Port Melbourne, Vic: Mandarin. p. 75. ISBN 1863302077.
- ^ a b McFarlane, Ian (1999). "Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop". Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop. Allen & Unwin. ISBN 1864487682. http://web.archive.org/web/20040930213309/www.whammo.com.au/encyclopedia.asp?articleid=950. Retrieved 18 May 2010.
- ^ Holmgren, Magnus; Shaw, Julian; Meyer, Peer (2007). "INXS". Australian Rock Database. http://hem2.passagen.se/honga/database/i/inxs.html. Retrieved 18 May 2010.
- ^ "INXS discography". Australian Charts Portal (Hung Medien). http://australian-charts.com/showinterpret.asp?interpret=INXS. Retrieved 19 May 2010.
- ^ "INXS > Charts & Awards > Billboard albums". Allmusic (Rovi Corporation). http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p4555/charts-awards. Retrieved 18 May 2010.
- ^ a b "INXS Singles and Albums Charts". Chart Stats. http://www.chartstats.com/artisinfo.php?id=4510. Retrieved 18 May 2010.[dead link]
- ^ "Artist Chart History - INXS - Albums". Billboard.com. http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/retrieve_chart_history.do?model.chartFormatGroupName=Albums&model.vnuArtistId=4884&model.vnuAlbumId=748864. Retrieved 19 May 2010.
- ^ "INXS X (album)". Australian Charts Portal. http://australian-charts.com/showitem.asp?key=1122&cat=a. Retrieved 2008-11-21.
- ^ "INXS > Charts & Awards > Billboard singles". Allmusic (Rovi Corporation). http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p4555/charts-awards/billboard-singles. Retrieved 18 May 2010.
- ^ "INXS Suicide Blonde". Australian Charts Portal. http://australian-charts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=INXS&titel=Suicide+Blonde&cat=s. Retrieved 2008-11-21.
- ^ McDonald, Steven. "Kick > Review". Allmusic (Rovi Corporation). http://www.allmusic.com/album/r9888. Retrieved 19 May 2010.
- ^ Evans, Paul. "X > Review". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 16 June 2008. http://web.archive.org/web/20080616080402/www.rollingstone.com/artists/inxs/albums/album/259359/review/6067717/x. Retrieved 23 July 2010.
- ^ "Q Magazine | Music news & reviews, music videos, band pictures & interviews". Q4music.com. http://q4music.com. Retrieved 2012-01-12.
- ^ "X > Credits". Allmusic (Rovi Corporation). http://www.allmusic.com/album/r9888/credits. Retrieved 19 May 2010.
- ^ "RIAA Certifications". Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?resultpage=1&table=SEARCH_RESULTS&action=&title=&artist=INXS&format=&debutLP=&category=&sex=&releaseDate=&requestNo=&type=&level=&label=&company=&certificationDate=&awardDescription=&catalogNo=&aSex=&rec_id=&charField=&gold=&platinum=&multiPlat=&level2=&certDate=&album=&id=&after=&before=&startMonth=1&endMonth=1&startYear=1958&endYear=2007&sort=Artist&perPage=25. Retrieved 18 May 2010.
