Kick [ORIGINAL RECORDING REISSUED] [ORIGINAL RECORDING REMASTERED]

INXS

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 15, 2002)
• Original Release Date: June 4, 2002
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered
• Label: Atlantic / Wea
• ASIN: B000066RO8
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #23,069 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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Editorial Reviews

Product Description
The original 12-song album remastered with 4 bonus tracks, the non-LP single 'Move On' (guitar version) plus previously unreleased tracks 'Jesus Was A Man', 'Mystify' (Chicago Demo) and 'The Trap' (demo). Atlantic/Rhino. 2002.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A 5-star album. Alas, a 3-star reissue., December 22, 2002

By	Justin Cole - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Big Bam Boom Kick, March 16, 2005

By	Tim Brough "author and music buff" (Springfield, PA United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

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.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Takes you back, November 23, 2004

By	Aaron Blight (Westminster, Maryland United States) - See all my reviews

This was one of my very favorite albums of the 1980's, and now that I've got in on a digitally remastered CD, I'm remembering why.

Kick is vigorous power pop, start to finish, an album complete with rhytmic hooks, melodic choruses, and superstar sound and production. With this release, INXS was a band at the pinnacle of fame, playing for sold-out crowds in arenas all over the world. I had the privilege of seeing Michael and the guys when they came to my hometown, and they put on an excellent show. Demonstrating genuine talent, this band was better live than recorded.

INXS wasn't able to sustain the commercial success of Kick (if they had, the band would have been on par with many of the greatest rock bands of all time), but you will still find some stellar tracks on subsequent releases. Michael Hutchence's suicide at age 37 brought a tragic close to the life of a man who always had something interesting to express through his music.