December 9th, 2021 - A Good Private Eye Needs To Listen Like A Thief

 

Good evening and happy Thursday rockers, rollers, and hop freaks!  The Meista here tonight getting a little nostalgic and rocking out to a cassette copy of "Listen Like Thieves" by INXS (that I bought waaaaay back in 1985 at Toad Tape in Ogden, Utah)... whilst enjoying a tasty Private Eye Pale Ale from the fine folks at Fisher Brewing Company in collaboration with City Weekly!  Yes!!

Album Info:

• Artist: INXS
• Title: "Listen Like Thieves"
• Recorded: June through August 1985 at Rhinoceros Studio in Sydney, NSW, Australia
• Release date: October 4th, 1985 (5th studio album by INXS) 
• Record company: WEA / Mercury / Atlantic 
• Production: Chris Thomas
• Album cover art: Philip Mortlock (design, art, and photography) 
• Personnel: Garry Gary Beers (bass and backing vocals), Andrew Farris (keyboards and guitars), Jon Farris (drums and backing vocals), Tim Farris (guitars and synthesizers), Michael Hutchence (lead and vocals), and Kirk Pengilly (guitars, saxophone, and backing vocals)
• Additional musicians: Ray Cooper (percussion on "Same Direction") and Ann O’Dell (string arrangements) 
• Musical style: Pop rock, rock, alternative rock, new wave
• Sound: Delving into a harder, more traditional rock sound, with "Listen Like Thieves", INXS established themselves as global force.  Although they had seen some success with their previous albums (mostly on college radio), the song "What You Need" paved the way for the band's explosive success in the coming years.
• Major themes: Life, relationships, rebellion, , etc.
• Tracks: 

1. "What You Need"
2. "Listen Like Thieves"
3. "Kiss The Dirt (Falling Down The Mountain)"
4. "Shine Like It Does"
5. "Good + Bad Times"
6. "Biting Bullets"
7. "This Time"
8. "Three Sisters"
9. "Same Direction"
10. "One X One"
11. "Red Red Sun"

 Brew Info:

• Brewery: Fisher Brewing Company (Salt Lake City, Utah)
• Website: http://www.fisherbeer.com//
• Brew: Private Eye Pale Ale
• Style: American Pale Ale (APA) 
• Serving: 32 ounce crowler can
• ABV: 5.0% 
• Ingredients: Cascade and Amarillo hops
• Pour: The Private Eye Pale Ale pours a hazy, golden copper hue with a bright white, 1+ finger, very frothy head with great retention and lots of sticky, intricate lacing.
• Nose: The nose is citrusy, earthy, malty, fruity, and slightly sweet.  There are aromas of barley, pine resin, grapefruit rind, lemon zest, tangerine, sweet berries, and soft caramel. 
• Taste: The taste of the Private Eye Pale Ale follows the nose with lots of hoppy, malty, and earthy flavors.  There are notes of pine, tangerine, grapefruit, berries, bready biscuit, light herbs, and soft caramel.
• Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied and moderately carbonated, the mouthfeel is very crisp and refreshing with a dry, clean, moderately bitter finish.

Overall pairing: The crushable, very drinkable tastiness of the Private Eye Pale Ale is perfect for a evening of rocking out to the pop rock punch of INXS's "Listen Like Thieves"!  Those bold hop flavors are great for the overall crunch of guitars while the malty backbone goes great with the tight musicianship and the pop sensibility and inventiveness.  'Nuff said!

Cheers!!