Three of Michael Hutchence’s favourite albums
The path of INXS can be attributed to a unique sense of musicianship and raw talent. When the band first started making music, they found themselves in a unique scene in Australia where the lines between genres were being bent and twisted, as all bands dabbling in soul, disco, and punk shared venue spaces and gigged together.
The result was an inescapable and incredibly exciting sound. The band developed a rock-funk-pop hybrid sound that swept the nation and, subsequently, the world. At the forefront of all that was Michael Hutchence, who could latch onto these ranges of sound and present his music in an expressive and dynamic way that very few others could achieve. There was a tone and energy to his voice that has since been unmatched.
In fact, if you ever needed proof that his vocals were some that couldn’t be matched, you need look no further than the band following Hutchence’s death. INXS faced the difficult decision of whether or not they should continue touring and making music or quit the band altogether. They opted for the former, but finding a replacement for the lead singer proved to be a near-impossible task.
In a bid to extend their search far and wide, the band launched a reality TV program called Rock Star: INXS, where singers had to audition and compete to be the next lead of the band. Of course, none of the replacements came close, and the man who won the program left after a mediocre five-year stint at the helm.
So, if you have a voice and energy unmatched like Michael Hutchence’s, what kind of music are you listening to? Unsurprisingly, when asked about his favourite albums, Hutchence offered an exciting, adrenaline-fueled selection.
The first he mentioned was The Prodigy’s Music for a Jilted Generation. This album is one of the band’s most ambitious, with ten-minute-long ballads that play around with narrative and heavy synth sounds. “They take the excitement of a rave and turn it into something tangible on record,” said Hutchence, “In a way their energy reminds me of the Stones when they first started.”
The next album played into the soul-infused roots of INXS’s sound, as he references Lewis Taylor as having something that only the very best soul artists possessed on his album Bittersweet. “He’s got this great kind of Curtis Mayfield or Marvin Gaye vibe,” he said, “When I first heard him, I thought, ‘Is this Philly soul, or what?’ Then I saw his video and went, ‘Whoa – he’s a white boy’.”
Finally, Hutchence paid homage to Serge Gainsbourg and his album du Jazz dans le Ravin; Comic Strip; Couler Café. He said, “He’s from the old sort of Burt Bacharach school. Really funny lyrics, too, like this one song, ‘Harley David, Son of a Bitch’.”
Michael Hutchence’s three favourite albums:
- The Prodigy – Music for a Jilted Generation
- Lewis Taylor – Bittersweet
- Serge Gainsbourg – du Jazz dans le Ravin; Comic Strip; Couler Café
