In its four-star review of the album, Q called it "... a far more engaging and heartfelt collection than anything the group has put out in recent memory ...
The commercial decline was partially due to the lack of promotion by their label and changing musical tastes towards grunge and alternative.
The downside of this, however, was that Welcome to Wherever You Are faded from press and public attention more quickly, and, as a result, failed to match the success of INXS's two previous albums, Kick and X.
[1] Once the band got back to Australia, the song-writing duo of Farriss and vocalist Michael Hutchence paired up to begin writing new material.
[1] With no time constraints and enough money to make new studio recordings, the band members continued writing new material and experimenting with new sounds.
[10] In a 1992 radio interview promoting the release of Welcome to Wherever You Are, guitarist Tim Farriss recalls the same technique used in producing music in the 1960s: "Sometimes they used to mix the vocal back so the band would sound louder, punchier and harder".
[10] The album includes the work and sound of the Australian Concert orchestra on the songs "Baby Don't Cry" and "Men and Women".
[11] The band recorded both tracks live in the studio, with the 60-piece orchestra being conducted by Colin Piper and engineered by Neil Sandbach.
[11] For the opening track "Questions", guitarist and saxophonist Kirk Pengilly used a brass horn to create a Far East sound.
Australian singer Deni Hines was hired to provide backing vocals on one of the album's singles, "Not Enough Time", and the track "Strange Desire".
[13] Other band members were also going through eventful experiences in their lives, including drummer Jon Farriss, who was preparing to marry his girlfriend at the time, Leslie Bega, whom he had met the previous year in Los Angeles.
[13] In the midst of recording, the band were approached to headline the Concert for Life, a benefit show staged in Sydney's Centennial Park on 28 March 1992.
[9] Opitz went on to produce the follow-up, Full Moon, Dirty Hearts, a year later, continuing the band's experimentation with their musical style.
[18] A few months after the album's release, Atlantic re-released the CD edition in Australia with new artwork, this time featuring INXS.
[26] At the time of its release, Welcome to Wherever You Are entered the UK Albums Chart at number one,[27] making INXS the first Australian band to reach the top spot since AC/DC's Back in Black in 1980.
[38] In Canada, Welcome to Wherever You Are reached number ten on the RPM Albums Chart[39] It received a gold accreditation by the Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA) on 26 March 1993 for shipments of 50,000 units.
[40] All tracks are written by Andrew Farriss and Michael Hutchence, except where notedPersonnel as listed in the album's liner notes are:[11]