Saturday, October 10, 2009

Max Q - the album

Thanks to Mona and his/her quick response we have the Max Q
album. What I didnt know was he had posted about it and his
brush with fame already complete with videos check it out here

In 1989, an interesting change of pace for watchers of INXS
came in the form of a collaborative album involving
Michael Hutchence and Ollie Olsen. Olsen, ex-Whirlywirld
mastermind, and a Melbourne-based musician and DJ of
some repute, had worked with Michael on music for the
Richard Lowenstein film Dogs In Space a couple of years before
and scored an Australian hit with the alluring track
'Rooms For The Memory' (from the film and soundtrack LP).
Dubbed Max Q (after Ollie's dog of the same name),
the band consisted of mainstays Olsen and Hutchence
with an attachment mob of musicians drawn from the
underground scene.
Held in high regard by fans and critics alike, but unsuccessful
commercially, Max Q is a remarkable album indeed.
Considered ahead of its time upon release and now out of print
(when it could be most appreciated); Max Q deserves some long
overdue attention. Constructed around Olsen's hybrid electronic
song structures, Max Q explodes with invention at every turn.
'Sometimes' and 'Way Of The World', both featured tracks on the
album, bristle with a vibe of punk/agro meets disco/house splendor
- an area bands like Depeche Mode and Massive Attack have
explored in depth. Jittery guitars clash with looped percussion
attacks, and Michael's raging vocal workouts head butt powerful
orchestral flourishes and the odd sonic bleep.
There's a lot of raw noise going on here, but some of it is certainly
beautiful - i.e. 'Monday Night By Satellite' and 'Ot-Ven-Rot'.
Faint traces of Talking Heads, Eastern influences and the
specter of Barry White also frame this exciting music.
Tracklist
01 Sometimes
02 Way Of The World
03 Ghost Of The Year
04 Everything
05 Concrete
06 Zero-2-0
07 Soul Engine
08 Buckethead
09 Monday Night by Satellite
10 Tight
11 Ot-Ven-Rot

Download Here

13 comments:

exilestreet said...

I hadn't actually posted the album Bob!
Regards/

bob nebe said...

I should get more sleep before I post stuff

Special K said...

What a great album. I wish Michael had've had a change to explore this stuff further... without pressure from the boys from INXS.

bob nebe said...

I agree Special K,
i was never big on inxs after they got, well big

Gavin said...

This album was a compromise of sorts. Michael was aiming at a more underground sound, Ollie more commercial sound (after a decade of relative obscurity). The lack of commercial success is sort of attributed to MMA Michael/Inxs' management company who didn't really want him to succeed too much out of their main cash cow.
Gavin

chris said...

it's cool dad but my new blog is better.

Unknown said...

wtf is chris on about??


anyhow.... ive really enjoyed this post. thanks for the help mona. for some reason i always thought that this lp was 2 singles and a whole heap of filler crap.

since found a copy on vinyl :)

bob nebe said...

Kids these days, at least he thinks his old mans blog is cool

Anonymous said...

Thank you! :-)

Anonymous said...

thank you sooo much!

ewe2 said...

This looks like the Japanese import I used to have, which for some years was the only way to get hold of this ridiculously underrated album. For me, it's one of the What If's of Michael's life and popular music in general. Still ahead of it's time in many ways.

Unknown said...

Fan-Bloody-Tastic! I love the Blogosphere ! Thanks for directing me here, your Pommie Vampire!

Anonymous said...

any chance of re-uploading? many thanks :)