X (INXS album)
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| Studio album by INXS | ||||
| Released | 25 September 1990 | |||
| Recorded | 1989–1990 at Rhinoceros Studio 2, Sydney, Australia | |||
| Genre | Alternative rock, pop rock | |||
| Length | 41:42 | |||
| Label | Atlantic US Mercury EU WEA AU |
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| Producer | Chris Thomas | |||
| INXS chronology | ||||
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| Singles from X | ||||
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X is Australian rock band INXS's seventh studio album, released in 1990. The follow-up to the massive seller Kick, it peaked at No. 1 in Australia, No. 5 in the United States, No. 2 in the United Kingdom, No. 5 in Switzerland and No. 10 in Sweden. The album contains four hit singles, "Suicide Blonde", "Disappear", "By My Side" and "Bitter Tears". It was the third consecutive INXS album produced by Chris Thomas.
The title, the Roman numeral for "10", represents the band's tenth year since their debut album was released in 1980. X features a sample of blues-harp player Charlie Musselwhite on "Suicide Blonde", and Musselwhite himself playing on "Who Pays the Price". In 2002, a remastered version of the album was released which included five previously unreleased tracks.
The singles "Suicide Blonde" and "Disappear" were used in the 1991 teen movie Mystery Date.
Background
In 1987 and 1988, INXS toured heavily in support of their sixth album, Kick.[1] During 1989, the band took a break to work on side projects. Hutchence collaborated with Ian 'Ollie' Olsen in the band Max Q,[2] the two having previously worked together on Richard Lowenstein's film Dogs in Space. INXS soon returned to the studio to record their follow-up album to Kick, which was X. Its title, the Roman numeral for "10", represents the band's tenth year since their debut album was released in 1980.
It followed in the same vein as Kick, and added harmonica to some songs, mostly through the contributions of Charlie Musselwhite. X scored hits with "Suicide Blonde" (written about Hutchence's then girlfriend Kylie Minogue) and "Disappear" (both Top 10 in the US),[3] "Suicide Blonde" peaked at No. 2 in Australia, No. 11 in the UK[4] and in Switzerland.[5] Two other singles from X were "Bitter Tears" and "By My Side" but they had less chart success.[2] A fifth single, "The Stairs" was only issued in the Netherlands to coincide with the release of the Live Baby Live album.
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    [6] |
| Rolling Stone | [7] |
| Q | [8] |
Track listing
All songs written and composed by Andrew Farriss and Michael Hutchence, except where noted.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Suicide Blonde" | 3:53 | |
| 2. | "Disappear" | 4:10 | |
| 3. | "The Stairs" | 4:56 | |
| 4. | "Faith in Each Other" | J. Farriss, M. Hutchence[9] | 4:09 |
| 5. | "By My Side" | A. Farriss, M. Hutchence, C. Thomas[10] | 3:06 |
| 6. | "Lately" | 3:37 | |
| 7. | "Who Pays the Price" | 3:37 | |
| 8. | "Know the Difference" | 3:18 | |
| 9. | "Bitter Tears" | 3:49 | |
| 10. | "On My Way" | 2:56 | |
| 11. | "Hear That Sound" | 4:05 |
| Bonus tracks on 2002 Remaster | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
| 12. | "Waiting to Be Free" | ||
| 13. | "Deepest Red" | ||
| 14. | "Salvation Jane (Demo)" | ||
| 15. | "Who Pays the Price (Demo)" | ||
| 16. | "Dark of Night (Demo)" | ||
Personnel
- Garry Gary Beers – bass guitar
- Andrew Farriss – guitar, keyboards
- Jon Farriss – drums, keyboards
- Tim Farriss – guitar
- Michael Hutchence – vocals
- Kirk Pengilly – guitar, saxophone, vocals
- Additional personnel
- Charlie Musselwhite – harmonica
- David Nicholas – engineer
- Chris Thomas – producer
Chart positions
| Chart (1990) | Position | Certification |
|---|---|---|
| Australian Albums Chart | 1 | |
| US Billboard 200 | 5 | 2× Platinum[11] |
| Preceded by
Chain Reaction by John Farnham
|
Australian ARIA Albums Chart number-one album 15 August 1990 – 21 August 1990 |
Succeeded by In Concert by The Three Tenors |
References
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- ↑ Liner notes to the album "X"
- ↑ Liner notes to the album "X"
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
