Fifteen million viewers witnessed J.D. Fortune transform from a no-name Canadian Elvis impersonator to the frontman of the legendary Aussie rock group, INXS. While reality TV may not have initially seemed like the most effective recruitment practice, the group's latest album, Switch, proves there just might be substance behind the vanity of celebrity-centered television.
It's been eight years since the sketchy death of INXS's original lead signer, Michael Hutchence. It's also been eight years since the band released an album, a long enough span of time to cast them off as yet another group of talented has-beens, unable to control the luxuries and sacrifices that come with stardom.
But that would be underestimating the power of CBS and Dave Navarro. Sure, this summer's addictive guilty-pleasure "Rock Star: INXS" may have cheapened the band's image and broken the black hearts of their loyal fans. The band certainly understood what the show would do to their reputation. Whether they are deemed as sell-outs, traitors or superficial bandmates playing off the fame of their late lead-signer, INXS took a risk and were ready to deal with the consequences.
In retrospect, however, the show proved to be a much-needed paddle for the band's sinking fame. Their image, sound and target audience may have changed, but Switch just goes to show that change isn't always bad. Additionally, it would also be an insult to Hutchence if the group could preserve all of their original elements without him. What Switch offers is not a recreation, but rather a nostalgic vibe garnished with a fresh sound — a glimpse into the future without forgetting the past.
Switch opens with "Devil's Party," a sultry, horn-dominated track, alluding to a chiseled version of "Original Sin." This chamber pop-inspired piece blends jazzy instrumentals with Fortune's seductive voice, producing a bedroom-orchestra vibe and proving the new lead singer's seamless incorporation into the group.
The numbers speak for themselves on the following track. "Pretty Vegas" debuted at number 27 on the U.S. Billboard charts, the band's highest debut ever. Fortune publicly co-wrote this track on "Rock Star: INXS," securing his triumphant victory. The lead singer crooning the now famous chorus "It ain't pretty, after the show, it ain't pretty when the pretty leaves you, with no place to go," supplements the instruments without consuming the song. Despite his status as lead-signer, Fortune knows INXS is composed of six members, and each member offers their unique qualities without overshadowing the others.
The upbeat, pelvis-shaking vibe resonating throughout Switch is what makes the album such a hit. Those same qualities triggered the group's potent success almost two decades ago. It's refreshing to know they've kept a tight grip on the roots that made them famous. Minus the lethargic ballad "Afterglow," which begins pretty but slows down to a nauseating pace, Switch offers 11 danceable tracks that, despite dicey production, collaborate in such a way that listeners are sure to forget the cheesy American Idol-inspired reality show and simply enjoy the album.
The band takes a stab at funk-rock with "Perfect Strangers." Lyrically, the song humorously glamorizes one-night stands, but it's Kirk Pengilly's sax solo that really pushes this song into the threshold of beautiful. And the galvanizing beat and swelling refrain of "Hungry" is sure to drive the track to Single-land.
Despite Switch's all-encompassing reminiscent vibe, the album lyrically fails to match the band's Hutchence-era records. Fortune can't be the sole-blame for the album's lack of written substance; he proved himself to be a fine lyricist with the aforementioned hit "Pretty Vegas." The fault lies within the hurried production. The album was recorded in less than a month, and while the band managed to record good songs, they neglected to write strong words to accompany their forceful beat.
The sappy song entitled "Remember Who's Your Man" doesn't get any better internally; the opening lines "Driving downtown to your house, your lights are never on/You got me hooked, I wanna drown/Without your hand I'm going down" sounds like an early Backstreet Boys' release. And on "Like it or Not" Fortune embarrassingly preaches, "Like it or not, love is the God." Now that's deep.
Obviously, anyone on a reality show is there for the sole purpose of garnering publicity, praying for popularity, but willing to settle for humiliation. And after it's all said and done, Switch turned out to be better than expected. The album did its job at establishing a patchwork band without overshadowing their previous work. The new INXS may make loyalists cringe, but for everybody else, everybody too young or pop-driven to have befriended the original, Hutchence-lead group, Switch offers them an opportunity to hear what they missed. INXS may be, both literally and figuratively, different, but the surviving members have added Fortune to their new adventure, an adventure that may or may not end successfully.
Grade: B
