Michael Hutchence (album)


Michael Hutchence is the only solo posthumous album by INXS frontman Michael Hutchence. It was released on 14 December 1999, just over two years after Hutchence's death.
Hutchence began work on what would become his posthumous solo album in 1995 with Tim Simenon. He then phoned Gang of Four guitarist Andy Gill and asked him to play on the album. Ten minutes later he phoned back and asked Gill to co-write the album. Gill joined Hutchence at his house and home studio in Roquefort-les-Pins and over a five-month period continued to write and record in France and London. They were fans of Black Grape and decided to enlist Black Grape producer Danny Saber as co-producer with Gill of the album. After Hutchence's death in 1997, Gill asked U2 singer, and Hutchence's friend, Bono to record additional lyrics which were added to the track "Slide Away".
This album was simply dedicated to "Tiger" in reference to Hutchence's daughter, Heavenly Hiraani Tiger Lily Hutchence. The last song that Hutchence worked on before his death was "Possibilities", which is track 2 on the album.

Commercial performance

In the singer's native Australia, the album entered and peaked at number three on the Australian Albums Chart on the week of 24 October 1999, and spent a total of three weeks in the charts. The album was quickly certified Gold by the Australian Recording Industry Association. In the UK, the album peaked at number 90 and lasted one week in the charts.

Track listing

Critical reception

The album received positive reviews upon its release and was noted by some critics for being dark and moody. Rolling Stone staff writer David Fricke gave the album three and a half out of five stars, stating "Much of the music on this record has a gray chill". He admired the singer's motivation on the record saying "Hutchence was as serious about his craft as he was intoxicated by rock-star living" and that "he set his arena-rock torch singing in a provocative landscape of melancholy-machine music." In his AllMusic review, journalist Carlo Wolff rated the album three stars out of five and wrote "there is enough good material here to warrant a listen, perhaps even shed a tear." He added, "this curious, occasionally exciting collection showcases the more vulnerable side of Hutchence" and that "this autobiographical album resonates beyond its sad, faintly kinky pedigree". Editor and writer Patrick Schabe scored the album 8 out of 10 stars in his review for PopMatters writing "On Michael Hutchence's eponymously titled solo album, it's not a disappointing pastime" and that "this piece is thankfully an incredible success."

Personnel

Charts

Certifications