Thursday, November 3, 2011

"Need You Tonight"

INXS - Need You Tonight (1987)

The music and lyrics were written on the same night on different continents before being brought together.



Great opening guitar riff. Apparently this song has a mix of live recorded drums and drum sequencers. They also used a keyboard with one of those "whammy wheel"pitch changers on it. The whole song is kind of Schizophrenic to me. The drums and keyboard and repetitive electric guitar sound that is plucked out all sound very buttoned up. On the other hand the shouted harmony, breathy lead, thumping bass and loud guitar riffs all sound very hot and loose. Producer Chris Thomas layers these two feels together for a great sexy love song.

Guitarist Andrew Farriss really did write the guitar riff while a cab driver waited to drive him to the airport. After his flight to Hong Kong, he met up with singer Michael Hutchence, who had just written a bunch of lyrics the night before. Multiple sources claim that Hutchense was singing along to the tape the Farriss brought, and both ended at the same time. They new they had something. The abrupt break at the end of the song is because on the album, is segues into Mediate; the song where everything rhymes and they do their best Bob Dylan.

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