Kick

by INXS

Overview

"What You Need" had taken INXS from college radio into the American Top Five, but there was little indication that the group would follow it with a multi-platinum blockbuster like Kick. Where the follow-ups to "What You Need" made barely a ripple on the pop charts, Kick spun off four Top Ten singles, including the band's only American number one, "Need You Tonight." Kick crystallized all of the band's influences -- Stones-y rock & roll, pop, funk, contemporary dance-pop -- into a cool, stylish dance/rock hybrid. It was perfectly suited to lead singer Michael Hutchence's feline sexuality, which certainly didn't hurt the band's already inventive videos. But it wasn't just image that provided their breakthrough. For the first (and really only) time, INXS made a consistently solid album that had no weak moments from top to bottom. More than that, really, Kick is an impeccably crafted pop tour de force, the band succeeding at everything they try. Every track has at least a subtly different feel from what came before it; INXS freely incorporates tense guitar riffs, rock & roll anthems, swing-tinged pop/rock, string-laden balladry, danceable pop-funk, horn-driven '60s soul, '80s R&B, and even a bit of the new wave-ish sound they'd started out with. More to the point, every song is catchy and memorable, branded with indelible hooks. Even without the band's sense of style, the flawless songcraft is intoxicating, and it's what makes Kick one of the best mainstream pop albums of the '80s. ~ Steve Huey

Product Details

Release Date:	11/06/2020
Label:	Atlantic
UPC:	0603497846122

Tracks

1. Guns in the Sky
2. New Sensation
3. Devil Inside
4. Need You Tonight
5. Mediate
6. The Loved One
7. Wild Life
8. Never Tear Us Apart
9. Mystify
10. Kick
11. Calling All Nations
12. Tiny Daggers

Album Credits

Performance Credits

INXS   Primary Artist
Andrew Farriss   Drums,Guitar,Vocals,Keyboards,Synthesizer,Guitar (Rhythm),Vocals (Background)
Barry Barnes   Director
Jon Farriss   Drums,Percussion
Tim Farriss   Guitar,Vocals,Vocals (Background)
Kirk Pengilly   Guitar,Vocals,Saxophone,Guitar (Rhythm),Vocals (Background)
Michael Hutchence   Vocals,Vocals (Background)
Richard Lowenstein   Director
Garry Beers   Bass
Hamish Cameron   Director
Rob Goodyear   Director

Technical Credits

Andrew Farriss   Editing,Composer,Lyricist,Producer
Paula Jones   Assistant Engineer
Steve Travell   Mixing
Bob Clearmountain   Mixing,Engineer,Mixing Engineer
Ben Liebrand   Engineer,Mixing Engineer
David Nicholas   Engineer
Jon Farriss   Composer
Mark Opitz   Mixing
Julian Mendelsohn   Engineer,Mixing Engineer
Nick Launay   Engineer,Mixing Engineer
Julie Stone   Producer
Tim Farriss   Composer,Producer,Creative Director
INXS   Artist
Kirk Pengilly   Composer,Producer
Michael Hutchence   Composer,Lyricist,Cover Art Concept
Gerry Humphreys   Composer
Marc Auerbach   Mixing
Nick Arthur   Editing
Alex Gordon   Mastering
Nick Egan   Design,Art Direction,Cover Art Concept
Richard Moakes   Mixing Assistant,Assistant Engineer
Chris Thomas   Producer
Rob Lovett   Composer
Bob Withers   Design,Art Direction
Ian Clyne   Composer
Paul Hussey   Producer
Giovanni Scatola   Mastering,Remastering
Ken Smith   Design,Art Direction
Gerry Humphries   Composer
Meshak Moore   Composer
Stephen Manderson   Composer
Kathryn Gilfeather   Executive Producer
Robert John Lovett   Composer
Kids On Bridges   Mixing,Remixing
Lynn-Maree Milburn   Animation
Rob Goodyear   Producer