Search - INXS :: Kick

A 5-star album. Alas, a 3-star reissue.

Justin Cole | 12/22/2002

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I have been a huge fan of INXS--and "Kick", in particular--for a long time now. Often, I have felt the need to defend my passion for this album to music purists who are turned-off by the band's huge commercial success.A decade-and-a-half after it's original release, I believe "Kick" has stood the test of time. The song-writing and performances are entirely spot-on throughout. While I concede that the production sounds somewhat dated, it should be remembered that any album is a product of it's time. With its sly references to excess ("Devil Inside"), global tension ("Guns in the Sky") and apartheid ("Mediate"), "Kick" manages to sum up much of western civilization as it exited the 80's.Since I already owned this album on CD, I was curious as to how the sonic experts of Rhino could improve upon a recording that was recorded in the digital age. Turns out "Kick" is even more powerful in this new transfer. The mix is more spacious; it sounds like the instruments are actually spaced further apart. If you only want to hear "Kick" sound better than ever before, you should definitely buy this reissue.But if you were looking for the album's B-sides, you won't find them here. The only bonus tracks are a handful of demos whose inclusion here is baffling. Perhaps the producer wanted these awful tracks included as evidence of miracles he performed behind-the-scenes. Surely there had to be better demos for this album that what is included here. "Jesus Was a Man" is most motley of the bunch. On it, Hutchence howls in obvious drunken stupor. Given the descent into chemical abuse that led to his untimely death, the inclusion of this track is inappropriate and an insult to his memory.In conclusion, the new mix sounds fantastic, but the bonus demos are bad enough to make me question their inclusion here."

Aussie Sensation

Thomas Magnum | NJ, USA | 10/23/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Inxs had experienced some success in the US starting with Shabooh Shabaah in 1983 and Listen Like Thieves in 1985 (Which produced the top ten hit "What You Need"), but 1987's Kick made them into superstars. The band had the great ability to make rock music that a dance sensibility. Kick's twelve songs crystallized this style. The album's first single "Need You Tonight" was built around a simple riff that shuffled along, but was filled with a powerful vocal. The song became the band's only number one single. "Need You Tonight" merges directly into "Mediate" which is a stream of conscious song in the vein of Bob Dylan's "Subterranean Homesick Blues" (which the video for the song imitated). Even better is the throbbing "Devil Inside" which pounds along an aching pace before exploding in a fury at the end. "Guns In The Sky" is a strong rocker that opens the album and slides into the hyper kinetic "New Sensation". "Never Tear Us Apart" is a brooding song that conveys a sense of obsession. The album peaked at number three, but produced four top ten hits ("Need You Tonight", "Devil Inside", "New Sensation" which topped out at numbers one, two and three respectively and "Never Tear Us Apart" which hit number seven) and the band received massive airplay on MTV."

Big Bam Boom Kick

Tim Brough | Springfield, PA United States | 03/17/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"INXS took a major shift in their approach to the sound of their best album. Instead of the often smothering layers of sound that were the calling card of most of their prior albums, the band stripped the sound down to its bare bones. "Guns In The Sky" detonates with lead singer Michael Hutchence grunting over the crash of Jon Farris' drumbeat. A power riff worthy of fellow Aussies AC/DC begins cutting in and the band then tears into a plaint on the Star Wars global arm race.



Things just got better from there. "Kick" was INXS's crowning achievement in the studio, showing off a funkier, more confident band. The American breakout hit, "Need You Tonight," was beat driven enough to find a home on the dance floors (along with it's Dylanesque coda, "Mediate"), while the Stonesy howl of "Devil Inside" put some heavy duty spark on 1987/88 rock radio. This was a radio watershed album, with "I Need You Tonight," "New Sensation" "Devil Inside" and the soul-blues of "Never Tear Us Apart" becoming inescapable party songs and great videos before MTV abandoned music. There isn't a wasted song on "Kick." The remastered sound makes it even more punchy than the original CD.



But the re-issue suffers from real drag bonus cuts. The song "Jesus Was A Man" is an out take and SOUNDS it. The demo of "Mystify" is somewhat interesting, but the remaining tracks were unreleased for a reason. Better to just remaster the disc in its perfection than smear it with these leftover chunks of sonic vegetable matter. Michael Hutchence deserves better."