The Greatest Hits [Universal]

Performer: INXS
Distributor: WEA (Distributor)

Notes: INXS: Michael Hutchence (vocals); Kirk Pengilly (guitar, saxophone); Andrew Farriss (guitar, keyboards); Tim Farriss (guitar); Garry Gary Beers (bass); Jon Farriss (drums). Producers: Mark Opitz, Nile Rodgers, Chris Thomas, INXS. Compilation producer: Marilu Windvand-Amoroso. Engineers include: Mark Opitz, D. Walsh, Jason Pocaro. Principally recorded at Paradise Studios and Rhinoceros Studios, Sydney, Australia; The Power Station, New York; Studio De La Grand Armee, Paris, France between 1980 and 1994. All tracks have been digitally remastered. A straight-up singles collection, plus two acceptable new tracks, GREATEST HITS may be all the INXS the casual fan requires. Only on certain albums, like 1982's SHABOOH SHOOBAH and 1984's THE SWING, did the Australian sextet have many terribly interesting songs that weren't released as singles. The late singer Michael Hutchence was a born rock star, and all born rock stars know that singles are what really matter. Starting with their first (and best) US/UK single, "The One Thing," and continuing through to 1993's "Beautiful Girl," GREATEST HITS skips through most of the band's highest points, including the Nile Rodgers collaboration "The Original Sin," the commercial breakthrough "What You Need," and of course four of the five hit singles from 1987's multi-platinum KICK. Only "Mediate" doesn't make the cut of those; the disappearance of 1982's "Don't Change" and 1980's "Just Keep Walking" are the only other disappointments.

Q (12/94, p.169) - 4 Stars - Excellent - "...Underlines...the simple, consistent strength of the music that millions have bought since 1984....Ignores chronology to string together an effortlessly cohesive selection of top notch rock-pop songs..."

Like many groups that achieved mainstream success in the 1980s, Australia's INXS was kinetically inspired by the British punk scene. Led by charismatic singer Michael Hutchence and the musically gifted Farriss brothers, INXS began as a new-wave rock band, but by the mid-'80s they hit on a global level with an accessible, streamlined dance-rock sound. For most people, the band's saga ended with Hutchence's tragic suicide in 1997. In 2005, however, the band went in search of a new lead singer via the AMERICAN IDOL-style reality-TV series ROCKSTAR, eventually choosing Canadian J.D. Fortune. The revamped INXS released SWITCH in 2005 and toured the world in support of it that same year.

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