ANDREW ON THE MUSIC
I wrote the music to this after changing the chords, tempo, riff and arrangement around three times before I was happy to play the music to anyone. I think Michael liked the music from the moment he heard it and it is definately a song that the band have got their teeth into. The guitar playing between Kirk and Tim in the riff and Middle 8 section is a screamer. Gives me goosebumps - whatever they are.
MICHAEL ON THE LYRICS
These are days of rust but the song is attempting to be more positive, maybe with me screaming "I've Got Plans To Prove Them Wrong."
JON ON THE MUSIC
I was staying at Michael's house and had many discussions with him defining exactly what feeling and musical impression we wanted to portray on this record. "The Gift" (working title 'Sud De France 3') is what I came up with. I used a driving hypnotic beat with a really distorted bass line that supported a hypnotic guitar riff to create a sense of tension. The chorus was to amplify that tension with a disturbing, screaming ambient roar. Michael's melody complimented that feel, and made the song exactly what Michael and I had wanted to achieve. This was a catalyst in many ways for a similar style to continue during the Capri sessions.
MICHAEL ON THE LYRICS
I started with a vocal of melodies and noises over the mad music and found it difficult to put actual lyrics on for weeks. It nearly stayed that way, until I deciphered a line "all these scars are mine", from there I built the words into the song you hear. It deals with accepting yourself through the love of another, The Gift.
ANDREW ON THE MUSIC
I love this song. It has an inbuilt R & B flavour which the band handled right. The verse is kind of a chorus too. The band makes this song, especialy the Middle *, which Tim and I layered with guitar and keyboards until it was right. My favourite vocal delivery too.
MICHAEL ON THE LYRICS
Peace is not easy. You have to understand similarities and differences and respect them to make a while.
ANDREW ON THE MUSIC
This song we were fooling around with for our previous album "Welcome To Wherever You Are" but as Michael had damaged his voice at the end of the X tour we couldn't finish it. We knew we wanted a slightly different direction musically on this album and as the working title for this song was "Darling Bendover" it just had to be right. Michael finished the lyrics he started in 1991 and I changed the chorus around, dropped a bridge and Time was delivered in time on time.
MICHAEL ON THE LYRICS
I started the lyrics in Australia in '91 and finished them in Capri in early '93. Ironically the song deals with time and it's power over us.
ANDREW ON THE MUSIC
I was trying to combine a fast beat and driving rhythm with slow melody. It is one of my favourite tracks and I particularly like the song arrangement that we put together which is unusual and has mostly odd bar changes.
MICHAEL ON THE LYRICS
This is a song about intrigue and curiosity. The darker side of "The world is your oyster".
ANDREW ON THE MUSIC
We had (Michael & I) this drum beat thing happening which I already had recorded on tape with a completely different song around it. The drum beat turned into a melody by Michael and I played a nasty chop-like guitar rhythm adding a bridge and verse riff. This song is sort of in bed with "Make Your Peace" and to me both are related to our love of R & B and Motown records made years ago, which have always influenced our writing in the band. Michael's vocal delivery and Tim's guitar playing really bring the track alive on the record.
MICHAEL ON THE LYRICS
Life, love and lust can be strange bedfellows.
ANDREW ON THE MUSIC
I like blues music. Always have. I was just being self indulgent here and luckily Michael could get into it, right into it in fact. The song started out a little different musically with a riff but I changed it. God knows why, we writers are liable to do that! Michael and Chrissy Hynde's vocal deliveries really make the tune come alive. I love the lyrics. I love the song. Good name for an album...maybe it will be!
MICHAEL ON THE LYRICS
I was coming over to the Island on the last ferry by myself the second time we were recording. I was outside, it was cold and there was a full moon. By the time I had reached the studio I had finished these words. The moon shines eternal over good and bad.
ANDREW ON THE MUSIC
I enjoy mixing Eastern and Western musical styles although obviously it is an INXS song. The chorus melody is something I worked a couple of different times by myself until this version appeared and we were ablet o put it together with relative ease. I love the lyrics - it's supposed to build slowly and rock on.
MICHAEL ON THE LYRICS
I wanted to combine the idea of inner and outer searching into one song.
ANDREW ON THE MUSIC
I think Michael was looking for a gentle, moody piece of music to put his lyrics on top of. I'm glad he liked the music because I think it not only works well with his lyrics but also balances the much more energetic tunes on this album. I believe the song has more appeal every time you hear it.
MICHAEL ON THE LYRICS
These words are dealing with a friend who feels too much, so much they need drugs to deal with the pain they feel everyday.
ANDREW ON THE MUSIC
Simple and funky. Not too much complex to dance to was the idea. Hope it worked. Garry and Jon "interpreted the idea" (as usual) and their performance in particular is a great foundation groove.
MICHAEL ON THE LYRICS
With the rise of certain "neo" groups around the world I was moved to comment on those who blame others for their own predicament.
ANDREW ON THE MUSIC
The original demo feel was much faster, than the way it is on record. The tempo change probably helped the melody which Michael put down. The bridge somehow seemed a lot more funky when the tempo slowed down and the song really came alive at this point. The song has and "out of it" attitude which is interesting as it was done under reasonably salubrious circumstances in Michael's house.
MICHAEL ON THE LYRICS
In some ways this is about the future. Will we have to explain how the world has become with guilt or pride in our faces.
ANDREW ON THE MUSIC
And now for something completely different, a soul feel with poetry reading. Brass stabs and a manic sense of urgency set the stage for a good "murder mystery".
MICHAEL ON THE LYRICS
I was doing recordings some nights just me and the microphone, sometimes it would turn into more than that, this was one of those nights.
