Reissue Theory: INXS, “Kick”

Take a look at the above image. It might not look too familiar if you live in the U.S. and have a working knowledge of the INXS catalogue. The famed Australian rockers have a vast three-decade career to their credit, most of which has appeared on subsidiaries of Warner Music Group through the years (notably Atco and Atlantic). Elsewhere, though, it’s another story: in Europe, Mercury/Phonogram, owned by Universal Music Group, gets the rights to the work of Michael Hutchence and company.

Therefore, while American audiences had to settle for a simple 2002 reissue of Kick, the band’s 1987 breakthrough LP, with only four bonus tracks, international fans got one of those unmistakable Deluxe Editions two years later, featuring three of those bonus cuts on a bonus disc that contained a dozen songs in total. It’s quite odd that Rhino, the label responsible for the 2002 U.S. reissue, hasn’t ever made a move to replicate or redesign that deluxe version for us fans in the States. (This is triply true considering that a) Universal also has international distribution rights to the work of The Cure, and has done some deluxe editions independent from the fascinating Rhino remasters Americans have been enjoying in the past few years, and b) copies of the Universal Deluxe Edition go for more than $45 used on Amazon’s American page – so the demand must be there.)

With that reflection in mind, here’s how a proper, Stateside deluxe version of Kick – a fascinating pop-rock record in its own right – might look. As usual, the lowdown is after the jump.

First off, in case you didn’t know, here’s what the international Deluxe Edition (Mercury 982 355-0) looked like:

Disc 1: Original LP

1. Guns in the Sky
2. New Sensation
3. Devil Inside
4. Need You Tonight
5. Mediate
6. The Loved One
7. Wild Life
8. Never Tear Us Apart
9. Mystify
10. Kick
11. Calling All Nations
12. Tiny Daggers

Released in U.S. as Atlantic 81796-1, U.K. as Mercury MERH 114 and – for what it’s worth – Australia WEA 255080-1.

Disc 2: Outtakes and Demos

1. Move On (B-side to “Need You Tonight” U.K. single – Mercury INXS 12)
2. I’m Coming (Home) (B-side to “Need You Tonight” U.S. single – Atlantic 7-89188)
3. On the Rocks (B-side to “Devil Inside” single – Atlantic 7-89144)
4. Mystify (Chicago Demo) (previously released on 2002 reissue – Rhino R2 78204)
5. Jesus Was a Man (Demo) (previously released on 2002 reissue – Rhino R2 78204)
6. The Trap (Demo) (previously released on 2002 reissue – Rhino R2 78204)
7. New Sensation (Nick’s 12″ Mix) (A-side to “New Sensation” 12″ single – Atlantic 0-86572)
8. Guns in the Sky (Kick Ass Mix) (B-side to “New Sensation” 12″ single – Atlantic 0-86572)
9. Need You Tonight (Mendelson Extended Mix) (A-side to “Need You Tonight” U.K. 12″ single – Mercury INXS 1212)
10. Mediate (Live from America) *
11. Never Tear Us Apart (Live from America) (B-side to “Mystify” U.K. single – Mercury INXS 13)
12. Kick (Live from America) *

* all my research indicates these are previously unreleased

Now that would be a fine enough set on its own – but there’s a whole other bunch of tracks Rhino could include if they wanted. Here are the most notable ones:

• Move On (Guitar Version) (alternate version from the 2002 U.S. reissue – Rhino R2 78204)
• I’m Coming (Home) (Remix) (only released on the Japanese “Need You Tonight” CD single – WEA 10SW-2)
• Devil Inside (12″ Remix) (12″ single A-side – Atlantic 0-86622)
• Shine Like It Does (Live) (B-side to “Devil Inside” U.K. 10″ single – Mercury INXS 1010)
• Guns in the Sky (Kookaburra Mix) (B-side to “New Sensation” single – Atlantic 7-89080)
• Do Wot You Do (from Pretty in Pink soundtrack – A&M SP-5113/B-side to “New Sensation” U.K. single – Mercury INXS 9)
• Different World (from Crocodile Dundee) (B-side to “Never Tear Us Apart” 12″ single – Atlantic 0-86538)
• Need You Tonight (Ben Liebrand Remix) (A-side to “Need You Tonight” U.K. 12″ single – Mercury INXS 1222)

I know Rhino could do a good job with this (and, maybe someday, all of the INXS catalogue). The only question is when. The band has a show coming up in a few weeks at the Winter Olympics in Vancouver (reuniting with singer J.D. Fortune, who became the lead singer of the band in 2005 after an admittedly ridiculous reality show competition), and is said to be working on an album with a rotating stable of vocalists including Rob Thomas of Matchbox Twenty and Brandon Flowers of The Killers. Perhaps INXS remasters will be what you need before long.