INXS “Listen Like Thieves” released 30 years ago on this date, October 14th, 1985. File this one under feeling kinda old and yet still knowing the words to every single song on the album as I listen to it 30 years later. INXS’s 5th studio album and the first to really capitulate them into the international spotlight, Listen Like Thieves reached #11 on the US charts, propelled by the #5 song “What You Need,” which I get a little giddy feeling from the second the needle hits the record with that drum roll and the vaguely off-key guitar strum into an uplifting and relentless beat that never lets up. Michael Hutchence’s amazingly good looks in the video didn’t hurt much, either.

Side One of Listen Like Thieves is chock-full of single-worthy tracks, including  of course “What You Need,” the title track “Listen Like Thieves” but also the excellent “Kiss the Dirt (Falling Down the Mountain” which I feels brings a lot of continuity from their previous album, The Swing. “Shine Like It Does” is a lovely mid-tempo love song with a memorable staccatoed guitar hook and “Good + Bad Times” brings tension and grit with big 80′s flavor, including a soaring saxophone solo.

Side Two is almost as strong as Side One: “This Time” is definitely the standout track, reaching a U2 level of broad open spaces anthem style. “Three Sisters,” an instrumental, brings to mind the keyboard experimentation common for the mid-80′s (VERY reminiscent of Duran Duran’s “Tiger Tiger” on Seven and the Ragged Tiger), also showcasing saxophone. “One x One” is a jaunty stroll down the boulevard of 80′s pop styling and “Red Red Sun” completes the album with a frantic rush of rock-n-roll.