INXS Got "Elegantly Wasted" on the INXS Sound

INXS is a band that I've never been too familiar with, in fact, as far as I knew for most of my life they were the same band as Duran Duran. However, I did see the news when the singer died and I did catch that reality show where they had people compete to take the lead singer spot; Marty was better, but did not fit I agree. I've decided to listen to the INXS album titled "Elegantly Wasted," to see if I'll become more familiar with them now. This was the last album made with Michael Hutchence, the singer who died.

"Show Me (Cherry Baby)": Is the singer doing a Mick Jagger impression? Insert one of Simon Cowell or Randy Jackson's karaoke critiques here.

"Elegantly Wasted": I can see how that one fellow won the reality show, he was doing some Michael Hutchence impersonations with his voice and tone, sounds similar here. The music for this song feels like a rip off of some other oldie, "All She Wants To Do Is Dance," comes to the top of my head; only parts of the song, not the whole thing. I think this song most likely captures the vibe of INXS as statement of who the band is, but doesn't really stand out or make them relevant.

"Everything": This song is not bad, I could hear it playing on a movie soundtrack with some coming of age gangster story or something. Once again, however, one might mistaken it for a slow Rolling Stones song.

"Don't Lose Your Head": Speedier vocals, clap and shake a rattle hippie rock. Maybe this can go into the same gangster movie with the song "Everything," during a shootout or right before, the title "Don't Lose Your Head," fitting in several ways with that scenario.

"Searching": A slow song with funk in the back that feels like it came straight from a "Shaft" movie. The success of this song hinges on whether or not you like the singer's voice, think it fit's the mood, or is smooth to listen to. I am not a fan.

"I'm Just A Man": The sap soaks through and weakens the soft, pop rock offering.

"Girl On Fire": The vocals do have a little fire in them, but the flames don't rise too high above generic.

"We Are Thrown Together": A whispery soft ballad that on the command of "Let's go," cranks into the sounds of India, before zagging back into acoustic guitar with vocals and then to faster soft rock and sounds of India overlaps back in. This is an audio mess that my ears did not enjoy sifting through.

"Shake The Tree": I can imagine they sang this dressed as cowboys, but with a lot of sparkle.

"She Is Rising": Okay, but I was bored by it by the halfway mark. I guess you could say this song is a step above album filler.

"Building Bridges": More Mick Jaggery vocal sounds with very low, slow mellow melody, that goes harsh with guitars further in. Lyrically just generic human life observations/ philosophy/reflection about nothing exactly specific.

The INXS album "Elegantly Wasted," did not hold any surprises, which is disappointing to me. This is the generic sound I was expecting, which is gold to fans who grew up with them, but I guess I was more affected by the gaudy hair bands. "Everything" and "Don't Lose Your Head," are the two tracks I pick as the best.