INXS Album: “Welcome to Wherever You Are”

While I was a mild fan of INXS thru the 80's, to me, their albums possessed a similar blueprint: several great, listenable hits, accompanied by an equal or greater number of often mediocre material. Also, I believe this album was their 11th studio recording. For the few rock bands which could achieve that milestone, most would have burned out, run out of inspiration, or be recycling past hits and/or cover tunes, in a feeble attempt to keep their lifestyles running.

This is the rare exception. For a band whose signature sound was such a pervasive presence in the 80's, this 1992 album was a startling maturation. Every song is a polished gem, and there is not a weak composition on the entire recording. I am not going to attempt a track-by-track review, as this is an accomplishment where the whole infinitely exceeds the sum of its parts.

Any INXS fan who has not purchased this album just has never heard the band's finest hour. Period. No INXS album that came before, and the few albums that came afterward, match the sheer listenability of this record. While this album is instantly recognizable as INXS, it sounds like nothing the band had previously produced. It doesn't sound "80's", it doesn't sound "90's"; it has a rare, timeless sound, with many subtle influences. This CD is not just for INXS fans, it is for anybody who enjoys great rock.

The album's commercial failure must have confounded and and saddened the band. Every time I listen to it I just shake my head and wonder, what happened? What were people listening to in '92 that made them ignore this? Perhaps INXS 80's success had just jaded people and radio programmers alike.

The audio quality of the original CD was good, but this remaster is awesome. The addictive bass and organ line in "Wishing Well" will shake the foundation of your domicile. The extra tracks and the low list price of this re-issue makes it an even better deal.

I was going through my CD's today, looking for songs to put on my MP3 player, when I came across this one. I had bought it when it first came out, and played it for a few years. Then, with all the CD's I own, it had been neglected for a few years. Listening to it today, I am still impressed with how solid this album is (their most consistent, in my opinion). They really took some chances on this one, without losing any of the accessibility they became known for. Using sitar and tablas on "Questions" in 1992 was a bold move! "Heaven Sent" was a deserved radio hit, while "Communication" remains one of their best dancefloor tracks. Whether it was innovative keyboard use, horns, or strings, INXS took a lot of chances here and succeeded admirably. Unfortunately, this was not as big a hit as their previous "X" CD. Perhaps, since America was in the middle of grunge-mania in 1992, there just wasn't enough room in peoples' ears for innovative sounds. Now that grunge has gone the way of the dodo, take some time to get acquainted with this ignored masterpiece!!

INXS had many great and many popular albums, but I think this is one of the few that are great that gets really overlooked. I love this album from the opening of Questions to Men and Women. This albums shows INXS as a solid band with solid music writing behind them. It shows that INXS was capable of better than Kick or X. Kick or X were great albums, but they were pop albums. Welcome to Wherever You Are was a progress, an experiment with a result that is above and beyond anything INXS ever did.

Highlights of this album include Not Enough Time and Beautiful Girl, the two bigger hits. However, songs like Communication, Men and Women, Questions, and Baby Don't Cry are great too... Unfortunately, the lack of popular success on the heels of Kick and X, has made this album get overlooked. This album is also a bit darker. However, the song writing is stronger than anything INXS ever did before or since. The album feels natural from start to finish and is the one I listen to the most when it comes to INXS...

The fact that this is the band's favorite album is no secret anymore. I also don't think it's any real surprise to reasons surrounding that statement. This album is everything music is about. From the surreal ("Questions"), to the funky ("Taste it"), to the soulful ("Not enough time", "Beautiful Girl), to the rocking ("Heaven Sent", "All around") to the operatic ("Baby don't cry", "Men and women") and finally to the all out amazing ("Strange Desire"), this album is packed full of blood and fire from the band at their creative peak.

Though not as successful as Kick or X, Welcome... broke down many walls that INXS had faced many times before. No more was there too radio-friendly tunes. The songs all seem laced together by amazing production by Mark Opitz and it all works out. As for the bonus tracks...

Rhino's been on a reissue frenzy lately - re-releasing albums by Tom Waits, Elvis Costello, and many others. The 5 additional tracks are the things that attract the big fans out there. "The Answer" seems to be Hutchence add-libbing while backed by the same loop from "Questions". The two alternate versions of "Wishing Well" and "All Around" aren't too much to hear but "Wishing Well" does sound great. "The Indian Song" is a mix of "Questions" and "Not Enough Time". A neat little track that shows the type of experimentation INXS was working with during the making of the album. And finally, "Heaven Sent (waltz version)" is a must-have. I think the tune may have worked out better in this format (Perhaps for Elegantly Wasted?).

So there it is. I can't say much but what's already known. This is a great album if not the greatest album by a band at their creative and experimental peak. Hutchence (RIP) sounds amazing and the remastered sound can be noticed, unlike some albums where it doesn't even seem any different. This is great stuff. Taste it, baby...

This is usually what I consider the last great INXS album - even though it was 2 more albums before the band met its demise. Although I rarely listen past track 8 - this is a courageous, adventurous album before INXS ran truly dry for a while on their next album "Full Moon Dirty Hearts" and lost the momentum they had.

"Welcome to Wherever You Are" is a worthy album that has aged well. It's classic INXS no matter how you listen to it. The band was veering more into experimentation in the studio but still stuck with its commercial, melodic strengths.

In listening to today's reborn INXS with JD Fortune - it probably bears the closest resemblance in sound to this album.

"Not Enough Time" is still one of my favourite INXS ballads. What's nice about it is the band attempts different styles with the first few tracks - "Taste It" "Questions" "Communication" while going back to classic INXS territory with "Baby Don't Cry" and "Beautiful Girl" and the rest of the tracks.

This re-issue with bonus tracks looks like a worthy release. Kudos to the guys for repackaging their legacy, and remembering it.