Just prior to the making of INXS’ ninth album, singer Michael Hutchence was assaulted by a taxi driver in Denmark and sustained a fractured skull. Not only did he lose his sense of taste and smell, his personality changed; he began to behave erratically and, at times, violently—once threatening to stab bassist Gary Beers with a knife. Despite the tension, no expense was spared on Full Moon, Dirty Hearts. It was recorded on the Isle of Capri in Italy, with each band member occupying their own villa, and a music video was made for every one of its 12 tracks. The result is a ragged rock record that drips with an odd opulence, though no amount of gold could obscure the corrosive conditions behind the scenes. Hutchence sounds ready to kill someone on rancorous opener “Days of Rust” and the bass is so loud on first single “The Gift”, it’s almost as if the band turned it up to balance his seething vocal delivery. Famed soul music pioneer Ray Charles appears on single “Please (You Got That…)”, while Chrissie Hynde of The Pretenders features on the title track’s grimy waltz. Hutchence has calmed down by the time he’s singing alongside her, as has the record itself—a result, perhaps, of the break INXS took from recording lest Hutchence ram his mic through another acoustic guitar.