On this album INXS and a bunch of guest musos re-interpret songs from the band’s enviable back catalogue. Although the results are often of a high quality, it’s hard to understand INXS’s decision to tinker with their impressive legacy.
On this album INXS and a bunch of guest musos re-interpret songs from the band’s enviable back catalogue. Although the results are often of a high quality, it’s hard to understand INXS’s decision to tinker with their impressive legacy.
This project would make more sense if all of the new versions were a marked improvement on the originals or if they functioned as fascinating re-imaginings. However, this album fails to excite in the way that INXS did in their heyday.
Hearing the dancefloor-friendly version of the title-track featuring the vocals of Rob Thomas, for example, is likely to inspire many an INXS fan to dig out the superior original which was released as a single back in 1984. Ben Harper, a performer of great credibility, fails to capture the haunting eloquence and melancholy that Hutchence brought to Never Tear Us Apart.
Fortunately, there are a few notable gems and some assured performances nestling amongst the twelve tracks. New Sensation, which features Deborah De Corral, is a lush and romantic interpretation that bubbles with soul while Mystify, featuring Loane and John Mayer, is wonderfully chilled and Kav Temperley’s impressive vocals are a treat on To Look At You. But it’s Dan Sultan’s Just Keep Walking, the highlight of the entire album, that comes closest to capturing what made the Hutchence-led INXS such a compelling band.
Like Hutchence, Sultan knows how to possess a song and how to imbue each note with blood, sweat and tears. He also happens to be blessed with the charisma, charm, and personality to match Hutchence’s star power. The fact that Just Keep Walking could fit neatly into Sultan’s live set demonstrates how effectively he has made the song his own. But also leaves this collection standing as a mystifyingly hit and miss affair.
