Kick Review

Release Date: 1987
Label: Atlantic
Genres: Alternative Pop/Rock, Album Rock, College Rock, Rock & Roll, Pop/Rock, Club/Dance, Alternative Dance, New Wave
Number Of Tracks: 12
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.

Sound:	10
Lyrics:	8.5
Impression:	9.5
Overall rating:	9.3
Users rating:	10
Comments:	2

overall: 9

Reviewed by: Splashed, on august 18, 2009

Sound: There was Listen Like Thieves. There was X. There was Elegantly Wasted. But INXS' breakthrough album, Kick shows us that the influential Aussie band had more talent and worth than most would consider now. It's Kick that yielded the greatest hits the band had, what really made the splash for them, what made them the sensational international group they were known as.

The songs are children of the group's immensely entertaining and funk-dance-pub rock sound, making for a tasty collection. The use of guitars aren't fully showcased in INXS' catalog but they do make quite an impression on the overall sound. The use of synths, simple guitar riffs and hooks, good drums, amazing saxophone and the gem--front man Michael Hutchence's soulful, confident voice.

All of these remarkable attributes are heard through INXS' other wonderful works but it's Kick that it's arguable heard the best. // 10

Lyrics and Singing: The stories told on this remarkable record are somewhat commonplace; sexual desire and romance amongst other tales like politics and the betterment of mankind. And while I hate the taking of a basic idea like a new love and making things up, I can accept it if the stuff is good. So that's why Kick and I get along alright.

"Devil Inside," "Mystify," with "Need You Tonight," the band's most recognized song, are examples of this, as is "Never Tear Us Apart," another shining example of the group's greatness. These songs deal with love and sex but stay original due in part to the magical music behind the words but also due to the brilliant lyrics by singer Michael Hutchence and guitarist-keyboardist-composer Andrew Farriss.

The best of their work on this album is on the aforementioned songs is "Mediate." It's a fascinating song that speaks about how the world should operate all while rhyming everything with "ate."

Lyrically, things are a little shrouded on this album but for the greater part, they are fabulous. // 8

Impression: These are all the tracks on Kick and a rating on each:

01."Guns In The Sky": An angry political song that has a good guitar riff throughout the whole song. 8/10
02."New Sensation": an awesome, funky dance-rock track. This is one of the greatest songs INXS has ever churned, thanks to a slinky guitar riff, Kirk Pengilly's sax and Hutchence's vocals. 10/10
03."Devil Inside": whispered, hushed vocals from Hutchence plus yes, another awesome guitar riff make this tune a great. 9/10
04."Need You Tonight": the funky, sexy number one oozes utter charm and presents you with a delicious composition backing Hutch's smooth singing. 10/10
05."Mediate": overall, a good song. Lyrically, it'll lure you in but for the best version, you'll have to check out the live album, Live Baby Live. Compared with that, Kick's version pales quite a bit. Still 8/10
06."The Loved One": an interesting, pounding song at first but the chorus is slightly indifferent and less entertaining than the rest of it. 7/10
07."Wild Life": a decent song, not a whole lot to report here. Good singing. 7/10
08."Never Tear Us Apart": a touching, moving ballad that leaves you fulfilled. Showcasing with the amazing sax solo, brilliant synths,Michael Hutchence's never failing vocals and sensuous drama all all around.10/10
09."Mystify": a great little piano riff and overall a good song 9/10
10."Kick": kickass (Sorry for the pun.) This song boasts a horn section along with the trademark sax and Michael Hutchence's funky singing. 10/10
11."Calling All Nations": ok song, but not special. 7/10
12."Tiny Daggers": the least impressive tune on the record. 5/10

The lows of INXS' Kick aren't that deep and the highs are up and away. I don't think you can go wrong with that. // 9

overall: 9.7

Reviewed by: Warsaw1, on july 17, 2007

Sound: Kick, a very good album full of songs with great guitar riffs, good instrumental use and powerful vocals. Arguably the bands most famous Album made back in '87 but it still has it's power today. The use of synthesizers/saxophones and pianos really add to the song and you will be glad that they used them.

01. Guns In The Sky - probably the heaviest song on the album. A simple riff through out the song, but it works good in collaboration with the angry tone in Michael's voice. The solo attempt on this song was very weak though.
02. New Sensation - a mediocre song in my opinion. Decent vocals and a decent riff, nothing to special though.
03. Devil Inside - great guitar riff, very catchy, I was humming this riff for a very long time. Great vocals that also show Michael's vocal range quite well.
04. Need You Tonight - my favorite on this album by far. This an amazing, classic song, with amazing vocals and of course one amazing guitar riff.
05. Mediate - the second worst song on the album. It reminded me of Subterranean Homesick Blues by Bob Dylan but with some sort of New Wave sound added to it. Decent song but you won't want to listen to it much.
06. The Loved One - this song was pretty good. Decent music, but where this song really shines is with the vocals that are filled with emotion.
07. Wild Life - I didn't really like this song to much. It had an ok Riff, but I find this song did not stand out like the others
08. Never Tear Us Apart - three words to describe this song. Epic Love Ballad. Great vocals filled with emotion, awesome music and it even has a pretty sweet Saxophone solo.
09. Mystify - an awesome song with a cool main piano piece that defines the song. What I found neat about this song how it builds up like a crescendo.
10. Kick - this song is probably one of the most energic song with a "kick ass" chorus that brings all sorts of intstruments in harmony during it.
11. Calling All Nations - a fun song with a quick little guitar riff. Nothing to rant about, but it can hold it's own.
12. Tiny Daggers - the worst song on the album, all I gotta say is I always skip this song. // 10

Lyrics and Singing: The Lyrics ranged from dealing with lust and sex such as "Need You Tonight" and "Devil Inside" to lyrics up to interpretation such as "Guns In The Sky" and "Kick". Michael Hutchence had amazing vocal skills and made every song filled with emotion. In my opinion he had one of the best music, although he didn't have a extremley large range like some, it was full with passion and confidence. // 9

Impression: Kick was an amazing album back in '87 and it still is today. My favorite songs are "Need You Tonight", "Never Tear Us Apart" and "Kick". This album is what really introduced me into the world of INXS. What I love about this album is when you get into a song, you will really get into it! This album is a great album that everyone should own. // 10

Comments

[Splashed]

Amen. But I consider New Sensation t be one of the stronger songs on the record. Oh well, to each his own

[Splashed]

Shit :haha:I subconsciously copied the same pun as you for the same song. Facepalm, facepalm.
Kick = kick ass, that pun, lol.
Great minds think alike.