Michael Hutchence has had a full day of
"sabre fighting" (otherwise known as fencing). Between dodging swords he has also been learning kick box. "it's a good discipline," he says over the phone from France. "The form I do has a fair bit of spiritual work which interests me very much." His teacher, he says, is getting him ready for a 10-day, no-talking retreat. "I'm not there yet," he says with a nervous laugh. "But it sounds great."Today he's doing a lot of talking. He's plugging INXS' latest album, Full Moon Dirty Hearts. Recorded on the Isle of Capri, Italy, the album is in direct contrast with its predecessor. "Welcome [To Wherever You Are] was quite a big affair with giant orchestras. A bit like the tour we just did, we wanted to strip everything back and, you know, 'Don't bore us, get to the chorus.' We wanted to reestablish the more primitive side of the band."
Mixes by Bob Clearmountain, Chris Kimsey, and Brian Eno add to the album's tough, eclectic sound. In contrast to the back-to-basics blues rockers, one song, "I'm Only Looking," has a warbly, romantic, Bryan Ferry feel. "I was wrting stuff, poetry," Hutchence explains, "and it doesn't usually work that well with music, but I was reading it into a mic and putting it on tape in the wee hours, and I played it to the band and they wanted to put music to it."What's it about? "Shopping as a metaphor to life," the singer says, with a slightly embarrassed laugh. Here's another bit of embarrassment. Did Hutchence know that ex-Prime Minister Kim Campbell, used "New Sensation" as her theme song during the PC leadership convention? "You're kidding! I hadn't heard about that. That's funny. Oh my god, we're being put to ill political end are we?"