Switch (INXS album) 2005
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Switch is the eleventh studio album by the Australian rock band INXS with original material. It was released on 29 November 2005. It is notable for being the only album with new lead singer J.D. Fortune since the 1997 death of Michael Hutchence as well as for having production work by English hit-maker Guy Chambers.
The album received mixed critical reviews. The album’s songwriting and quality from song to song was found to be inconsistent and varied by critics such as Matt Collar of Allmusic. However, some reviewers also complimented frontman J.D. Fortune’s singing as well as the inclusion of guest vocalists such as Suzie McNeil, who had starred with Fortune in the program Rock Star: INXS.
INXS co-founder and original lead singer, Michael Hutchence, died on 22 November 1997, reportedly of suicide. The band went through numerous lead singers following Hutchence’s death, and performed irregularly, including a showing at the 2000 Summer Olympics closing ceremony alongside Men at Work.
INXS were inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame in 2001, as they faded out of the public spotlight.
In 2005, the remaining members of INXS – Andrew Farriss, Garry Gary Beers, Tim Farriss, Kirk Pengilly, and Jon Farriss – joined forces with Mark Burnett to be the subjects of the first series of Rock Star; Rock Star: INXS. Tim Farriss told Entertainment Weekly “after Michael died, we wanted to search the world for a new singer but didn’t know how we could effectively do that … By having Mark … embrace the concept, we’ve now found a fantastic way to make that happen.” J.D. Fortune, a one-time homeless former Elvis impersonator, ultimately won the competition, with Tim Farriss declaring the band chose him because of his “slightly dangerous edge” and “star quality”
The first single released from Switch was “Pretty Vegas”, written by J.D. Fortune and Andrew Farriss. It was released exclusively through iTunes Store on 4 October 2005 for two weeks. Three singles were released from the album in America (“Pretty Vegas”, “Afterglow”, and “Devil’s Party”), with “Pretty Vegas” reaching number 37 on the Billboard Hot 100.
In an interview with guitarist/saxophonist, Kirk Pengilly, the last song in the track listing for Switch, “God’s Top Ten” is dedicated to Michael Hutchence and his daughter, Tiger. It paints Michael as a “wild colonial boy, drifting with the stars.” “God’s Top Ten” was only released as an airplay single in Poland and Canada to promote the album.
The song “Afterglow” is also dedicated to Hutchence.[citation needed]
Through different US digital service providers, the album has bonus tracks. iTunes USA will exclusively carry a non-album cut entitled “Let’s Ride” as well as a digital booklet; MSN will feature a different bonus track entitled “Amateur Night;” Real Rhapsody will carry the familiar ‘Easy Easy’ and Yahoo! Music will host a new mix of ‘Devil’s Party’. After each DSP’s period of exclusivity, the whole package will be made available across all providers.
Upon its release INXS were praised for recapturing their old magic, but some critics commented Fortune may have relied too much on Hutchence’s signature style of singing rather than adopting his own