INXS
Kick
Released in 1987 by Atlantic Records
Rock / Pop Rock
The Band
Michael Hutchence – Vocals
Andrew Farriss – Keyboards, guitars
Kirk Pengilly – Guitars , saxophone, vocals
Tim Farriss – Guitars
Garry Beers- Bass guitar
John Farriss- Drums and percussion
Chris Thomas-Production
1. "Guns in the Sky" – 2:21
2. "New Sensation" – 3:39
3. "Devil Inside" – 5:14
4. "Need You Tonight" – 3:01
5. "Mediate" – 2:36
6. "The Loved One" – 3:37
7. "Wild Life" – 3:10
8. "Never Tear Us Apart" – 3:05
9. "Mystify" – 3:17
10. "Kick" – 3:14
11. "Calling All Nations" – 3:02
12. "Tiny Daggers" – 3:29
OK, so INXS is a pop group, who cares! The music is clean, fresh, catchy, and underrated. The band has been considered a “singles pop music” band for quite some time by critics, but I think you will find a whole lot more if you dig beyond the cliché title of Pop star. So for the purpose of review, I will tell you about their best hit singles album, KICK, but you may find that the album is actually a hefty hunk of rock. The biggest flaw of the album and the band, for that matter, is they spent their energy on the KICK album, but INXS did make it to the big league, and gained notoriety in the US thanks to this album. The album is loaded with some groovy guitar licks, some funked-up percussion and rhythms, and Hutchence really puts out a good vocal strut.
INXS, which is a 6 man band, has done something that is pretty much impossible for a band this size, they have stuck together from formation in the 70’s until Hutchence death in 1999. Pretty amazing feat, IMO. This band had a truly amazing working relationship, from the songwriting of Hutchence and Andrew Farriss all the way down to every last detail of the music. I have to be honest here, I know INXS is still together, but I have not ventured down their path since Hutchence death. I like to think of INXS with Hutchence, as it should be.
INXS music style is very eclectic. They fit into the punk movement, the synth-pop scene, the new wave scene, the funk scene, and into the music scene that is heavy with guitar work. KICK puts out some great rock anthems, an awesome rock ballad, and plenty of other goodies which proved they were one of the defining bands of the 80’s. KICK is a fun album, and I think most everyone has grooved at one time or another to “Devil Inside”, “Need You Tonight”, or “New Sensation”.
The Music:
Guns in the Sky – A hard hitting rock anthem, heavy with percussion and guitar riffs. A nice opener to the album.
New Sensation- A very fun song, with a funky beat and an instantly recognizable riff. This song shows the bands new wave side.
Devil Inside- An amazing song! Hutchence throaty vocals are outstanding in this song. The rhythm section on this song is top notch. The song is driven by thumping guitar work. My favorite song from the album, no doubt.
Need You Tonight/Mediate- This song puts me in mind of something Prince would do, but still makes me giggle with that girlish worship one has for a song. This song has a great break beat and another unique but instantly recognizable guitar riff. Then the song slides into Mediate……funny how every line of the song rhymes with “ate”. If you notice, this song is the intro for Pengilly on sax.
The Loved One- A cover song, with a strong blues influence. Nicely done.
Wild Life- Another new wave song, with a great balance between guitars and keyboard. Very catchy song. Underrated, IMO.
Never Tear Us Apart – A beautiful ballad. This song was played during the procession at Hutchence funeral. A synth-based arrangement, with a beautiful sax solo from Pengilly. A very moving song and the best vocal performance ever given by Hutchence.
Mystify- A song heavy with keyboards with funk and soul infused. Another song that is outstanding and underrated.
Kick- The title track, and another underrated song. The vocals are top notch, the musicianship excellent, and the sax is insane.
Calling All Nations – The weakest link of the album, musically. The lyrics are fantastic though, calling everyone out to a party!
Tiny Daggers-The final song of the album with a nice cohesive effort from the whole band. A great rocking finish to the album.
INXS was one of my favorite bands out of the 80's from the New Wave genre, along with The Cult and even Duran Duran. And while Magic covered the kick album Kick quite well, I'll attempt to provide some perspective and fill in the gaps, both before and after Kick.
And while Kick was indeed huge for INXS, they certainly had their fair share of radio hits on their three previous albums. "The One Thing" and "Don't Change" from 1982's Shahbooh Shahbah were big radio hits for them as were "Original Sin" and "Melting In The Sun" from 1984's The Swing. I believe, however, INXS really came into their own on 1985's Listen Like Thieves album which gave them mass appeal due to several radio hits in rotation with "What You Need", "Listen Like Thieves", "Kiss The Dirt" and "This Time". Though 1990's album X contained three of the best songs in their discography in "Suicide Blonde", "Disappear" and "Bitter Tears", the album itself was just ok, though ironically the album's production was vastly improved over their previous ones, and they seemed to mature as songwriters. 1992's Welcome To Wherever You Are was considered a let-down by critics even though DJ's played several cuts off the album, but they just plain ran out of gas on 1993's Full Moon Dirty Heart and 1997's Elegantly Wasted. So, yeah, Kick was definitely INXS at their peak, and there was no shortage of good tunes on that album. At the outset they were a decent New Wave pop band (with just a hint of synth) that developed into a very good New Wave/Alternative rock band. Plenty of hits throughout the 80's both on the radio and MTV, and yet another band whose best material can easily fill-up a homemade "best of" cd. And although I never saw INXS in concert they seemed to be a very good band live, and Hutchence was a pretty good frontman in his own right. I think that band had a lot of chemistry.
"Kick" unfortunately is the only INXS album I own even though I loved the band. There are a lot of great tracks on there. I cant believe its over 10 years since he died, only seems like yesterday :-(
Rembering another great musician, sadly passed on.
INXS - Kick (1987) 
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Linear Mode
