INXS "Full Moon, Dirty Hearts (France, Mercury Records, 518 637-2)"

Full Moon, Dirty Hearts is the ninth studio album by Australian rock band INXS. It was released on 1 November 1993, through East West Records in Australia and in the United Kingdom by Phonogram's Mercury Records label. and by Atlantic Records in the United States. It was followed by the Dirty Honeymoon world tour of 1993–1994.

"Please (You Got That ...)" featured vocals by Ray Charles; the title track featured vocals by the Pretenders lead singer, Chrissie Hynde, however the latter was not released as a single, while the former was.

The band's manager, Chris Murphy, arranged to shoot videos for every song on the album. Twelve videos were shot on a small budget by different up and coming Australian directors.

The Japanese edition of the album included a cover of Steppenwolf's "Born to Be Wild", which was specially recorded for the April 1993 launch of Virgin Radio in the UK.

As INXS were finishing their previous studio album Welcome to Wherever You Are, they decided not to tour in support for the album; instead the group promised to go straight into the studio to record a follow-up album, then later tour for both albums.

Following the release of Welcome to Wherever You Are, the band spent the next few months promoting the album across various countries in Europe, including the UK, France and Sweden. While promoting the album in Europe, vocalist Michael Hutchence visited then girlfriend Helena Christensen in her home city of Copenhagen in Denmark. The couple were returning home on their bikes one night when Hutchence, who was standing in an alley with his bike, was punched from behind by a taxi driver and fell to the ground, hitting his head on the curb. He sustained a fractured skull and suffered the loss of his senses of smell and taste, and spent two weeks recovering in a Copenhagen hospital. In the unofficial biography Michael Hutchence: A Tragic Rock & Roll Story, Australian author Vince Lovegrove wrote, "It had a very strange effect on Michael. The alleged injury also caused the singer to act erratically, abusively and to suffer insomnia". These conditions had an impact on the production of Full Moon, Dirty Hearts.

The album was written soon after the release and promotion of the band's previous album, Welcome to Wherever You Are, at the end of November 1992. The album was recorded and produced at Capri Studio on the Isle of Capri in Italy and completed in February 1993. The Capri Studio had just reopened during the recording of Welcome to Wherever You Are and after spotting an ad for it in a trade magazine, Hutchence and producer Mark Opitz insisted that the band should record their next record there. Rehearsals for Full Moon, Dirty Hearts took place at Hutchence's villa in the south of France in October 1992 where the group were often distracted by other celebrities and supermodels who Hutchence regularly invited. The group decided to set off to the Isle of Capri early, arriving on the island one month after rehearsals. The journey was long and tiring for all members of the band as it took them almost two days of travelling to get there. Once on the island, each member of the band received their own villa, with the studio itself located close by; the studio sat atop a steep cliff, overlooking the Bay of Naples. Guitarist and saxophonist Kirk Pengilly recalls, "It was like a five-star Alcatraz". Hutchence and Opitz shared a villa on the island with Hutchence living upstairs and Opitz living downstairs.

Hutchence's condition raised concerns throughout the recording process. At first he became distraught about being isolated on the island. On the first night, Opitz was awakened at four a.m. to the sound of furniture being smashed upstairs by Hutchence. During one session, Hutchence threatened to stab bassist Gary Beers with a knife after the two had a dispute. Songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Andrew Farriss recalls another incident where Hutchence shoved his microphone straight through the strings of an acoustic guitar while shouting, "We need more aggression on this track!" In the band's 2005 official autobiography – INXS: Story to Story, Pengilly recalls, "Michael had very violent moments. He threw his microphone stand around inside the studio, and he threw violent tantrums all the time". The group took a one-month break for the Christmas period, allowing Hutchence time to recover from his condition and the rest of the band time to spend with their families. Before breaking for the Christmas holidays, the band got half of the album completed. Hutchence returned to his estate in France, later joining Farriss in London to write the last remaining songs for the album.

At the start of the New Year, Hutchence and Farriss returned to the Isle of Capri one week earlier along with Opitz and engineer Niven Garland. Upon returning to the sessions in Capri, Hutchence's behaviour had progressively returned to normal. While riding the hour and a half journey on the ferry from Naples to Capri, Hutchence began writing the lyrics for the album's title track. Chrissie Hynde from The Pretenders would perform the song along with Hutchence. As the remaining members of INXS were preparing to return to the island, Hutchence, Farriss, Opitz and Garland managed to get six more tracks for the album finished including, "Days of Rust", "Please (You Got That...)", "Freedom Deep", "Kill the Pain", "Viking Juice" and the title track. Production of the album came to an end in late February 1993 with everyone spending the final night capturing ideas and doing last minute touch ups on some of the tracks. The following morning, INXS caught the morning ferry back to Naples to prepare for their journey to Paris to carry out additional work on the album. Opitz took the recording tapes to Los Angeles where he mixed them with mixing engineer Bob Clearmountain. Clearmountain previously engineered and mixed the band's best selling album, Kick.

While recording overdubs at a studio in Paris, Hutchence and Farriss discovered that Ray Charles was recording at the same studio. The pair asked his engineer if Charles would be interested in recording vocals on two tracks for the album, "Make Your Peace" and "Please (You Got That...)". Charles passed on "Make Your Peace" because he thought the key was too high for his voice but he agreed to perform vocals on "Please (You Got That...)". The duet between Hutchence and Charles took place at Charles’ own recording studio in Los Angeles. Charles agreed to appear in the song's music video and would also perform the song live with INXS (a few days before the album's release) on the Late Show with David Letterman. The mixing of the album was completed by Opitz in July back on Capri while the band were touring some of the new songs on their Get Out of the House tour throughout the spring and summer.

Following the positive response to the sold-out UK Get Out of the House Tour in 1993, Full Moon, Dirty Hearts received mixed reviews on its release." In his AllMusic review, Stephen Thomas Erlewine rated the album two stars and said, "Full Moon, Dirty Hearts sounds tired and as calculated as X." He concluded his review by stating, "INXS sounds energetic throughout the album, but the experimentation is poorly executed and there is a serious lack of strong songs and singles, apart from two duets: "Please (You Got That ...)" with Ray Charles and the title track, which features Chrissie Hynde."

Christian Wright rated the album three stars in his review for Rolling Stone. Although he criticised INXS for sounding like other artists on some of the album's songs, he did praise the album's third single, "Time". He wrote, "Thankfully, on "Time," with its guitar and vocal counterpoint, the band sounds like itself, and Hutchence resumes the instinctive swagger that made him a video star."

The Daily Telegraph cited this as the band's' "most exciting album for years; Exile on main Street is the sound of a band getting back to the greasy basics. Full Moon, Dirty Hearts is INXS at their stomping best." Music critic J.D. Considine of The Baltimore Sun said in his review. "There's plenty of edge to the material here, from the dense, dark throb of 'The Gift' to the grungy Stones-like snarl of 'The Messenger, ' but that hardly takes away from the music's melodic appeal. He said it's the bands freshest sounding effort in ages."

Greg Kot, of the Chicago Tribune wrote in his review saying, like the stones at their peak, Inxs takes bits of what's hot-grunge, techno, hip-hop-and makes it their own. He said the loose mix of dirty guitars and warped ambiance, plus winning cameos by Ray Charles and Chrissie Hynde, make "Full Moon, Dirty Hearts" the equal of anything Inxs has ever released. Philadelphia Daily News Chuck Arnold, Praised live-sounding cuts like "Days of Rust," "The Gift" and "The Messenger," prove they tear it up like a rough-and-rowdy bar band getting paid with all the beer they can drink, He insisted best are the Stones- style blues- rockers like "Please (You Got That...)" and the understatedly emotional ballad "Kill the Pain." All show that Hutchence still has, one of the best voices in modern Rock."

At the time, the band had been hyping up their new-found raw and "grungy" sound. The album's release marked a steep downturn in terms of sales, with the issue of only two singles worldwide: "The Gift" and "Please (You Got That ...)".

Full Moon, Dirty Hearts entered the Billboard Top 200 in November 1993. It peaked at number 53 and lasted only five weeks in the charts. The album did perform better outside the States having charted at number 3 in the United Kingdom and number 4 in Australia, earning gold certifications in both countries.

Track listing

All tracks are written by Andrew Farriss and Michael Hutchence, except where noted

1. "Days of Rust" 3:08
2. "The Gift" Jon Farriss, Michael Hutchence and Kirk Pengilly 4:03
3. "Make Your Peace" 2:40
4. "Time" 2:52
5. "I'm Only Looking" 3:31
6. "Please (You Got That...)" (featuring Ray Charles) 3:02
7. "Full Moon, Dirty Hearts" (featuring Chrissie Hynde) 3:29
8. "Freedom Deep" 3:59
9. "Kill the Pain" 3:00
10. "Cut Your Roses Down" 3:28
11. "The Messenger" 3:28
12. "Viking Juice" 3:11

Total length: 39:51

CD has white background.

Recording information:

Additional recording and mixing at Studio Guillaume Tell (Suresnes, France); Olympic Studios and Westside Studios (London, UK); A&M Studios (Hollywood, California, USA).

Mastered at The Town House (London, UK).

Mark Opitz – producer, mixing (2, 4, 6, 7, 8, 10, 12)

INXS – producers, front cover design

Chris Kimsey – vocal producer (7)

Bob Clearmountain – mixing (1, 3, 9, 10)

Niven Garland – engineer, mixing (2, 4, 6, 7, 8, 10, 12)

Brian Eno – mixing (5)

Max Carola – assistant engineer

Ben Fenner – assistant engineer

Alex Firla – assistant engineer

Bruce Keen – assistant engineer

Pete Lewis – assistant engineer

John Mansey – assistant engineer

Melissa Van Twest – assistant engineer

Randy Wine – assistant engineer

Kevin Metcalfe – mastering engineer

Michael Nash – design

Enrique Badulescu – front cover photography

Garry Beers – inside photography

Leslie Farriss – inside photography

Katerina Jebb – inside photography

Billy Joel "The Ultimate Collection"

The Ultimate Collection is a double-disc compilation album by American singer-songwriter Billy Joel. It was first released by Sony Music Entertainment Japan in December 2000, and subsequently issued in the most of European and Oceanian countries with slightly different track listings (replacing Japanese top-3 charting hit "The Stranger" with live version of "You're My Home").

This career-spanning compilation features some of Joel's early notable compositions and hit singles which were disregarded on his Greatest Hits series, although several hits and fan favorites like "Only the Good Die Young", "Captain Jack", "Vienna", "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant", "Pressure" and "Big Shot" were excluded alternatively. It became a smash hit worldwide, entering top-5 on the charts in many countries, including United Kingdom.

The Ultimate Collection was not issued in the United States, however Legacy Recordings released another similar compilation The Essential in October 2001.

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Billy Joel

Disc one

1. "Just the Way You Are" The Stranger, 1977 4:50
2. "My Life" 52nd Street, 1978 4:43
3. "It's Still Rock and Roll to Me" Glass Houses, 1980 2:57
4. "An Innocent Man" An Innocent Man, 1983 5:18
5. "Piano Man" Piano Man, 1973 5:37
6. "You're My Home" Piano Man 3:12
7. "Everybody Loves You Now" (Live version) Songs in the Attic, 1981 3:11
8. "The Entertainer" Streetlife Serenade, 1974 3:40
9. "Streetlife Serenader" Streetlife Serenade 5:16
10. "New York State of Mind" Turnstiles, 1976 6:03
11. "Say Goodbye to Hollywood" Turnstiles 4:38
12. "She's Got a Way" (Live version) Songs in the Attic 3:00
13. "Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)" The Stranger 3:29
14. "She's Always a Woman" The Stranger 3:20
15. "Honesty" 52nd Street 3:49
16. "You May Be Right" Glass Houses 4:12
17. "Don't Ask Me Why" Glass Houses 2:57
18. "Miami 2017 (Seen the Lights Go Out on Broadway)" (Live version) Songs in the Attic 5:09

Disc two

1. "Uptown Girl" An Innocent Man 3:16
2. "Tell Her About It" An Innocent Man 3:50
3. "The River of Dreams" River of Dreams, 1993 4:07
4. "The Longest Time" An Innocent Man 3:37
5. "We Didn't Start the Fire" Storm Front, 1989 4:47
6. "Goodnight Saigon" The Nylon Curtain, 1982 7:02
7. "Allentown" The Nylon Curtain 3:49
8. "All for Leyna" Glass Houses 4:12
9. "This Is the Time" The Bridge, 1986 4:59
10. "Leave a Tender Moment Alone" An Innocent Man 3:53
11. "A Matter of Trust" The Bridge 4:08
12. "Modern Woman" The Bridge 3:50
13. "Baby Grand" (Duet with Ray Charles) The Bridge 4:04
14. "I Go to Extremes" Storm Front 4:21
15. "Leningrad" Storm Front 4:03
16. "The Downeaster 'Alexa'" Storm Front 3:43
17. "You're Only Human (Second Wind)" Greatest Hits Volume II, 1985 4:48
18. "All About Soul" (Remix) Greatest Hits Volume III, 1997 5:58

Billy Joel "The Bridge (1998 Japan Remaster, Blu Spec CD, SICP-20133)"

The Bridge is the tenth studio album by American singer-songwriter Billy Joel, released on July 9, 1986. It was Joel's last studio album produced by Phil Ramone as well as the last to feature Joel's long-time bassist Doug Stegmeyer and rhythm guitarist Russell Javors. The album yielded several successful singles, including "A Matter of Trust" (peaking at No. 10), "Modern Woman" (which also appeared on the Ruthless People soundtrack, peaking at No. 10), and "This Is the Time" (peaking at No. 18).

Joel began work on the album—on which two of his major influences (Ray Charles and Steve Winwood) made guest appearances—in 1985. Charles sang a duet with Joel on the song "Baby Grand", and Winwood played Hammond organ on the song "Getting Closer"; Charles and Winwood later covered "Baby Grand" and "Getting Closer" respectively in concert. Other notable musicians who made guest appearances on the album include jazz musicians Ron Carter and Michael Brecker, who both played on the jazzy track "Big Man on Mulberry Street".

The album also had some New wave influences. For instance, the first song, "Running on Ice", is heavily influenced by the music of the Police, and "Modern Woman" borrows heavily from the styles of Huey Lewis and the News. The final song recorded for the album, "Code of Silence", featured Cyndi Lauper who contributed backing vocals and received co-writing credit for the lyrics; she later covered that song herself in concert. Joel would return the favor by contributing backing vocals on Lauper's song "Maybe He'll Know" for her 1986 album True Colors.

The Bridge was Joel's last album to carry the "Family Productions" logo which had appeared on all of Joel's albums up to that time as part of a deal that Columbia Records made to get Joel out of his first recording contract with Artie Ripp's Family Productions. In the closing song of the album—"Getting Closer"—Joel makes several of what are clearly attacks and observations on the iron-clad contract with Ripp, with references to "my stolen youth", "all the conmen and their acrobats who stomped me in the ground", and "I must live up to contracts".

Reviewing in Christgau's Record Guide: The '80s (1990), Robert Christgau said: "Maybe [Joel's] youthful lyricism, meaning his knack for the tearjerker, is abandoning him. … Here he's best when he's brassy and literal: failed wise guy in 'Big Man on Mulberry Street,' Ray Charles's coequal on 'Baby Grand.' And even at his most rockin' he's seventy-five years retro whether he likes it or not—whenever he doesn't hit it just right you want to quarantine him for life in Atlantic City."

In a retrospective interview, Joel said: "Not a happy album. I wasn’t simpatico with the musicians, some of whom I’d been working with a long time. I don’t think the material was good; I was pressured by management to put it out too fast. By the end, I sort of gave up caring, which for me was unusual. I remember reading bad reviews and agreeing with them."

Billy later admitted to Rolling Stone that at the time of the album's writing and recording, he was in no mood to be in the studio, saying "Christie and I had just had Alexa, and I'd have much rather have been home with the baby..." This angst over leaving his wife and daughter at home was poured into the album track "Temptation".

Track listing

All songs composed by Billy Joel, except "Code of Silence" written by Joel and Cyndi Lauper.

1. "Running on Ice" – 3:15
2. "This Is the Time" – 4:59
3. "A Matter of Trust" – 4:09
4. "Modern Woman" – 3:48
5. "Baby Grand" (duet with Ray Charles) – 4:02
6. "Big Man on Mulberry Street" – 5:26
7. "Temptation" – 4:12
8. "Code of Silence" (backing vocals by Cyndi Lauper) – 5:15
9. "Getting Closer" – 5:00

Producer – Phil Ramone

Production coordinator – Joseph D'Ambrosio

Engineer – Jim Boyer

Associate engineers – Steve Boyer, David Dickson, Bradshaw Leigh and Fred Tenny.

Technical support – Ricki Begin, Peter Bergren, Mark Betts, Steve Buller, Cary Butler, Gary Ciuzio, Ed Evans, Bruce Howell, Joe Lopes, Frank Rodriguez, Billy Rothschild, Joe Salvatto, Audrey Tanaka and Phil Vachon.

Support system – Barry Bongiovi, Jim Flynn and The Power Station staff.

Digitally recorded at The Power Station, Chelsea Sound and RCA Recording Studios (New York, NY); Evergreen Studios (Burbank, CA).

Mixed at The Power Station (New York, NY).

Mastering by Ted Jensen at Sterling Sound (New York, NY).

Acoustic piano supplied by Yamaha.

Design – Mark Larson

Cover painting – Brad Holland

Photography – Patrick Demarchelier

Sleeve photos – Larry Busacca, Phil Ramone and Charles Reilly.