Monday, November 2, 2020

"Need You Tonight" by INXS

#1 Alert!
Rated 10 Alert!

 Song#:  3306
Date:  10/24/1987
Debut:  93
Peak:  1 (1 week)
Weeks:  25
Genre:  Blues-Rock, Funk Rock

Pop Bits:  Over the course of four albums, Australia's INXS had slowly been gaining an audience in the US. Then their fifth album, 1986's Listen Like Thieves, finally broke them through in a major way. It became a gold selling #11 hit (later double-platinum) on the strength of their first Pop Top 10 single, "What You Need" (#5). It set the stage for bigger success and after the LP's supporting tour was finished, the band took cues from the success of "What You Need" and began to write and record an album that was much more singles oriented. They retained producer Chris Thomas, who had guided Listen Like Thieves, and came up with their sixth effort, Kick. This first single was issued out and it debuted low on the chart. However, thanks in part to the associated video on MTV, the song gained momentum and by late January '88 it finally reached the top of the Pop chart. The song also got to #7 Dance, #12 Rock, and #73 R&B. It would end up being the band's biggest hit in the US. A month after the song topped the chart, the album would reach its peak of #3. In March of '88 it would be certified triple-platinum.

ReduxReview:  The opening beat made my ears perk up, but it was that indelible guitar lick that smacked me across the face and said "pay attention!" I mean, c'mon. The first 20 seconds were just brilliant and the song only got better from there. The groove, the hooks, those little synth fills, and the sexy lyrics made the song stand out, yet Michael Hutchence's sly, breathy, horny performance is what took the tune to the next level. The song certainly stood on its own, but then "Mediate" (see below) provided a cool coda. I played this single to death back then. I never tired of it either. I still absolutely love it. Just hearing those opening few seconds can push me into a groovy, sexy mood followed by (unfortunate to others around) a slinky dance. Oh yeah....  (Note: Bonnie Raitt did a fantastic cover of this tune for her 2016 album Dig in Deep.)


Trivia:  Double Shot!  1) This was one of the last songs recorded for the album. As the song was being finished up in the studio, band member Andrew Farriss brought in a song that he had written called "Mediate." It was based on a poem that he had composed. Apparently when Farriss played his demo in the studio, "Need You Tonight" was playing in the background. It was quickly noticed that the two songs shared a tempo and basically the same rhythm. Producer Chris Thomas came up with the idea to segue the songs together on the album much like Queen did with "We Will Rock You" and "We Are the Champions" for their 1977 album News of the World. The melding of the two tracks worked well. However, when it came time to release the single, only "Need You Tonight" was released. "Mediate" wasn't even included as a b-side.  2) Although "Need You Tonight" was released as a single without "Mediate," for the associated video the two songs were used together. The portion for "Need You Tonight" combined some animation with layered images of the band. The part for "Mediate" had band members one at a time flipping through cue cards that went along with the lyrics of the song. This was an homage to a video that was shot for Bob Dylan's 1965 song "Subterranean Homesick Blues," which was Dylan's first single to make the US Pop chart (#39). The video served as the opening portion of the documentary Don't Look Back, which chronicled Dylan's 1965 tour of England. In the video, Dylan is filmed in a hotel alley flipping through cue cards that go along with the song. He and fellow folk/rock star Donovan created the cue cards. Some of the cards featured misspelled words, which INXS mimicked for their video. The INXS video would go on to win five MTV Music Video Award including Video of the Year.


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