INXS classic album Listen Like Thieves is 40 years old and to mark the occasion fans can look forward to a new extended edition on CD and vinyl , remixed and remastered by Giles Martin and Paul Hicks.
“It’s been such an honour to work on this pivotal album from INXS’s career. It’s a collection of recordings masterly produced by Chris Thomas, which helped the band define their own style and reach a massive global audience. It’s an iconic rock album of its age,” says Martin.
Working alongside engineer Paul Hicks, Martin has produced an entirely new, stereo mix for the album, all using the original master tapes as their source and all completed with the endorsement of, and in partnership with, the band. Their new take promises “new layers of sonic depth and a fresh dimension” and aims to give fans both old and new a fresh new listening experience.
Plus, Martin has gone in deep to pick out and rework a selection of outtakes and demos from the album’s sessions and even unearth a previously unreleased Live recording by the BBC (of the band live at the Royal Albert Hall in 1986) that the BBC had forgotten that they had…
By all accounts, residents at the gig included Mick Jagger, The Cult, Psychedelic Furs and more, all keen to see what this new, globe conquering band had to offer and demanding a double encore at its closure.
Writing about the gig Kirk Pengilly’s diary entry dated June 24, 1986 reads: “Royal Albert Hall – Sold Out! Fantastic gig, 2 genuine encores and all concerned, happy! Mick Jagger came with Matt Voss……. his favourite song was Biting Bullets.”
What You Need
While still very much a band yet to break out and gain the global recognition that they would soon earn, INXS circa 1985 were already a seasoned and expert live act. Thus when it came to record their next album – Listen Like Thieves – their fifth – the band opted for a more live and direct style of recording.
“We decided to write the album in a rehearsal situation, everybody had ideas in their heads but not many of the songs were written before we rehearsed, and we wrote one song in the studio,” explained lead singer Michael Hutchence to Rolling Stone in October 1985. “It wasn’t the kind of album where you put tracks down bit by bit. We’ve done the album like a live show and what is there is there. We want to present this record as a band - the idea of six people playing together and using traditional sounds.”
The new take on the album comes complete with new sleeve notes by journalist Paul Sexton who sheds a little more light on the album’s background and the mood of and intentions of the band at that time. “This lavish remounting of Listen Like Thieves is a testament to a band whose resolute focus on achieving international renown was rewarded that year with serious sales, a heavyweight hit single and their consecration as flag bearers of the MTV generation,” he writes. “Forty years on, this staging post album – their first in a fruitful relationship with hallowed producer Chris Thomas – is there to be savoured by original fans and new admirers alike.”
The new 40th Anniversary Deluxe Edition not only features the new, full stereo mix of the entire album as we know it but – in 3CD/LP form – also goes on to feature extensive previously unreleased outtakes and demos, a rare BBC Recording, Live From The Royal Albert Hall, London in 1986 and a brand new interview with the band by Paul Sexton.
There’s also a 2CD Extended Edition too, bearing the new album mix on one disc and a selection of B-sides, remixes and live recordings on the second.
Completing the new 40th anniversary line-up is a single LP vinyl version, bearing that new album mix.
“Chris Thomas was one of the most talented and exciting producers we ever had the privilege to work with,” says the band’s Andrew Farris. “From the moment we met, there was no doubt he would bring a new dynamic to our music, his drive and determination helped Michael and I deliver a smash hit in What You Need.
“40 years on, Giles and Paul captured the original raw energy we felt when we first recorded the album and created a sonic depth to give the record an entirely new dimension that we couldn’t be prouder of.”
Get the full track listings and pre-order your choice of Listen Like Thieves 40 formats here.
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