Like a cheap distraction for a new affair

Continuing my trip back through the 1990 album charts.

30/09/90 : X - INXS 

INXS were big back in the day but they don't seem to get mentioned much these days, do they?  This was one we owned (5/14), but I seen to recall it wasn't as good as Kick, so it didn't get listened to very much.

Well it opens with "Suicide Blonde" and "Disappear" - there's nothing wrong with them as tracks!  And it's not like any of the tracks that come after them are bad - but it just doesn't feel like they go anywhere.  It's all perfectly fine but it doesn't show much variety or build into anything - it also does some annoying unnecessary stereo twiddly bits if you're listening on headphones.

We're at #2 with a new entry this week on the start of an impressive 32 week run, with another nine week later in '91.  The rest of the top five were The Three Tenors, George Michael, AC/DC (a new entry which I'm quite happy not to listen to) and Betty Boo (I bet that's dated quite badly!) and we have one more new entry in the top ten with Megadeth (#8 - I'm also quite happy without that in my life).

Wikipedia has quite a lot on the album but I have to report it's all incredibly dull - Kick had been very successful so they wanted this to be successful as well.  And it was successful - but just not as successful as Kick.  The critics mostly liked it, with some saying they'd upped their game from Kick and some saying it was exactly the same.  It still did pretty well commercially - #1 in Australia (nobody expected that) and #5 in the US, selling over three millions copies.

"Customers also listened to" Simple Minds, The Cult, Echo And The Bunnymen and Fine Young Cannibals - a slightly curious mix for me, but it certainly takes me back (to a time before INXS, I'd generally say).  Listening to this album hasn't changed my view of INXS - they had their place, but their place doesn't seem to be now.  It will be interesting to see what I think of Kick when it comes along.

23/09/90 - Surprisingly nostalgic
07/10/90 - Not my cup of tea (again)

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