Kick

VINYL FORMAT. The last throes of Reagan's presidency, big hair, carefree existence, the promise of a booming economy, preppy clothes, Nintendo 8-bit gaming systems, and MTV's seemingly limitless reign: All happy memories conjured by INXS's Kick, on the creative level of anything Madonna, Prince, or Michael Jackson recorded at the time. More than six million copies sold, four Top 5 singles, and still, nearly 25 years later, not one feeble moment, justify the 1987 record's status as pure pop genius. Anchored by the sensual purr of vocalist Michael Hutchence and frisky drumming (recorded in analog) of Jon Farriss, Kick taps into a hybrid style that freshly stays away from the era's plastic, manufactured sounds and narrow-minded, vacant aesthetic. A seamless fusion of dance beats, sleek rock riffs, soaring hooks, horn-fueled R&B, and string-laden accents, the 12-track set is an irresistibly catchy and liquidly fluid sonic miasma that contains every single element a classic contemporary pop work requires.