INXS - The Swing

The Swing is the fourth studio album by Australian rock band INXS, originally released in May 1984 via WEA Records in Australia, ATCO Records in the US and Mercury Records in Europe.

INXS were formed as The Farriss Brothers in 1977 in Sydney, and began playing covers in Western Australian pubs and clubs, occasionally playing some of their original music. Mainstays of the band were main composer and keyboardist Andrew Farriss, drummer Jon Farriss, guitarists Tim Farriss and Kirk Pengilly, bassist Garry Gary Beers, and main lyricist and vocalist Michael Hutchence. Initially known for their new wave/pop style, INXS later developed a harder pub rock style that included funk and dance elements.

For their fourth studio album The Swing, INXS recorded the album across two sessions in the US with producers Nile Rodgers and Nick Launay. The Nile Rodgers sessions produced the hit single “Original Sin”, with the album featuring a harder edged sound than their previous releases. Rodgers invited Daryl Hall (of the duo Hall and Oats) to sing backing vocals on “Original Sin”.

The album yielded four successful singles, all of which were written by the emerging songwriting partnership between Andrew Farriss and Michael Hutchence. The album reached #1 on the Australian and #52 on the US Billboard 200 Albums charts.

The Swing shows the band more confident in their sound and songwriting abilities, losing some of the new wave and punk influences, leaving a rock band with funk and pop at their core.

Check out the singles:  “Original Sin”; “I Send A Message”; “Burn For You”; and “Dancing On The Jetty”.

This LP record is a “Back to Black” series 2017 reissue on 180 gram heavyweight vinyl with a printed inner sleeve and digital download, pressed in Europe via Mercury Records.