X (INXS album)
Encyclopedia
X is Australian rock
band INXS
's seventh studio album, released in 1990. 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
following Listen Like Thieves (1985) and Kick (1987).
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.
Both hit singles "Suicide Blonde
" and "Disappear
" were used in the 1991 teen movie '"Mystery Date
"
in a band, Max Q, the two had 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.
In September 1990, they released X, produced by Chris Thomas
—his third consecutive album with them. It peaked at No. 1 in Australia, No. 5 in the US, No. 2 in the UK, No. 5 in Switzerland and No. 10 in Sweden. 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
" and "Disappear
" (both Top 10 in the US), "Suicide Blonde" peaked at No. 2 in Australia, No. 11 in the UK and in Switzerland. Two other singles from X were "Bitter Tears" and "By My Side
" but they had less chart success. A fifth single, "The Stairs
" was only issued in The Netherlands to coincide with the release of the Live Baby Live
album.
and Michael Hutchence
except where noted
Bonus tracks on 2002 remaster
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
band INXS
INXS
INXS are an Australian rock band, formed as The Farriss Brothers in 1977 in Sydney, New South Wales. Mainstays are Garry Gary Beers on bass guitar, Andrew Farriss on guitar/keyboards, Jon Farriss on drums, Tim Farriss on lead guitar and Kirk Pengilly on guitar/sax...
's seventh studio album, released in 1990. 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
Chris Thomas (record producer)
Chris Thomas is an English record producer who has worked extensively with The Beatles, Pink Floyd, Roxy Music, Badfinger, Elton John, Paul McCartney, Pulp and The Pretenders. He has also produced breakthrough albums for The Sex Pistols and INXS.Thomas is quoted as saying -Early life:Thomas was...
following Listen Like Thieves (1985) and Kick (1987).
The title, the Roman numeral
Roman numerals
The numeral system of ancient Rome, or Roman numerals, uses combinations of letters from the Latin alphabet to signify values. The numbers 1 to 10 can be expressed in Roman numerals as:...
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
Charlie Musselwhite
Charlie Musselwhite is an American electric blues harmonica player and bandleader, one of the non-black bluesmen who came to prominence in the early 1960s, along with Mike Bloomfield and Paul Butterfield. Though he has often been identified as a "white bluesman", he claims Native American heritage...
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.
Both hit singles "Suicide Blonde
Suicide Blonde
"Suicide Blonde" is the title of the first single from the INXS album X. It reached the top 10 on the US Hot 100 and Australia in 1990 and reached a peak of #11 in the UK.-Writing and recording:...
" and "Disappear
Disappear (INXS song)
"Disappear" is a single by INXS, the second single taken from their album X. It peaked at #8 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming the band's seventh and last top 10 single...
" were used in the 1991 teen movie '"Mystery Date
Mystery Date
For the Milton Bradley board game, see Mystery Date .Mystery Date is a 1991 teen comedy film directed by Jonathan Wacks and starring Ethan Hawke, Teri Polo, and Brian McNamara.-Cast:*Ethan Hawke as Tom McHugh*Teri Polo as Geena Matthews...
"
Background
In 1987 and 1988, INXS toured heavily in support of their sixth album, Kick. During 1989, the band took a break to work on side projects. Hutchence collaborated with Ian 'Ollie' OlsenOllie Olsen
Ollie Olsen 1958, Melbourne, Australia) is an Australian composer, synthesist and sound designer who has been producing and performing rock, electronic and experimental music for the past thirty years...
in a band, Max Q, the two had previously worked together on Richard Lowenstein
Richard Lowenstein
Richard Lowenstein is an Australian film director. He has written, produced and directed the feature films He Died With A Felafel In His Hand, Dogs In Space, Say a Little Prayer, Strikebound and Ghost Story, as well as numerous ground-breaking and award-winning music videos for bands such as INXS...
's film Dogs in Space
Dogs in Space
Dogs in Space is a 1986 Australian film set in the "little band scene" in Melbourne in 1978. It was directed by Richard Lowenstein and starred Michael Hutchence as Sam, the drug-addled frontman of the fictitious band from which the film takes its name....
. INXS soon returned to the studio to record their follow-up album to Kick, which was X. Its title, the Roman numeral
Roman numerals
The numeral system of ancient Rome, or Roman numerals, uses combinations of letters from the Latin alphabet to signify values. The numbers 1 to 10 can be expressed in Roman numerals as:...
for "10", represents the band's tenth year since their debut album was released in 1980.
In September 1990, they released X, produced by Chris Thomas
Chris Thomas (record producer)
Chris Thomas is an English record producer who has worked extensively with The Beatles, Pink Floyd, Roxy Music, Badfinger, Elton John, Paul McCartney, Pulp and The Pretenders. He has also produced breakthrough albums for The Sex Pistols and INXS.Thomas is quoted as saying -Early life:Thomas was...
—his third consecutive album with them. It peaked at No. 1 in Australia, No. 5 in the US, No. 2 in the UK, No. 5 in Switzerland and No. 10 in Sweden. It followed in the same vein as Kick, and added harmonica
Harmonica
The harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes...
to some songs, mostly through the contributions of Charlie Musselwhite
Charlie Musselwhite
Charlie Musselwhite is an American electric blues harmonica player and bandleader, one of the non-black bluesmen who came to prominence in the early 1960s, along with Mike Bloomfield and Paul Butterfield. Though he has often been identified as a "white bluesman", he claims Native American heritage...
. X scored hits with "Suicide Blonde
Suicide Blonde
"Suicide Blonde" is the title of the first single from the INXS album X. It reached the top 10 on the US Hot 100 and Australia in 1990 and reached a peak of #11 in the UK.-Writing and recording:...
" and "Disappear
Disappear (INXS song)
"Disappear" is a single by INXS, the second single taken from their album X. It peaked at #8 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming the band's seventh and last top 10 single...
" (both Top 10 in the US), "Suicide Blonde" peaked at No. 2 in Australia, No. 11 in the UK and in Switzerland. Two other singles from X were "Bitter Tears" and "By My Side
By My Side (INXS song)
"By My Side" is a single by Australian band INXS, the third UK single and fourth Australian single taken from their album X. The song is a piano, strings and acoustic guitar based ballad with a big chorus....
" but they had less chart success. A fifth single, "The Stairs
The Stairs (song)
"The Stairs" is the fifth single by INXS taken from their album X. It was only ever released in The Netherlands to coincide with the release of the Live Baby Live album and as such is an extremely rare and valuable collectors item...
" was only issued in The Netherlands to coincide with the release of the Live Baby Live
Live Baby Live
Live Baby Live is Australian rock band INXS's first live album. It was released in 1991 and features tracks recorded in Paris, New York, Chicago, London, Dublin, Glasgow, Rio de Janeiro, Montreal, Spain, Switzerland, Melbourne, Sydney, Philadelphia, and Las Vegas. The album has sold over one...
album.
Track listing
All tracks by Andrew FarrissAndrew Farriss
Andrew Charles Farriss is a rock musician , best known as the keyboardist and main composer for the Australian band INXS.-Career:...
and Michael Hutchence
Michael Hutchence
Michael Kelland John Hutchence was an Australian musician and actor. He was the founding lead singer-songwriter of rock band :INXS from 1977 to his death in 1997, a period of twenty years. Hutchence was a member of short-lived pop rock group Max Q and recorded solo material which was released...
except where noted
- "Suicide BlondeSuicide Blonde"Suicide Blonde" is the title of the first single from the INXS album X. It reached the top 10 on the US Hot 100 and Australia in 1990 and reached a peak of #11 in the UK.-Writing and recording:...
" – 3:53 - "DisappearDisappear (INXS song)"Disappear" is a single by INXS, the second single taken from their album X. It peaked at #8 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming the band's seventh and last top 10 single...
" (Jon FarrissJon FarrissJon Farriss is the drummer for the Australian rock band INXS.-Biography:...
, Hutchence) – 4:10 - "The Stairs" – 4:56
- "Faith in Each Other" (J. Farriss, Hutchence) – 4:09
- "By My SideBy My Side (INXS song)"By My Side" is a single by Australian band INXS, the third UK single and fourth Australian single taken from their album X. The song is a piano, strings and acoustic guitar based ballad with a big chorus....
" (A. Farriss, Kirk PengillyKirk PengillyKirk Pengilly is an Australian musician, best known as a member of the rock group :INXS.-Early career:...
, Chris ThomasChris Thomas (record producer)Chris Thomas is an English record producer who has worked extensively with The Beatles, Pink Floyd, Roxy Music, Badfinger, Elton John, Paul McCartney, Pulp and The Pretenders. He has also produced breakthrough albums for The Sex Pistols and INXS.Thomas is quoted as saying -Early life:Thomas was...
) – 3:06 - "Lately" – 3:37
- "Who Pays the Price" – 3:37
- "Know the Difference" – 3:18
- "Bitter Tears" – 3:49
- "On My Way" – 2:56
- "Hear That Sound" – 4:05
Bonus tracks on 2002 remaster
- "Waiting to Be Free"
- "Deepest Red"
- "Salvation Jane" (Demo)
- "Who Pays the Price" (Demo)
- "Dark of Night" (Demo)
Personnel
- Gary Beers – bass guitar
- Andrew Farriss – guitar, keyboards
- Jon Farriss – drums, keyboards
- Tim Farriss – guitar
- Michael Hutchence – vocals
- Charlie Musselwhite – harmonica
- David Nicholas – engineer
- Kirk Pengilly – guitar, saxophone, vocals
- Chris Thomas – producer
Chart positions
| Year | Chart | Position | Certification |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | Australian ARIA Australian Recording Industry Association The Australian Recording Industry Association is a trade group representing the Australian recording industry which was established in 1983 by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replacing the Association of Australian Record Manufacturers which was formed in 1956... Albums Chart |
1 | |
| 1990 | Billboard 200 Albums Chart (USA) | 5 | 2× Platinum |