Switch - INXS > Reviews > The future looks bright

Author's product rating:   

Originality	Definitely a cut above the rest
Lyrics	Thought-provoking
Quality and consistency of tracks	A couple of weak links
How does it compare to the artist's other releases	Good
Value for Money	Excellent

Advantages:	Brilliant start to album, J . D .  Fortune's vocals, great riffs
Disadvantages:	Quality trails off a bit towards end

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

INXS formed in Sydney, Australia 1977. Their music has always been a great mix of rock and pop music, with many of their songs being simple yet catchy.

In 1997, Michael Hutchence, (the lead singer and main co-writer with Andrew Farriss) tragically committed suicide. After his death the group continued to tour with guest vocalists, Terence Trent D'arby and Jimmy Barnes, yet the group's future remained uncertain.

In 2004, the band launched a contest to find a new singer, via the hit reality television show; Rock Star: INXS.

In 2005, the contest was won by Canadian singer J.D. Fortune and later that year INXS recorded Switch, the group's 12th album, 8 years after their last. Switch was produced by Guy Chambers (famous for his collaborations with Robbie Williams) and Chambers also co-wrote a couple of the songs. The main song writing though is by Andrew Farriss.

The record was released in 2005 to a good reception. However, the UK version, which I am reviewing, was not released until October 2006 due to INXS changing record labels.

Track Listing

1. Devil's Party - This is great rock track, which starts the album very well. J.D. Fortune does seem to being trying too hard to sound like Michael Hutchence yet the sound works very well.

2. Pretty Vegas - probably my favourite track on the album. Great vocal and guitar riff. Fortune penned most of lyrics during the reality TV show, something that helped him to win. Very upbeat, classic INXS rock.

3. Afterglow - Lovely ballad with poignant lyrics and sung beautifully. Fortune shakes off the Michael Hutchence tag with this strong moving song.

4. Hot Girls - Another upbeat, funky rock song. Fun lyrics and great singing. Classic bass and guitar riffs.

5. Perfect Strangers - Good guitar riff, fairly good song pleasant enough.

6. Remember Who's Your Man - Pleasant sounding ballad but not as strong as Afterglow.

7. Hungry - Reasonable song though not very inspiring. Bit of an album filler.

8. Never Let You Go - This is a 'Police/ Sting Style' reggae pop song, which doesn't really work for me. The music is fair but I found the chorus a bit cheesy.

9. Like It or Not - Pleasant enough sound but is really a 'nothing of a song'.

10. US - again melodic but fairly average by the group's standards.

11. God's Top Ten - Nice singing but lyrics and sound are quite ordinary.

12. Taste It (Live) - This song is the live version taken from 1992's album Welcome To Whenever You Are. A good song but a slightly strange choice considering that there are many better tracks from their earlier catalogue.

13. Never Let You Go (Digital Dog Remix) - A Good remix, I personally prefer this to the original version but as said before, it doesn't really work for me.

14. Afterglow (Redanka's Afterdark Remix) - Reasonable Remix, nice keyboard riff but not as good as the brilliant original version.

15. Afterglow (Video) - Nice video of a great song.

So in conclusion, the album starts at an exciting pace. The first four songs are excellent yet the album fails to maintain this high quality. This is a very good INXS album, which I would recommend but is not in the same class as albums like KICK. However, the new line-up does offer a lot of promise. I already consider the songs Afterglow and Pretty Vegas as INXS classics.

INXS - Switch Line up

J.D. Fortune - Vocals
Andrew Farriss - Keyboards, guitar, harmonica
Kirk Pengilly - Guitar, Saxophone
Tim Farriss - Guitar
Garry Gary Beers - Bass
Jon Farriss - Drums