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INXS - Elegantly Wasted Audio CD

A fair review of the INXS "Elegantly Wasted" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all INXS reviews here, or go back to the INXS tabs.

INXS Band: INXS
Title: Elegantly Wasted
Rating:
Release Date: 1997-04-15
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Show Me (Cherry Baby) 2: Elegantly Wasted 3: Everything 4: Don't Lose Your Head 5: Searching 6: I'm Just a Man 7: Girl on Fire 8: We Are Thrown Together 9: Shake the Tree 10: She Is Rising 11: Building Bridges

Hindsight is 20/20?
If you don't believe what I've just said seek out the Loreley '97 performance by INXS (it's fairly downloadable via torrents) and perhaps, like me, you'll come to the conclusion you should revisit Elegantly Wasted. Not a knockout upon release now 10+ years later Elegantly Wasted gains new relevance and importance. If you do, I believe, you may reaccess the album in a very positive light. If you are thinking in the same vein as I am you'll come to the conclusion that you underated this and with new conviction you wil conclude it is, indeed, a return to form. I hate to pick out tracks, but I'll say along with Jumping Jack Flash Elegantly Wasted is a tour 'de force of a single in R'N R history. Upon reflection the rest of the album fits nicely. Speaking of R 'N R singles What You Need is the best. . . Ever! Please revistit, or get for the first time, this album. . . It rocks and secures INXS as one of the greatest rock bands of the 20th century.


Not completely wasted. But almost...
You think someone has cheated on you: this is not INXS and, if it was, then it doesn't really sounds like INXS. After listening the whole album for the first time, you'll feel disappointed.

Yeah. . . but then, after a couple times you listened back again, the few gems start arising out of what initially seemed a whole crap.

The record as a whole is not a masterpiece, nor a mainstream success - take it for granted. But it still has some few great tracks still deserving to sit along with the biggest INXS hits.

Appart from the opening track, the first half of the album seems like a whirlwind, rockin' devastating. The band sounds like an autralian version of Oasis, and Michael's voice rumbles like Jim Morrison's on any famous Doors' albums. Thrilling hits, amazing rhythms, creative lyrics and good baselines made the first five or six songs on the album worth the money, but then, the second half of the record becomes boring. . . repetitive. Inconsequential.

Good enough not to mess the legacy of Michael Hutchence, who sadly died shortly after.

But almost it does.


INXS "Elegantly Wasted" - the review


"Elegantly Wasted" was an album that was just uninspired.

if ever there was an appropriate title for an album, this was it. trying to capture on what made INXS special, this album misfires and wanders aimlessly. at this time in the 90's INXS had become irrelevant. the previous album "Full Moon, Dirty Hearts" was a sorry experience as well.

It was not for lack of trying that INXS released this album, but time had been unkind to this band as the 90's turned its back on anything 80's and INXS was not spared. Sadly this was the last album that Michael Hutchence would record with INXS.

Thankfully, "INXS Rockstar" helped show the world that INXS is one of rock's greatest bands and their legacy is secure.

if you are new to inxs, this album is not for you!

start with "listen like thieves", "shoobah shoobah", "the swing", "kick", "X" and "Welcome to Wherever You Are" as these are possibly their best work.


Elegant Indeed
The band had come full circle as they spent years and years making great albums and all leading up to what can be defined as their ultimate masterpiece. Ten years ago today was the release of INXS's last studio recording with the late Michael Hutchence. INXS always became more refined with every album, while their passion for playing upbeat rock music with a relentless drive is even more founded on Elegantly Wasted. Also not missing are songs filled with just as much passion and poignancy as the music. And Micheal Hutchence continues to sing with vocals that sounded more sharp and emotional than ever. When you listen to these songs now, you can detect how he sang with an unmarked intensity as if there was no tomorrow.


A True Masterpiece
I own back-up copies of each because I am truly addicted to the sounds and lyrics of both. This cd, Elegantly Wasted, along with Michael Hutchence's posthumously released solo cd, are my all-time favorite albums. Each is haunting, sophisticated, funky, heartfelt, and intensely soulful. It is not an exaggeration to say that both the Elegantly Wasted (EW) cd and Michael's solo cd have had a deeply profound effect on me. This is not fluff! This is the culmination, the pinnacle of matured talent and creativity. Each track of both cd's is amazing and so full of meaning. Of particular note on the EW cd are the tracks: "I'm Just a Man," "Don't Lose Your Head," "She Is Rising," and "Building Bridges. " Michael Hutchence was such an exceptional artist - definitely one of the best frontmen ever. He was an incredible poet with a beautifully strong and soulful voice, as well as, an incomparably thrilling performer. I am so grateful to have all of Michael's cd's (with INXS and solo), and EW and his solo cd's are the best. It is more than a tragedy that Hutch's last two masterpieces have not been lauded to the heights that they deserve. As much as I love his other albums with INXS (e. g. , Kick, X, Listen Like Thieves, The Swing, and Shabooh Shoobah), I think EW surpasses them. Like some of the previous reviewers, I agree that EW is among the most underrated and it and Michael's solo cd deserve recognition for their brilliance. .


You can see a complete list of all INXS discography, or go back to the INXS tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.

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