Elegantly Wasted

This article is about the album. For the title track from this album, see Elegantly Wasted (song).
Elegantly Wasted
Studio album by INXS
Released 4 April 1997
Recorded December 1996 – February 1997 at Armoury Studio, Vancouver, BC, Canada
Genre Alternative rock
Length 51:53
Label Mercury
Producer Bruce Fairbairn & Andrew Farriss
INXS chronology
Full Moon, Dirty Hearts
(1993)		 Elegantly Wasted
(1997)		 Switch
(2005)
Singles from Elegantly Wasted
  1. "Elegantly Wasted"
    Released: March 1997
  2. "Everything"
    Released: May 1997
  3. "Don't Lose Your Head"
    Released: September 1997
  4. "Searching"
    Released: September 1997

Elegantly Wasted is the tenth studio album by Australian rock band INXS. It was released in April 1997, and is the final album recorded with lead singer Michael Hutchence, who was found dead in a Sydney hotel room in November that same year.

The band had spent April 1996 rehearsing in London, and moved over to Vancouver to record with producer Bruce Fairbairn in December that year.[1] Production of the album was completed by Michael and Andrew in Spain by February 1997.[2]

All three Farriss brothers dedicated the album to their mother, Jill, who died in 1995. Two songs that did not make the final cut of the album were included on the Bang the Drum EP (2004).

Background

After a three-year break, INXS reconvened in 1996 to record their tenth studio album Elegantly Wasted, their last with Hutchence. PolyGram studios in London paired the band with Canadian producer Bruce Fairbairn, their first and only collaboration. Initially the band had recorded a number of demos on both 24-track reels and ADAT (Alesis Digital Audio Tape) recorders. Michael and Andrew Farriss also travelled to Dublin to put the finishing touches on the demos.

Before meeting with Fairbairn the band sent him all the material they had been working on with Fairbairn commenting “I was impressed with the feel and the different sounds that they'd been using.”[3] He added “I actually ended up suggesting that we might want to save some of the stuff on the demos – because the chances were that when we were back in the studio we wouldn't be able to recreate that vibe.”[3] After listening to the material, Fairbairn later flew to London to meet the band. He spent a few afternoons with both Michael and Andrew discussing the project.

Recording and production

The band first arrived at the Armoury studio in December 1996 to begin the recording sessions. Most of the demos that were brought out to Vancouver had to be reorganised, taking out and discarding certain parts as well as adding in new rhythms and beats. Some members of the band also had to provide overdubbing on the existing demos. Most of the album was recorded digitally. The drums, bass and guitar on the tracks “Girl on Fire”, “We Are Thrown Together" and “Bang the Drum” (later dropped during production) were recorded using analogue equipment.

The majority of the vocals were performed in a small studio in Marbella, Spain in February 1997. Additional musicians were brought in to provide backing vocals on “Don't Lose Your Head”, “Searching” and “I’m Just a Man”. After production had wrapped the recordings were taken to the townhouse in London and mixed by music producer Tim Lord-Alge with the album set for an April release. The album’s title was thought up by Hutchence with the single itself trying to recapture the magic and groove of the "Kick" album, particularly the single, "Need You Tonight".

Tour

The band embarked on their 20th anniversary tour in support for Elegantly Wasted beginning in the U.S. in mid April 1997, with the second leg of the tour starting in South Africa, the bands first and only tour of the country. While touring in Cape Town, the band shot the music video for the albums third single, "Don’t Lose Your Head". The tour continued across Europe were the band played various arenas and festivals beginning June 9th at the Barrowland ballroom in Glasgow, Scotland and ending on July 5th at the Midtfyns Festival in Ringe, Denmark.[4] The band toured the U.S. again, returning in mid July and continuing right through to late September. Their last concert with Hutchence was at the Star Lake Amphitheatre in Burgettstown, PA on September 27, 1997.[5] The band returned to Sydney, Australia in November 1997 to prepare for their homecoming tour.[6]

Packaging

A mini video shoot was specially shot and directed for the album's cinematic album art. The entire video shoot was directed by art director Mat Cook and photographed by Danish photographer Pierre Winther in locations around California in 1996.[7] Winther, famous for his filmic visionary manages to tell a complex story in each of his staged shots. The front cover for Elegantly Wasted shows a dramatic shot of the band caught up in a cinematic setting where it appears that an attractive girl has emerged safely from a car accident just under Fourth & Lorena St. Bridge in 2271 Jesse Street, downtown Los Angeles. The same girl can be seen wandering the streets of San Francisco in the music video for the albums second single, “Searching”. The albums linear notes contain additional shots of the band at the Edwards Air Force Base in the Californian desert.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[8]
Q[9]
Rolling Stone[10][11]
Entertainment WeeklyA[12]
Ultimate Guitar

Reviews for the album were mixed. Rolling Stone, Q magazine and AllMusic all rated the album two stars, with Stephen Thomas Erlewine writing in his AllMusic review, "The band does dabble in contemporary dance on Elegantly Wasted, but it all comes out sounding like the lite funk-n-roll of Kick, only without the energy. And without the tunes."[8]

In a more enthusiastic review, Entertainment Weekly scored the album an "A" and wrote, "The Jaggersque vocal yowl of Michael Hutchence, matched to the spiky James Brown funk of the Farriss brothers, gives their new melodies swing and tone.[12] GQ Magazine also gave the album a favourable review calling Elegantly Wasted "Vibrant and exciting" and concluded that "The '80 revival starts here."

Commercial performance

The album did not perform well as anticipated. In the U.S. it only reached number 41 on the Billboard Top 200.[13] It did sell better outside the U.S. peaking at number 14 in both Canada and Australia[14] and number 16 in the United Kingdom.[15] Elegantly Wasted was certified Gold in Canada on May 9, 1997 having sold 50,000 copies.[16]

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Andrew Farriss and Michael Hutchence. 

No. Title Length
1. "Show Me (Cherry Baby)"   4:17
2. "Elegantly Wasted"   4:32
3. "Everything"   3:13
4. "Don't Lose Your Head"   4:02
5. "Searching"   4:04
6. "I'm Just a Man"   4:48
7. "Girl on Fire"   3:55
8. "We Are Thrown Together"   5:36
9. "Shake the Tree"   4:10
10. "She Is Rising"   5:24
11. "Building Bridges"   3:55
12. "Shine"   3:52
Total length:
 51:53

Variations

Singles

Personnel

Additional personnel

References

  1. ↑ "An Excess Of INXS > News > Archives – 1996". Inxsweb.com. Retrieved 2012-01-05.
  2. ↑ "INXS@Everything2.com". Everything2.com. Retrieved 2012-01-05.
  3. 1 2 "BRUCE FAIRBAIRN: Recording INXS's Elegantly Wasted – INITIAL XS". Retrieved February 7th 2016
  4. ↑ "Elegantly Wasted - 1997 World Tour". Retrieved March 25th 2016
  5. ↑ "INXS Last Concert With Michael Hutchence SETLIST". Retrieved March 25th 2016
  6. ↑ INXS: Story to Story (the official autobiography), page 255
  7. ↑ "INXS 'Elegantly Wasted' - INTRO UK". Retrieved April 15th 2016
  8. 1 2 "allmusic ((( Elegantly Wasted > Overview )))". www.allmusic.com. Retrieved 2010-01-04.
  9. ↑ "Q Magazine | Music news & reviews, music videos, band pictures & interviews". Qthemusic.com. Retrieved 2012-01-05.
  10. ↑ "Internet Archive Wayback Machine". Web.archive.org. 16 May 2008. Archived from the original on 16 May 2008. Retrieved 2012-01-05.
  11. ↑ Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian, eds. (2004). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide. Simon & Schuster. p. 406. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  12. 1 2 "Reviews of Elegantly Wasted". Retrieved February 5th 2016
  13. ↑ "Billboard 200 INXS – Chart history". Retrieved February 9th 2016
  14. ↑ "Australiancharts.com – INXS – Elegantly Wasted". Retrieved February 9th 2016
  15. ↑ "Official albums Chart – Elegantly Wasted". Retrieved February 9th 2016
  16. ↑ "Music Canada – page 860". Retrieved February 5th 2016
  17. ↑ INXS- Elegantly Wasted @Discogs.com Retrieved 12-21-2013.
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