The Strangest Party (These Are the Times)

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"The Strangest Party (These Are the Times)"
INXS The Strangest Party.jpg
Single by INXS
from the album The Greatest Hits
Released10 October 1994 (1994-10-10)
Length3:54
Label Mercury
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s) Chris Thomas
INXS singles chronology
"Freedom Deep"
(1994)		"The Strangest Party (These Are the Times)"
(1994)		"Elegantly Wasted"
(1997)
Music video
"The Strangest Party (These Are the Times)" on YouTube

"The Strangest Party (These Are the Times)" is a song by Australian band INXS. The track was written by Andrew Farriss and Michael Hutchence and produced by Chris Thomas. It was included as a new track on their 1994 compilation album The Greatest Hits . Released as a single in October 1994 by Mercury Records, the song reached number 15 on the UK Singles Chart and number 30 on the Australian Singles Chart. The accompanying music video for the single features the band performing in a futuristic, black sci-fi like setting.

Contents

Background

The song "The Strangest Party (These Are the Times)", alongside the song "Deliver Me", was recorded for the group's Greatest Hits release with producer Chris Thomas, however, the music for the song was originally written by Andrew Farriss during the recording sessions of the band's previous studio album, Full Moon, Dirty Hearts . During the recording of "Deliver Me", the band wanted to add a second new track on the record, and decided to use the material that Andrew had previously written. The lyrics for the song were later added in by Michael Hutchence.

Lyrics

In one interview during the promotion of their Greatest Hits release, Hutchence described the song as a commentary on the band's lifestyle, particularly the lyrics: "You're part of the solution or part of the problem." He also mentions this in the album's liner notes: "I think this new album and especially the new single, 'The Strangest Party' sums up our time so far with INXS. It's certainly been the strangest party I've ever been to." [1]

Critical reception

Larry Flick from Billboard magazine wrote, "New tune placed on band's greatest-hits album mines a familiar and somewhat safe field of funk-fortified rock. After the somewhat experimental nature of its last project, this will probably connect with fans who just want to jam. Smarter minds, however, will be fed by the song's clever lyrics, which are craftily delivered through a catchy, accessible melody." [2] A reviewer from Music & Media commented, "The impression you get is of "The Best of INXS" rolled into one track. It's funky like their first singles, but the open dancey production is the "new sensation" here." [3]

B-sides

The B-sides were a selection of remixes of album tracks as well as "Sing Something" a solo composition by guitarist Tim Farriss.

Track listings

  1. "The Strangest Party (These Are the Times)"
  2. "The Strangest Party" (Apollo 440 mix)
  3. "Wishing Well" (Courier extended mix)
  4. "Sing Something
  1. "The Strangest Party (These Are the Times)" (3:52)
  2. "Need You Tonight" (Big Bump mix) (8:27)
  3. "I'm Only Looking" (Bad Yard club mix) (8:07)
  1. "The Strangest Party"
  2. "Wishing Well" (Courier extended mix)

Charts

Chart (1994)Peak
position
Australia (ARIA) [4] 34
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders) [5] 25
Europe (Eurochart Hot 100) [6] 53
Iceland (Íslenski Listinn Topp 40) [7] 33
Italy Airplay ( Music & Media ) [8] 3
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40 Tipparade) [9] 21
Scotland (OCC) [10] 15
UK Singles (OCC) [11] 15
UK Airplay ( Music Week ) [12] 9

Release history

RegionDateFormat(s)Label(s)Ref.
United Kingdom10 October 1994
  • 7-inch vinyl
  • CD
  • cassette
 Mercury [13]
Australia24 October 1994
  • CD
  • cassette
 [14]
Japan26 November 1994Mini-CD [15]

References

  1. ↑ INXS - The Greatest Hits - Liner Notes
  2. ↑ Flick, Larry (22 October 1994). "Single Reviews: Rock Tracks" (PDF). Billboard . p. 65. Retrieved 30 May 2025.
  3. ↑ "New Releases: Singles" (PDF). Music & Media . Vol. 11, no. 45. 5 November 1994. p. 12. Retrieved 5 June 2025.
  4. ↑ "INXS – The Strangest Party (These Are The Times)". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 12 March 2023.
  5. ↑ "INXS – The Strangest Party (These Are The Times)" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 12 March 2023.
  6. ↑ "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles". Music & Media . Vol. 11, no. 45. 5 November 1994. p. 15.
  7. ↑ "Íslenski Listinn Topp 40 Vikan 1.-7.12 '94". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). 1 December 1994. p. 20. Retrieved 1 April 2025.
  8. ↑ "Regional Airplay: South" (PDF). Music & Media . Vol. 11, no. 49. 3 December 1994. p. 27.
  9. ↑ "Tipparade-lijst van week 49, 1994" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40 . Retrieved 20 March 2023.
  10. ↑ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 12 March 2023.
  11. ↑ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 12 March 2023.
  12. ↑ "The Airplay Chart" (PDF). Music Week . 5 November 1994. p. 20. Retrieved 23 May 2025.
  13. ↑ "Single Releases". Music Week . 8 October 1994. p. 25.
  14. ↑ "New Release Summary – Product Available from: 24/10/94 (from The ARIA Report Issue No. 245)" . Retrieved 19 September 2016– via Imgur.
  15. ↑ "ストレンジェスト・パーティ | INXS" [Strangest Party | INXS] (in Japanese). Oricon . Retrieved 9 September 2023.
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