INXS – Kick

A band thinking in songs

Kick captures INXS in 1987: Michael Hutchence, the three Farriss brothers, Kirk Pengilly and Garry Gary Beers bring a rock-band line-up into contact with programmed grooves and concise pop structures. Chris Thomas produced sessions at Rhinoceros Studios in Sydney and Studio de la Grande Armée in Paris. Bob Clearmountain mixed the album at AIR Studios in London. The twelve tracks emerged from work across several locations while retaining the identity of the six-piece band.

The familiar singles are an inviting starting point, but they do not tell the whole story. From “Guns In The Sky” to “Tiny Daggers”, the programme offers different combinations of guitar, saxophone, keyboards and rhythm. Following those changes gives a favourite album fresh points of interest, even when every chorus is already familiar.

A programmed pulse and a different kind of time

Andrew Farriss programmed the groove for “Need You Tonight” on a Roland TR-707. It is a specific piece of equipment behind a remarkably economical song idea. “Mediate” follows at the same tempo; this edition keeps the pair together on side B. Listen to the transition as part of the album’s design, rather than mentally separating the songs into individual releases.

“Never Tear Us Apart” takes another route. With Thomas’s involvement, a piano-blues demo developed into the ballad in waltz time, featuring Pengilly’s saxophone solo. That contrast provides a useful listening thread: a tightly programmed pulse on one track, another sense of movement on the next. The variety comes from how the band changes the relationship between its familiar ingredients.

The players behind the record

Hutchence handles vocals; Andrew Farriss is credited with keyboards and guitar, Tim Farriss with guitar. Pengilly contributes guitar, saxophone and vocals, Garry Gary Beers plays bass, and Jon Farriss supplies drums and percussion. Two additional credits deserve their place: Warwick Bone assisted with keyboard sounds on “Mediate”, while Greg Thorne plays trumpet on “Kick”.

Our personnel list separates these specific contributions from album-wide credits. Andrew Farriss is not restricted to “Need You Tonight”; only the documented TR-707 assignment refers specifically to that track. Following the instrumental changes can reveal another layer of the record’s appeal: the collaboration behind songs that have become part of everyday musical memory.

The Atlantic 75 edition at 45 RPM

Analogue Productions spreads the original twelve-track programme across two 180-gram LPs at 45 RPM, with three songs per side. Ryan K. Smith mastered the edition at Sterling Sound, and the packaging is a Stoughton tip-on gatefold. Within the series, the initial numbered copies were pressed at QRP; later pressings may come from QRP or RTI. A particular numbered copy is not promised here.

The source information calls for care. The label specifies a quarter-inch EQ’d Dolby tape copy of the original master, while the album’s digital multitrack recording is documented. This is therefore not presented as an entirely analogue recording. Giving a record the attention it deserves includes telling its production history accurately, alongside celebrating the songs that make us want to play it again.

You order from Michael 45 in Germany. We arrange the US import and dispatch from Hilden.

More from the series: Atlantic 75 Series

Also on SACD: Kick

Customer questions: Atlantic 75: which titles are worth buying? · Buying Analogue Productions records in Europe

Series: Atlantic 75 Series – all 75 albums, time journey and the people behind Atlantic

Musicians

Participants and documented credit status. Track references correspond to the tracklist.

• Michael HutchencevocalsParticipation: Album personnel
• Andrew Farrisskeyboards, guitar, Roland TR-707Participation: Album personnel · TR-707: B1
• Tim FarrissguitarParticipation: Album personnel
• Kirk Pengillyguitar, saxophone, vocalsParticipation: Album personnel · saxophone solo: C2
• Garry Gary BeersbassParticipation: Album personnel
• Jon Farrissdrums, percussionParticipation: Album personnel
• Warwick Bonekeyboard soundsParticipation: B2
• Greg ThornetrumpetParticipation: D1

Produced by Chris Thomas. Recording: David Nicholas. Mixing: Bob Clearmountain. Andrew Farriss: album personnel, TR-707 on B1; Kirk Pengilly: album personnel, saxophone solo on C2. Warwick Bone: keyboard sounds B2; Greg Thorne: trumpet D1.