Live Baby Live (2CD+DVD)

Strap yourselves in, this is gonna be a long review...For a lot of people who grew up in the 1980s, INXS featured prominently on the soundtrack to their lives. From humble beginnings, the band toiled away diligently in pubs and clubs across Australia before transcending the geographical limitations of their home market to make a name for themselves overseas. Their successful transition to international acclaim and superstardom was something that many Aussies felt extremely proud of and this show at Wembley, one of the most iconic stadium venues in the world, was truly the peak of their career.Unfortunately, things were never quite the same after this with subsequent studio albums offering little to none of the magic that made them so great for many years. As the musical landscape changed in the 1990s, it seemed that their popularity had begun to wane and their music wasn’t connecting with people the way it had before. It was sad to witness the decline in album sales and concert attendances, but perhaps there was still hope they might turn it around (or gain popularity again as a legacy act one day). Alas, that opportunity never quite eventuated, with the tragic passing of Michael Hutchence in 1997. For many, his death also signalled the end of INXS, even if the remaining members of the band tried to continue with numerous other singers in the ensuing years, none of whom really had the charisma or charm of Hutchence.Releasing this show as a standalone live album is a little peculiar. Fans would be well aware of the original “Live Baby Live” album (released in 1991) which featured a selection of tracks recorded in different locations across the globe as they toured in support of the album “X”. That live album was purely focussed on the hits (with an additional studio track, “Shining Star” thrown in for no apparent reason), and you could’ve been excused for believing that release was a good representation of their live show. But it wasn’t though. Not entirely anyway.This two-disc Wembley-only recording is a more realistic showcase of the band’s shows during this era as it features numerous tracks from the “X” album which may never have been released as singles (and if they were, they received virtually no support from radio back then and would be unfamiliar to casual listeners). The inclusion of some of these tracks in the set is probably the biggest drawback of this recording because they are quite weak and interrupt the flow of an otherwise fantastic performance.INXS has an extraordinarily deep body of work to draw from and if one was to devise a setlist comprising only tracks that received consistent airplay in the 80s and 90s, you wouldn’t need to include these filler songs. Primarily, there are three offending tracks that could’ve been swapped out. Despite a reasonably energetic chorus, “Know the Difference” is lyrically, vocally and musically impotent. It’s entirely forgettable. Track 10, “Lately”, starts off with some keyboard layers which provide an eerie ambience before a beautiful sax solo grabs your attention. It seems interesting enough and this goes on for two minutes until the track switches vibe completely and morphs into something that sounds like leftovers from the “Kick” album. It never quite goes anywhere though and feels quite repetitive.The penultimate track in the show is “Who Pays the Price” and although it features some cool harmonica playing from Andrew Farriss (who doesn’t love a hoedown?), it’s not enough to salvage what is a really ordinary piece of music. You might be tempted to sing along but the track has no emotional pull whatsoever and is placed terribly in the order – right before the classic “Devil Inside” which closes the show.I can think of several other stronger and more well-known tracks that would’ve elevated this show: “Falling Down the Mountain (Kiss the Dirt)”, “Listen Like Thieves” and “Don’t Change”. The four tracks from the original 1991 release that aren’t part of this Wembley show, “One X One”, “Burn For You”, “The One Thing” and “This Time” (which feature in that order on that release) all would’ve been better inclusions.Understandably, the band was keen to promote and highlight their latest album at the time with 9 songs from “X” featuring in the show. But it wasn’t an especially strong album and hasn’t held up well over time. It’s certainly not as strong as “Kick” which has virtually no filler on it and each and every song has its place. Perhaps for that very reason, 10 of the 22 tracks on this recording are from “Kick” which really emphasises the quality of that release. So there are only three songs that aren’t from either “Kick” or “X” and that is a great shame, given the richness of their discography.Beyond my concerns about the setlist, there is another rather troubling aspect of this live album and that’s the recording itself. I remember watching the DVD of this show many years ago and don’t recall any audio deficiencies (although it was about 14 or 15 years ago now). In fact, the show was thoroughly enjoyable, even with the inclusion of the filler tracks mentioned above, because it was just so incredible to witness the band visually – especially Hutchence. He really was dynamic and charismatic in so many ways, with a unique combination of larrikin Aussie and genuine rock-star. He worked the crowd with ease, he interacted with his bandmates, he strutted around the stage and he really helped drive the performance. For good measure, he also threw in a few bits of cheeky banter. Unfortunately, the recording here is rather dull and lacks presence that befits his energy. In fact, it could be passed off as a bootleg recording. The audio mix during certain tracks is also quite poor and elements like guitar get drowned out (for example, during “Original Sin”, which is a bit underwhelming overall, compared to the original studio version).Live recordings can and often do sound incredible when done well. Numerous examples come to mind of bands that have recorded live shows which, because of the level of care and attention given to the sonic details of the recording, have often sounded better than their studio counterparts. Sepultura, Queensryche, Tears for Fears, Dave Matthews Band, Marillion, Gojira, Porcupine Tree, Dream Theater, U2…and many more have all released exceptional live albums that really enhance their music or give it a new energy. It’s such a shame that even after all these years, with better technology at their disposal, INXS (and whoever else was involved in the mixing of this album) couldn’t produce a better souvenir of this show. In that sense, it’s a little disappointing. Just by the way, I compared this recording with the original 1991 release and actually found this one to be louder overall, but not all parts have been elevated equally. Perhaps that’s the major difference here; it’s possibly just an upgrade to volume only on source recordings that weren’t that great to begin with.Piano seems to have a more prominent place in this recording too and is also used to drive songs like the aforementioned “Original Sin” which was led by guitar originally. That seems to affect its overall impact and it loses some of the harder, more serious edge.Despite these complaints, this is an otherwise entertaining and enjoyable live show from a band that, as a proud Aussie, maintains a special place in my heart. Many of the songs featured on this album (and the 1991 release) are absolute classics; the perfect amalgamation of pop and rock with an occasional harder edge which is what drew me to them in the first place and would serve as a gateway to exploring much more intense (or heavier) music later on in my life.I regret not seeing INXS live when I was younger and had they rolled their old bones around in their later years for a farewell tour or similar, with Michael still at the helm, I would’ve surely bought a ticket. This will have to do instead. And while it’s not a perfect recording, it is a fantastic show nonetheless and showcases a once great Aussie band on the peak of the mountain. Playing to the massive audience at Wembley, the band was in fine form and listening to the show elicits a very joyous response within. It’s just one of those albums that makes you happy and that’s what INXS music had the power to do.

Excelente audio y imágen, imperdible.

The thought of a rescanned and remastered release of this concert was always going to draw me in. Having purchased this show a few times previously it wasn’t going to be a day one purchase. I thought I’d wait and read some reviews first and there appears to be a 50 fifty split on whether it’s coin well spent. Here’s what this reviewer thinks…This concert was first released to home video as a stand alone VHS / Laserdisc or as part of the deluxe box set for the 1991 “Live Baby Live” album (titled the same as this release but a completely different album). It was released to DVD in 2001 with stereo sound and reissued two years later with 5.1 surround. The concert was reissued again in 2012 when INXS took over distribution of their own catalogue via the Petrol Electric label. Then in 2014 the audio was released for the first time on CD as “Live at Wembley Stadium ‘91” before finally (for now anyway) being retitled as “Live Baby Live” in 2019 and released in a number of different formats including 4K, Blu-ray, CD, Vinyl LP and various video audio combo packs. This review is about the Blu-ray / CD combo.Originally shot on film it makes complete sense that this concert has been given some love before it’s re-release in 2019. Not only has it been rescanned in HD it has also been reframed in widescreen 16:9 for modern day television screens. I don’t own 4K tech (which this concert is also available as) but I have to say the visual results for Blu-ray are quite amazing. Pin sharp picture if you like. The other elements namely the soundtrack have also been given a clean up. The entire concert features remixed audio by none other than Abbey Road stalwart Giles Martin. A vast improvement over the sometimes muddy audio that plagued all previous releases. In particular the Dolby Atmos mix is very impressive, if you have the tech it’s most definitely worth the upgrade. The audio discs are similarly impressive featuring Giles’ stereo remix.All three discs are packaged in an eight panel digipak and also includes a cd sized 16 page booklet with reminiscing from INXS members. The only negative, which is why a four star rating has been given, the absence of the two extra video features included on the previous DVD. A wonderful backstage behind the scenes video called “Wembley XS” and an interview piece with the band called “Talk Baby Talk”. I can only assume these features are missing due to copyright or because they were standard definition video.I’ve read some criticism that a number of hits are missing from the set list. Let’s be clear this was never meant to be a greatest hits show. Promoting their then current album “X” is why there is a high number of songs from that album, a multi million seller all over the world. The number of tunes from “X” is therefore expected, even though this was a huge concert event, in reality it was just another gig on a very extensive world tour. Personally I love that album and enjoy the non single tracks from “X”.This set is a fantastic presentation of the newly restored concert film “Live Baby Live”, if you are a fan “do yourself a favour” and have a look, apart from the missing extra features this reviewer is super impressed.“Story to story, building to building, street to street we pass each other on The Stairs..”

Grandissimo live in 4k

標題のとおり買って良かったです。なぜかINXSは今でもすきです。4K UHDでも良かった気がします。まぁでもCDでがついてるからこちらかな？CDなら持ち出しもできるのでこちらが正解。末永くつきあわせていただきます。