Entertainment For Lively Minds
Ian McNabb / The Icicle Works
Posted by Prestonia on 13 July 2011 - 10:00am.
I just stumbled across this stone cold classic on another blog, (not that one). Why weren't they, or he, ever huge? Oh, I don't know. Enjoy.
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Maybe
Because there was already a Bruce Springsteen?
Oooh get you!
I always thought there was a bit of a Scott Walker tinge to his baritone at times particularly on Blind (see posts below)
Great band, shoulda been huge. "Small price of a bicycle" a corker of an album
Naaaah
He'd just moved on from "Born to run" to "Tunnel of love".
Don't get me wrong, I quite like it, not having heard it before. And I have all the Walker Bros /Scott albums and singles via my (at the time) trendy Mum. Nothing wrong with being influenced by Bruce. Decent stirring songs, stagecraft, musicianship. More of that please.
Just never happened
for them did it? The line up with Chris Sharrock on drums should have been stellar. I think Ian McNabb's songs were just too big, romantic and wide-eyed for the 80s. He basically had the wrong influences knocking around in his music to please the indie hispters. Lest we forget guitar solos and looking like you could play your instrument weren't exactly the in thing.
The first side of the album Blind is a high water mark for me in terms of McNabb's song-writing and the band's playing; Sharrock's drumming is superb throughout and the range of styles is fantastic. You go from heavy stuff like Shit Creek:
to the epic pop balladry of Little Girl Lost
Blind
is a fantastic album.
and this too....The Kiss Off
and this
Blind
Not forgetting.....
Stood Before St Peter
I've always considered
I've always considered Little Girl Lost leading into Starry Blue Eyed Wonder a pretty perfect coupling of songs. Gets me every time.
facebook
Coincidently Ian has posted on Facebook today that a new album and tour with Crazy Horse is happening....Head Like a Rock was a fine record.
Well, you *say* coincidence,
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Brings back many memories
one of their finest moments
His post Icicle Works stuff
has been very variable in quality though - last year's "Great Things" wasn't, and the last Icicle Works album "Motorcycle Rider" (I think that was the title) was v poor.
That said "Blind" is a fantastic album and his stuff with Crazy Horse also very good.
Icies
The Icicle Works albums were all pretty decent affairs, the last two proper ran out of steam a bit, great first sides though.
Superb live band.
Solo wise, the first three are all great in their own way.
Truth and Beauty is a stormer of a summer album, all jangly guitar and spoiled only by the drum machine. Great Dreams Of Heaven was a corker of a single.
Head Like A Rock, well the Crazy Horse openers were fun and it closes with the outstanding, May You Always, but in between is patchy.
Merseybeast was too long, but again there were some stand out top tunes, Heydays and Settled For Less Than They Wanted etc.
Since then it's not been fantastic, but the eponymous (2001 I think) album was a great pop album.
He's got every right to tour The Icicle Works, he was the singer, guitarist and songwriter, but it is a Plastic Icies really without Sharrock, who came in to his own live.
The last Icicle Works album mentioned by Humphrey wasn't great but again things like Dumb Angel and What She Did To My Mind are dandy and Hope Street Rag is a fine song about Liverpool.