Posts Tagged ‘KICK’

Kick (25th Anniversary Issue) – INXS

Released September 17th 2012 – UMC

If 1985s Listen Like Thieves album saw INXS knocking on the door of main stream success, then the 1987 follow up surely ‘kick’ed it open…   So, with the poor pun out of the way early, what exactly does the 25^th Anniversary issue of Kick have to offer?  The answer is plenty.

Released as a rather extravagant 3CD and 1DVD set, you get the remastered original 12 track album along with a host of bonus rarities and a DVD with the videos and previously unseen documentary footage.  For the eagle eyed amongst you, you are probably wondering how this differs to the 2004 ‘Deluxe Edition’ that featured a 12 track bonus CD.  Well, it does indeed incorporate the out-takes and demos from this release but adds a whole host more.

Much like the recent Kinks box set, there are only samplers available for the likes of me to review; this however is more than enough to remind you just what a stunning pop/rock record Kick is.  Part rock a la Listen Like Thieves but with a more danceable edge, combining to produce an album that propelled the band to superstardom, especially the enigmatic Michael Hutchence.

The most striking thing about the album itself is just how well it has aged, whilst so many late 80s albums suffer from the horrendous over production rife at the time, Kick still has a freshness about it that makes it sound vital and exciting.  Given the band were originally not overly happy with the sound, it is testament to producer Chris Thomas’ vision and understanding of the band that it stands up so well a quarter of a century later.

With no less than five hit singles (Need You Tonight, Mystify, New Sensation, Devil Inside and Never Tear Us Apart) along with songs that would go on to become live staples for the next few years (The Loved One, Guns In The Sky, Wildlife), the albums appeal goes a lot deeper than just the two biggest hits.

As always it is in the unreleased tracks that the real insight can be gleaned, the demo and unreleased mixes allow a glimpse into the writing process and the building blocks for Kick.  The Chicago Demo of Mystify is the matt version, the gloss would come later but it is all there bar the production.  The Soul Version of Never Tear Us Apart lets Michael do his best preacher impression and works surprisingly well.

With the classic Need You Tonight boosting that iconic riff and the breath-taking Never Tears Us Apart etching themselves permanently into the psyches of each generation since, the lasting impact of Kick can still be felt today.  You need only look to the God awful Professor Green track that bastardises, sorry, ‘samples’, Need You Tonight to see how influential they have become.  Whilst 1990s ‘X’ would see the band build on the success of Kick, they arguably never bettered the near perfect ‘pop’ encapsulated in these twelve tracks.  Michael may be gone but his legacy lives on, Live Baby, Live.

To find out more about INXS and the Kick reissue visit their website HERE.

The album can be pre-ordered from:

www.smarturl.it/kicksuperphys
www.smarturl.it/kickstandardphys
www.smarturl.it/kicklp

INXS – KICK
25th ANNIVERSAY EDITION
September 17th 2012 – UMC

On September 17th 2012 INXS will be celebrating the 25th year anniversary of ‘KICK’ by releasing special Deluxe, Super Deluxe and Digital versions of this landmark album. The Super Deluxe Edition will feature amazing unseen personal home movie documentary footage.

Released in 1987, ‘KICK’ propelled INXS to a new level, cementing their reputation and firmly establishing the band as a force to be reckoned with worldwide.  Kick changed everything, becoming a slow-burning phenomenon that thanks to its trailblazing lead single, ‘Need You Tonight’, broke out around the world over the next 18 months.  If ever a record embodied the oxymoron ‘complex simplicity’, Kick, the sixth album by INXS – Michael Hutchence, Andrew Farriss, Kirk Pengilly, Tim Farriss, Garry Gary Beers and Jon Farriss – is it.  It’s an album so full of surprise, that even from a distance of 25 years, when you listen to it, you’re still waiting and wondering what exactly is about to happen next.  The album spawned 4 US top 10 singles in a row including hits such as ‘New Sensation’, ‘Devil Inside’, and the timeless ballad ‘Never Tear Us Apart’, alongside fan favourites ‘Guns In The Sky’ and ‘Wild Life’. Certified eight times platinum in the US alone, Kick sold over 14 million copies worldwide.

INXS’s most world- renowned, career defining and influential album release to date remains a true classic.  The 25th anniversary celebrates Kick’s remarkable story and its lasting importance, influence and inspiration on today’s music.  Illustrated by the fact that so many artists are still covering and sampling tracks from the record to this day.  From Ben Harper’s funky take on ‘Devil Inside’, to Professor Green and Liv Tyler’s renditions of ‘Need You Tonight’, (the former of which reached top 3 in the UK charts, while the latter was recently used as the synch for the recent global Givenchy campaign) Kick has inspired a variety of artists in the last 25 years including Snow Patrol, John Mayer, Beck, Tom Jones, Joe Cocker, Natalie Imbruglia, and Bono . It has also been widely reported that Adele’s “favourite song of all time” is ‘Never Tear Us Apart’, and rumour has it she has recorded a version of this song for her 3rd album.

For a group that has enjoyed the highest of highs and the deepest of lows, Kick cannot fail to have a special niche in the hearts of those who made it: Kick is a fabulous collision of style, substance, musicianship, hard work, integrity, production, marketing, and passion – everything that one of the greatest albums of its era should be.

The 2012 the 25th anniversary release of ‘KICK’ will include a Deluxe edition, a Super Deluxe edition and two Download editions.  The Deluxe edition set will include 2 CDs, the second featuring remixes and bonus material.  The Super Deluxe Edition package of 3 CDs and a DVD will feature demos, remixes, video promos, and unseen documentary footage.  It will come with a 64 page art book, which will include never before seen handwritten lyrics directly from Michael’s family archives, unseen photos, diaries, and interview with each band member and producer of the record Chris Thomas.  For nostalgia appeal, a KICK sticker sheet and original tour poster for your bedroom walls will also be included.  There will also be a Heavyweight Red Coloured Vinyl Limited Edition available.

With a career spanning over thirty years, INXS are one of the biggest rock groups in the world today. The Sydney based band originally made waves in 1982, both down under and the USA, with their chart topping single, ‘The One Thing’.  Since the release of ‘The One Thing’ INXS has sold a staggering 30 plus million records worldwide, achieved 6 consecutive Top 10 UK and US albums, 23 UK hit singles, countless awards from peers and fans alike, and have performed over 5000 shows to over 25 million people in over 40 countries. The Bands album Platinum, ‘Greatest Hits’ has gone Top 10 in over 14 countries around the world – the majority of which went # 1. The stats speak for themselves: INXS are Australia’s greatest music export.

“By the time we got to Kick we really felt we were in our place in our time. We had been very fortunate to be nurtured by people of great calibre, so why not go the whole distance and really explore, gloves are off, dogs are off the chain, let’s go for it.”
Andrew Farriss, 2012

“We were so caught up in what we were doing we didn’t think about sounding contemporary or not. This slinky rock and roll is what we do.”
Tim Farriss, 2012

“At last we’re not the underdogs”
Michael Hutchence 1989

The 25th anniversary editions of INXS’ ‘KICK’ will be released by Universal Music on 17th September 2012

Worldwide pre-order links here:
www.smarturl.it/kicksuperphys
www.smarturl.it/kickstandardphys
www.smarturl.it/kicklp