The Best of INXS [Rhino] (CD - 2002)

Compilation producers: INXS, David McLees, Emily Cagan, Karen Ahmed, David Edwards.

All tracks have been digitally remastered.

Personnel: Kirk Pengilly (vocals, guitar, saxophone); Michael Hutchence (vocals); Andrew Farriss (guitar, keyboards); Tim Farriss (guitar); James Morrison (brass); Jon Farriss (drums); Sunil DeSilva (percussion); Sean Kelly, Daryl Hall, Deni Hines, Frank Simms, Kim Liat Edwards, David Spinner, Jenny Morris, Norma Lewis (background vocals).

Audio Mixers: Mark Opitz; Nick Launay; Niven Garland; Bob Clearmountain.

Audio Remasterers: Don Bartley; Mark Opitz; Andrew Farriss.

Audio Remixers: Julian Mendelsohn; Mark Opitz.

Liner Note Authors: Jon Farriss; Kirk Pengilly; Andrew Farriss; Tim Farriss.

Recording information: A&M Recording Studios, Hollywood, CA; Capri Digital Studios, Capri, Italy; Emerald City Studios, Sydney, New South Wales, Australi; Manor Studios, Oxford, England; Olympic Studios, London, England; Paradise Studios, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia; Rhinoceros Recordings, Sydney, New South Wales, Austral; Studio De La Grande Armee, Paris, France; Studio Guillaume Tell, Suresnes, France; The Power Station, NY; Westside Studios, London, England.

Photographers: Eugene Adebari; Michael Halsband; Andrew Southam.

Following a year after Rhino's double-disc set Shine Like It Does, Rhino's The Best of INXS trumps the 1994 set Greatest Hits in the single-disc sweepstakes, but just barely. Over the course of 21 tracks, this does have nearly all of the hits, plus many of the bigger album tracks. What dents this a bit is the lack of a logical, chronological sequencing, along with a few absent key tracks, such as "The Stairs." For most of the audience, these songs won't be consciously missed, yet it does suggest that this could have been assembled better than it was. Nevertheless, it's perfectly serviceable as a collection of highlights, presenting all the group's big hits, from "Original Sin" to "Beautiful Girl," all on one platter, albeit not in chronological order. The band would have been better-served by a straight chronological listing -- particularly because lousy tunes like "Taste It" arrive so early in the album -- but apart from that, this is en enjoyable overview, containing all the biggest hits on one disc. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Even though it encompasses only one disc, BEST OF INXS is a fairly comprehensive, 21-track offering that hits on virtually all of the group's well known high points and visits some more obscure material as well. In light of singer Michael Hutchence's tragic suicide, it's tempting to look on the Australian band's oeuvre through a gray mist, but that would be to deny everything Hutchence, the Farriss brothers, and the rest of the INXS boys were about. As this disc shows, they were a high-energy party band with one foot in Stones-influenced rock (Hutchence's strutting stage presence gave Mick Jagger a run for his money) and frothy, new wave-flavored dance-pop. From the darkly majestic early hit "The One Thing" through the heartfelt romanticism of "This Time" and the pumping, danceable "Listen Like Thieves" and "Devil Inside" INXS placed entertainment value above all else. BEST OF INXS is an effective showcase for the canny popcraft of a band whose career was stalled too soon. minimize