INXS тоғызыншы альбомы: «Сәнді ысырап»

the album

Elegantly Wasted is the tenth studio album by Australian rock band INXS. It was released on 15 April 1997, and is the final album recorded with lead singer Michael Hutchence before his death in November that same year. The band had spent April 1996 rehearsing in London and moved over to Vancouver to record with producer Bruce Fairbairn the same month. Production of the album was completed by Hutchence and songwriter and multi instrumentalist Andrew Farriss in Spain later the same year. Two songs that did not make the final cut of the album were included on the Bang the Drum EP (2004). The album's title is from Hutchence, with the single itself trying to recapture the magic and groove of the Kick album, particularly the single, "Need You Tonight". All three Farriss brothers dedicated the album to their mother, Jill, who died in 1995.

In June 1994, INXS ended their US contract with Atlantic Records, and signed a new worldwide record deal with PolyGram/Mercury Records; however, the group agreed to release one final record through the Atlantic label The Greatest Hits. Released several months later on 31 October, the compilation included two new songs: "The Strangest Party (These Are the Times)" and "Deliver Me". After a long break, INXS reconvened in 1996 to record their tenth studio album, Elegantly Wasted, their last with Hutchence. In 1995, Hutchence already began work on his self titled solo album; the project was put on hold until Elegantly Wasted was completed. In an interview with The Album Network magazine in March 1997, Hutchence said, "We really wanted to get off the old carousel for a while. As a band, we have recorded an album every twelve to eighteen months over the last five or six years. This helped to create a situation resulting in a lot of personal and business friction within the band, as well as the record label, at the time of the completion of our last studio album Full Moon, Dirty Hearts. With the completion of the album, we also fulfilled our contract with Atlantic Records. So, it just seemed like the logical time to take a break". PolyGram studios in London paired the band with Canadian producer Bruce Fairbairn, their first and only collaboration.

With both Hutchence and Farriss living in London, the songwriting duo first started talking about a new record over the phone. After spending months talking about new ideas, the pair finally got together, and began working on new material. which included an early version of the song "Searching". The remaining members of INXS flew out to meet Hutchence and Farriss in London. They put the finishing touches on the existing demo tapes, as well as compose new recordings. One of the first songs to be completed during these sessions was "Searching". The band first previewed the song live at the Australian ARIA Music Awards in September 1996. Before meeting with Fairbairn, the band sent him all the material they had been working on. Upon receiving the material Fairbairn commented, "I was impressed with the feel and the different sounds that they'd been using." He added, "I actually ended up suggesting that we might want to save some of the stuff on the demos – because the chances were that when we were back in the studio we wouldn't be able to recreate that vibe". During their time in New York, the band were asked to appear on numerous talk shows to perform the album's brand new single, "Elegantly Wasted", including the Rosie O'Donnell show on 16 April and the Late Show with David Letterman on 22 April. The group would play three more shows in cities across North America, finishing up at the Mayan Theater in Los Angeles, California on 24 April. The first leg of the international tour brought the band to South Africa, their first and only tour of the country. A few days before playing their first show at the 3 Arts Theatre in Cape Town on 29 May, The video was shot by long time collaborator and friend Nick Egan, inside a large plane hangar on an airstrip located in Cape Town. After playing a show in Durban, On 31 August, the tour moved north into Canada, with shows being played in Montreal, Quebec and Toronto, Ontario. In November, the band returned to Sydney, Australia to prepare for their homecoming tour. Before setting off on a thirteen date trek around Australia on 23 November, the band set up for rehearsal sessions at ABC Studios. The homecoming tour was quickly cancelled when the death of Hutchence was announced on 22 November.

The album did not perform as well as anticipated. In the US it only reached number 41 on the Billboard Top 200.