Word: farriss
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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DIED. MICHAEL HUTCHENCE, 37, sultry INXS front man; reportedly by hanging himself; at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel; in Double Bay, Australia. Formed in 1977 as the Farriss Brothers (a reference to three of the five members), the Aussie band later opted for INXS--much hipper and better suited to Hutchence's hard-driving, sinewy appeal. The hit What You Need was topped by the bravura album Kick in 1987. Hutchence dabbled in film but stayed loyal to the band, which had been preparing for its 20th anniversary tour...
INXS's return to their earlier stripped-down sound seems an appropriate accompaniment to the less-than-profound romanticism of Hutchence and his Lyrical partner, keyboardist and guitarist Andrew Farriss...
...Touring is second nature to us, kind of automatic," explains Andrew Farriss, 30, the keyboardist and songwriter of the band. "We started off just playing in public, and our audience got bigger and bigger. Record companies in Australia had to sign us because our live-show following was bigger than some people's record sales." Adds Michael Hutchence, 30, who handles lyrics, lead vocals and sex-symbol assignments with equal panache: "We've toured a lot around the world for three or four years without a lot of success to tour on at first, because that...
INXS may have built their considerable success the old-fashioned way, as performers rather than video icons, but their music is snazzy and right up to the second. It has good melodic hooks (thanks to Farriss) and strong rhythmic underpinnings (courtesy of his brothers Tim, 31, on rhythm guitar, and Jon, 28, on drums, as well as bassist Garry Gary Beers, 28). It has a surprisingly soulful flow (from the sax of Kirk Pengilly, 29, who also plays lead guitar) and, in Hutchence's dramatic vocals, anthemic ambitions...
...album shows off their diversity extravagantly and exuberantly. On previous albums, Farriss and Hutchence tended to write a given song in one particular style, but on X they've worked several styles into a single tune. The opening track, Suicide Blonde, starts off with a bluesy harmonica, then boots into a dance track that also rocks hard. By My Side has some suggestions of country, as well as overtones of a classic '40s-style saloon ballad. Says Farriss: "You've got to change musically...
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