INXS Album: “Shine Like It Does: The Anthology”

Ok, so I just reviewed the new Best of Compilation and thought I would include a quick review of this anthology because it really is better than the Best Of. You definitely get more for your money with this two disc set. It includes a nice booklet with some comments by the surviving band members. It also includes a couple of great oldies which are good for laughs like Simple Simon and We Are the Vegetables. They are by no means classics, but they give a good spot to reflect on the group then and the group at their end. As I've mentioned in the Best of Review, the lone setback is the missing Mediate. I always thought of Need You Tonight and Mediate as a Medley of Sorts, and it is a shame they are missing. However, compared to the original greatest hits, this is wonderful. It includes songs I felt were missing such as Disappear, Not Enough Time, Don't Change while adding some songs that give an interesting perspective, like Please (with Ray Charles). It also includes songs from their last album (Elegantly Wasted) which makes this album a nice perspective of INXS's complete career. I would definitely consider this album before either of the other single disc hits collections.

I've been an INXS fan for 20 years; from their humble beginnings on the pub/rock circuit in Sydney to their world domination in the late 80's - early 90's. I'm especially fond of the albums that stretched through the mid 80's: Shabooh Shoobah (1982); The Swing (1984) and Listen Like Thieves (1986).

Having experienced INXS first-hand live in concert a number of times and living through their albums, I simply recommend this package of INXS greatest songs over the other two: 'Greatest Hits' and 'The Best of INXS'.

This anthology contains all the tracks from their first two albums that are considered important; especially "Just Keep Walking" and "The Loved One" (which was later redone on the album Kick), which weren't included on the Greatest Hits CD. This is the equivalent of leaving off, say, "I Will Follow" on a U2's greatest hits album. I find that this CD covers the early 'New Wave' period of INXS much better than other compilations along with the period of the above-mentioned albums. For example, the Greatest Hits only begins from the album Shabooh Shoobah and also doesn't include INXS' best and most well-known song "Don't Change" from this album, whereas this anthology contains 5 tracks from Shabooh Shoobah. Also, 'The Swing' and 'Listen Like Thieves' are very well represented on this anthology; having no notable omissions.

The later albums are also covered well on this anthology with the only omissions being the single from 'X' "By My Side" and the second single from 'Welcome to Wherever You Are' "Baby Don't Cry". These two songs are not on the 'Greatest Hits' CD but 'The Best Of INXS' CD has "By My Side". Another possible inclusion could have been "Mediate" from 'Kick'.

To summarise:

From the album 'INXS': Just Keep Walking.

'Underneath the Colours': Stay Young.

(In Australia, the compilation titled "INXSive" contained the tracks Simple Simon, We are the Vegetables and The Loved One)

'Shabooh Shoobah': The One Thing; Don't Change; To Look At You; Black And White.

'The Swing': Original Sin; I Send A Message; Burn For You; Dancing On The Jetty.

'Listen Like Thieves': This Time; What You Need; Kiss The Dirt (Falling Down The Mountain); Listen Like Thieves; Shine Like It Does.

'Kick': Need You Tonight; Devil Inside; New Sensation; Never Tear Us Apart; Mystify; Kick.

'X': Suicide Blonde; Disappear; Bitter Tears; The Stairs (live).

'Welcome to Wherever You Are' Heaven Sent; Not Enough Time; Taste It; Beautiful Girl.

'Full Moon, Dirty Hearts': The Gift; Please (you got that...) with Ray Charles.

'Elegently Wasted': Elegently Wasted; Don't Lose Your Head; Searching.

The best things about this anthology are the inclusion of one-off non-album songs like "Good Times" (with Jimmy Barnes - from the soundtrack to The Lost Boys) and the fact that all albums are represented here and in order, unlike the other two packages. The Greatest Hits starts a few albums in and The Best of INXS doesn't cover their career well enough and tries to hide this through the order of the songs, and neither provide the single songs that add to the catalogue. Despite the remixes, etc, this is THE definitive INXS collection.

I have owned this anthology for almost 4 years now, one of the best music buys I have made in the last 5 years. Being a big fan of INXS since the late 80's but just owning Kick, X, their live CD and their Greatest Hits, this gave me a broader vision of all their music and I am really glad to have had the opportunity to do just that. Since then I have collected more of their CD's so I have even more. But this is ideal for INXS fans who are more than casual fans and want more of what they have to offer without having to buy all of their CDs, which by the way wouldn't be a bad move either. My personal favorites on this set are The One Thing, I Send a Message, Burn for You, Kiss the Dirt, Disappear, Bitter Tears, Taste It, Beautiful Girl, The Strangest Party and Elegantly Wasted. Although there are over 40 songs on here from the very early days to their last album in 1997. The very first song, Simple Simon is a fun song to listen to.

INXS surely deserves this 2 disc compilation, after all their career spanned almost 20 years at the time of Michael Hutchence's death, which in itself is a real shame. How I wish he was still with us. This anthology is dedicated to him, and there is a nice booklet containing the story of INXS told by the band members themselves to a journalist who was writing a review which is an interesting read. There are also little snippets of information about each song, plus lots of pictures of the band, including some early ones that are fun to see. All in all, if you are a fan of INXS, casual or big, get this collection, it's about as complete as it gets.

I actually had this double CD on my wishlist for several months before the Rockstar TV show came out. The publicity around the show served as a gentle reminder to purchase this. This release spans the entire career of INXS, from a small time Australian band through worldwide stardom.

Because this release spans 20 years, there were many songs that were perhaps popular down under or in Europe but were never heard within the US. This includes songs like the Ray Charles duet late in their career as well songs from their early pub days. Personally, I would have liked to see Mediate and Calling All Nations from the Kick album included instead of Mystify and Kick. Beyond this, this is one of the best career spanning CDs. Despite having X on CD and Listen Like Thieves on album, I'd forgotten how much I liked INXS.

If your interested in the history of INXS, there's a bonus booklet that sheds light on the origin and history of the band as well as background on each song.

I can't quite give the CD 5 stars but giving 'Shine Like It Does' 4 stars seems to be a bit of an injustice. If there was a half star option, I'd give this CD 4 1/2 stars.

This is a pretty comprehensive round-up of the band's history, including all the early Aussie hits, the massive world-wide smashes and everything in between. If you only know INXS for their late eighties material, then you should listen to the earlier tracks on this collection. "Simple Simon", "Just Keep Walking" and "Black and White" were all roller skating rink faves from the early eighties.

Then came the big synth-rock sound of "Don't Change", "The One Thing" (Shaboo Shabah) and the polished funk of "I Send a Message" and "Original Sin" (The Swing) and suddenly the group were the biggest thing down under since sliced bread. And well, the rest is history - world domination and monster hits like "Need You Tonight" and "Suicide Blonde". I have to admit, I started to get a bit tired of the band around this stage, but in retrospect the quality of each single didn't realy deteriorate until the mid nineties, which is a pretty fair effort.

This is a much more satisfying collection than the mid nineties "Best of" release, purely for the inclusion of great tracks like "To Look at You" and "Shine Like it Does". This double Cd would make an excellent addition to any music fan's CD tower and no doubt, that's where it will end up - and rightly so!