Shabooh Shoobah

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Shabooh Shoobah
Studio album by
INXS
Released13 October 1982
RecordedJanuary, June 1982
StudioParadise (Sydney)
Rhinoceros (Sydney)
GenreNew wave, rock, post-punk
Length35:23
LabelWarner Music, Mercury
ProducerMark Opitz
INXS chronology
INXSIVE
(1982) 		Shabooh Shoobah
(1982) 		Dekadance
(1983)
Singles from Shabooh Shoobah
  1. "The One Thing"
    Released: July 1982
  2. "Don't Change"
    Released: October 1982
  3. "To Look at You"
    Released: March 1983
  4. "Black and White"
    Released: June 1983

Shabooh Shoobah is the third studio album by Australian rock band INXS. It was released on 13 October 1982. It peaked at No. 5 on the ARIA Albums Chart and remained on the chart for 94 weeks. It was the band's first album to be released worldwide and appeared on the United States Billboard 200 and on the Hot Pop Albums Chart. The album spawned four singles, "The One Thing", "Don't Change", "To Look at You" and "Black and White". It was produced by Mark Opitz for WEA Australia with most tracks written by band members Andrew Farriss and Michael Hutchence.

Background and production[edit]

INXS's third album, Shabooh Shoobah, developed after they decided in early 1982 to record a new song, "The One Thing", at their own expense, with Mark Opitz at Paradise Studios.[1] The song turned out so well that band hired Opitz to produce three more songs.[2] WEA Australia were approached with copies, leading to INXS signing a recording deal in July 1982 with WEA for releases in Australia, South East Asia, Japan and New Zealand; with sister label Atco Records (a subsidiary of Atlantic Records) for North America and with PolyGram for United Kingdom and the rest of Europe.[1][3][4][5]

Initially, INXS were not convinced that Opitz could produce an entire album that would attract international interest. Prior to recording the rest of Shabooh Shoobah, three band members, Kirk Pengilly, Michael Hutchence, and Andrew Farriss, visited the UK and United States, to select another producer. However, they found that no one they wanted was available and that most people advised them that Opitz's work on their single was as good as they could wish for.[6][1] So in mid-1982, they commenced recording at Rhinoceros Studios, with Opitz.[5] Tim Farriss felt "Mark was the first producer that was able to capture some glimmer of what the band felt it was like live. Prior to us, Mark had done bands like AC/DC, Cold Chisel, The Angels. Big guitar sounds, mighty drum beats".[1]

The name "Shabooh Shoobah" is an onomatopoeia of a rhythm in the song "Spy of Love".[6][7]

The album spawned four singles, "The One Thing", "Don't Change", "To Look at You" and "Black and White".[citation needed]

Music videos[edit]

The music videos for "Don't Change" and "Spy of Love" were directed by South Australian director Scott Hicks, later known for his award-winning film Shine. Hicks also directed the video for "To Look at You" in 1983.[8]

Release[edit]

In October, Shabooh Shoobah was released internationally on Atlantic/Atco Records and Mercury Records, peaking at No. 52 on the US Billboard 200 and No. 46 on the Hot Pop Albums chart.[9][10] In Australia it peaked at No. 5 on the ARIA Albums Chart and remained on the chart for 94 weeks.[11] The lead single, "The One Thing", brought their first US Top 30 hit on 28 May 1983,[12] it was a Top 20 hit in Canada,[13] and peaked at No. 14 in Australia on 23 August 1982.[11] "One Thing" was their first video to air on the fledgling MTV and added to the chart success of the single.[2] INXS undertook their first US performance in San Diego in March 1983, to a crowd of 24 patrons.[1] The tour was as support for Adam and the Ants, then support for Stray Cats, The Kinks,[3] Hall & Oates followed by The Go-Go's.[1][2] INXS played alongside many of their contemporaries on New Wave Day in May 1983, at the US Festival in Devore, California.[14] It was during this time that Gary Grant, their co-manager, relocated permanently to New York to ensure a continual presence in the northern hemisphere.[1] The band remained on the road in the US for most of the year, including support for Men at Work and by mid-1983 were headlining venues such as The Ritz in New York.[1] In 2022, the 40th anniversary of the release of the album was marked with a digital-only Deluxe Edition with 15 bonus tracks, a clear vinyl reissue of the LP, plus the album Recorded Live at the US Festival 1983 on CD and LP, featuring performances of nine of its 10 songs ("Golden Playpen" was the only one left out). Four songs from that show were included in the Deluxe Edition.

Reception[edit]

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[15]
Rolling Stone[16]

Reviewed at the time of release, Rolling Stone Australia wrote "After the funk and ska of their last two albums, this one is sort of expensive tribal - a touch of the furry animal, a hint of the pagan and some gilt edging. Perhaps it's too glib to dismiss INXS as the next Duran Duran, but undeniably Shabooh Shoobah has all the hallmarks of current British pop."[17]

Rip It Up wrote "From the opening "The One Thing", it sways and swaggers through two sides of sheer musical bliss. Very ably led by vocalist Michael Hutchence, who handles all songs with an almost arrogant ease."[18]

It peaked at No. 5 on the ARIA Albums Chart and remained on the chart for 94 weeks. It was the band's first album to be released worldwide and appeared on the United States Billboard 200 and on the Hot Pop Albums Chart.[citation needed]

At the 1982 Countdown Australian Music Awards, the album was nominated for Best Australian Album.[19][20]

Of the single "To Look at You", Cash Box said that "Michael Hutchence intones the lyrics upon a 'Shabooh Shoobah' drumbeat" and that "when guitars finally do enter the picture, they seem to slice the melody in half."[21]

Track listing[edit]

All tracks are written by Andrew Farriss and Michael Hutchence, unless otherwise indicated

Shabooh Shoobah track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."The One Thing" 3:24
2."To Look at You"A. Farriss3:55
3."Spy of Love"Tim Farriss, Hutchence3:58
4."Soul Mistake" 2:57
5."Here Comes" 3:00
6."Black and White" 3:40
7."Golden Playpen"Hutchence, Kirk Pengilly3:03
8."Jan's Song" 3:18
9."Old World New World"Jon Farriss, Hutchence3:38
10."Don't Change"Garry Gary Beers, A. Farriss, J. Farriss, T. Farriss, Hutchence, Pengilly4:24
40th Anniversary / Deluxe Edition bonus tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
11."To Look at You (Extended Mix)"A. Farriss6:32
12."You Never Used to Cry"J. Farriss2:12
13."The One Thing (Extended Mix)" 6:09
14."The Sax Thing"Pengilly3:00
15."Soul Mistake (Live at the US Festival / 1983)" 3:09
16."Space Shuttle"A. Farriss2:42
17."Here Comes II" 3:28
18."Phantim of the Opera"T. Farriss3:11
19."Here Comes (Live at the US Festival / 1983)" 3:40
20."Long in Tooth"A. Farriss3:40
21."Black and White (Extended Mix)" 4:54
22."Go West"A. Farriss, Pengilly, Jeffrey Bushelman3:11
23."Spy of Love (Live at the US Festival / 1983)"T. Farriss, Hutchence3:22
24."Any Day But Sunday"T. Farriss4:22
25."Old World New World (Live at the US Festival / 1983)"J. Farriss, Hutchence4:38

Personnel[edit]

INXS

Production

  • Mark Opitz – producer, engineer
  • David Walsh – engineer (1)
  • David Nicholas – engineer (2–10)
  • Andrew Scott – engineer (2–10)
  • Bob Ludwig – mastering (US)
  • Paul Ibbotson – mastering (Australia)
  • Michael Hutchence – cover art concept
  • Grant Matthews – cover art concept, photography
  • Recorded at Paradise Studios (track 1) and Rhinoceros Studios (tracks 2–10) (Sydney, Australia)
  • Mastered at Masterdisk (New York City, New York) and Festival Studios (Sydney, Australia)

Charts[edit]

Weekly charts[edit]

Weekly chart performance for Shabooh Shoobah
Chart (1982–1984) Peak
position
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)[22] 5
US Top LPs & Tape (Billboard)[23] 46

Year-end charts[edit]

Year-end chart performance for Shabooh Shoobah
Chart (1983) Position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[24] 22

Certifications[edit]

Certifications for Shabooh Shoobah
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[25] 2× Platinum 140,000^
United States (RIAA)[26] Gold 500,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h St John, Ed (1998). Burn : The life and times of Michael Hutchence and INXS (doc). Bantam Books, Sydney. ISBN 0-733-80182-X.
  2. ^ a b c Bozza, Anthony (2005). INXS Story to Story : The official autobiography (doc). Bantam Books, Sydney. ISBN 0-593-05517-9.
  3. ^ a b McFarlane, Ian (1999). "Encyclopedia entry for 'INXS'". Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop. Allen & Unwin. ISBN 1-86448-768-2. Archived from the original on 30 September 2004. Retrieved 16 November 2008.
  4. ^ Nimmervoll, Ed. "INXS". HowlSpace. Archived from the original on 21 February 2001. Retrieved 17 November 2008.
  5. ^ a b Holmgren, Magnus; Shaw, Julian; Meyer, Peer. "INXS". Australian Rock Database. Archived from the original on 12 December 2011. Retrieved 16 November 2008.
  6. ^ a b McGee, David (June 1983). "Inxs: Angry Young Men at Work". Record. 2 (8): 3, 30.
  7. ^ Marsland, Matthew (October 2012). "30th Anniversary of 'Shabooh Shoobah'". Michael Hutchence. Retrieved 20 November 2015.
  8. ^ Scott Hicks at IMDb
  9. ^ "Artist Chart History – INXS – Albums". Billboard. Retrieved 6 March 2008.
  10. ^ "INXS > Charts & Awards > Billboard albums". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 6 March 2008.
  11. ^ a b Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, Sydney: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6. Note: Used for Australian Singles and Albums charting until ARIA created their own charts in mid-1988.
  12. ^ Whitburn, Joel (1991). Billboard Hot 100 Charts : The Eighties. Record Research Inc. ISBN 0-89820-079-2.
  13. ^ "INXS > Charts & Awards > Billboard singles". AllMusic. Retrieved 6 March 2008.
  14. ^ "The Clash US Festival May 28th 1983". blackmarketcash.com. Archived from the original on 7 March 2008. Retrieved 6 March 2008.
  15. ^ Raggett, Ned (16 October 1982). "INXS - Shabooh Shoobah Album Reviews, Songs & More". AllMusic. Retrieved 11 September 2023.
  16. ^ Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian, eds. (2004). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide. Simon & Schuster. p. 406. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  17. ^ Toby Creswell (4 November 1982). "INXS exceed past efforts". Rolling Stone Australia. No. 359.
  18. ^ Gregg Cobb (1 December 1982). "Records". Rip It Up. No. 65. p. 22 – via Papers Past.
  19. ^ "Australian Music Awards". Ron Jeff. Archived from the original on 30 June 2012. Retrieved 16 December 2010.
  20. ^ "Final episode of Countdown". 1970scountdown. Retrieved 23 October 2020.
  21. ^ "Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. 27 August 1983. p. 8. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
  22. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 149. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  23. ^ "INXS Chart History: Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
  24. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 435. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  25. ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 1996 Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
  26. ^ "American album certifications – INXS – Shabooh Shoobah". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
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