INXS, Kick, 1987
Go ahead and laugh, and sing that one song everyone knows about needing people in the nighttime. I would not have given this album a chance, until I found out that Beck was covering it. Amassing some of his musical friends for ‘Record Clubs’, they come together and cover entire albums in a day and he shares them on his website. So far he’s covered: Songs of Leonard Cohen by Leonard Cohen, The Velvet Underground and Nico by The Velvet Underground and Nico, OAR by Skip Spence and now we have INXS’s Kick.
You have to hand it to this group of Australians, they knew how to craft some great pop songs. The one part that really makes this album is Michael Hutchence and how you can pretty much feel his charisma and showmanship through your speakers. With his Mick Jagger approach and strut Hutchence made these songs come to life. The band does an excellent job of providing a mix of pop, rock and soul for the lyrics to float over, the riffs are solid; you can dance to the beats and who doesn’t love a saxophone solo once in a while? The lyrics aren’t bad either — they are honest, uplifting and a little cheesy but you need that with any kind of pop music.
Most pop for the 80’s sounds dated, but this album sounds very fresh without all the pomp, circumstance and bubblegum of today’s pop bands. I do enjoy listening to the album track then checking Beck’s website to see how they reinterpret the music. Tracks to check: ‘Devil Inside’, ‘Kick’, ‘Tiny Daggers’, ‘Never Tear Us Apart’ and, of course, ‘Need You Tonight’. I give you permission to find this on iTunes or borrow it from a friend, I got my copy for $5.99 and it was worth the pennies.
Entertainment Section Weekly Newsletter
Sign Up!
Sign Up!
