Album Review: Icehouse - Man of Colours (1987)

Icehouse is a band that should have received more coverage and accolades than it ever actually did.  Much of the songwriting is superb, the lyrics spot on.  All around, a great, yet underrated group.  Listening to Man of Colours, I haven't been disappointed at all - the first three songs - "Crazy", "Electric Blue" and "Nothing Too Serious" - most people in Australasia will have heard those on the radio, and the rest - well, generally bloody good, as I was hoping for, and happily, what I ultimately got.  "Heartbreak Kid" begins sounding a tad like Phil Collins and moves onward sounding more like mid-eighties Heart, to my unexpected delight.  "Anybody's War" is a bit of a tease, with verses that build up to choruses that peter out with near immediacy.  Much to my unexpected disappointment, of course.  I'm even hearing titbits of Chris Rea in here, as "The Kingdom" seems to suggest at points.  "Man of Colours" is good, but of little interest to me, and what's left of the album, whilst competent, doesn't do a huge amount for me, either.  In summary, would I consider this to be a good album?  Absolutely, even if anticipation lets me down from time to time.  Definitely recommended.  A-

Album Review: Icehouse - Primitive Man (1982)

Having previously reviewed Icehouse's debut album, Icehouse (or Flowers, depending on how you look at it) I found it to be an excellent album, with many a surprise and some great hits to boot.  It was a confusing album regarding the title - the band was initially called Flowers, with the album called Icehouse.  Iva Davies subsequently renamed the band Icehouse, so there's a bit of confusion here I suppose as to whether to call the album Flowers or Icehouse.  I myself tend to stick to the first one.  It's being a while since I wrote that review, and I feel the time is right to review another.  Primitive Man from 1982 is itself surprisingly good, and having "Great Southern Land" on it always make the visit worthwhile even if it turns out to be the only good song on the album.  Of course, it's not.  I've always liked "Uniform", "Hey Little Girl" and the instrumental, "Glam", but the very Bowiesque "Mysterious Thing" and the respectable "Break These Chains" certainly need a good listening to as well.  "Street Cafe" is a bit on the dull side and it won't hurt to give it a miss. Otherwise, this is a very respectable album, with of course, a great opening track in "Great Southern Land."  Very good indeed.  A-

Album Review: Icehouse - Flowers (1980)

Two significant events occurred in Australian music history in 1980 that would alter the industry's direction forever - Bon Scott supposedly choked to death on his own chunder, and a pop group called Flowers would release their most excellent debut album, only to wisely change their name to Icehouse shortly after. When you first buy this album, the first thing you'll do is play all the tracks that got radio play. And that is very wrong. When you listen to this album in it's entirety, you'll be excited, overjoyed, thrilled. It's the same feeling a cocaine-addled streaker gets when he runs across a footy field during the Rugby World Cup grand final. And you would too, only rather than advertising Vodafone's latest and greatest mobile pricing plan you'll be making a complete berk of yourself, waving about a copy of Flowers in your hand and shaking off sarcastic jeers for you to buy a big-as car with the biggest, most powerful motor possible. And with songs like "Sister", "Walls", and "Can't Help Myself," you'll end up chucking your radio out the window. Because when the songs that get radio airplay sound worse (but still very good) than the rest of the album, it means the album deserves classic status. A-