The Icicle Works LINE-UP Vocals, Guitar, Keyboards - Ian McNabb RELATED RELEASES | UK CHART OVERVIEW
NOTES "We did Hollow Horse at Strawberry North studios in Stockport and it came out and flopped. Major blow. Reconvened at Studios De Miraval in La Val France a month later. It was like being at Colditz. Lots of arguments with the producer. A mistake which cost us dearly. Good songs, wrong vibes. Arista in the U.S. heard it and promptly dropped us labelling what they heard as 'Punk rock demos.' A disappointment. No hits. It was a shock to all of us." IMc |
REVIEW
There's actually nothing small about the Icicle Works' second album. Like early U2, Big Country, and Simple Minds, the Icicle Works paint with a large canvas; on The Small Price of a Bicycle, the Icicle Works don't stray from their formula of mammoth guitar riffs and epic choruses. While the LP doesn't have the bewitching wintry feel of the group's self-titled debut, Ian McNabb's husky voice compensates for the overall lack of immediate hooks. The galloping bass and sweeping vocals of "Hollow Horse" should've been as successful in the U.S. as the band's only American hit, "Birds Fly (Whisper to a Scream)." "We'll be as we are/When all the fools who doubt us fade away," McNabb bellows defiantly on "Hollow Horse," lyrics that are as catchy as the "We are, we are/We are but your children" singalong of "Birds Fly." Filled with high drama and a ceaselessly driving beat, "Hollow Horse" nearly stomps the rest of the album into mashed potatoes. "Perambulator" exposes the Icicle Works' more aggressive side, one that McNabb would explore further on his Head Like a Rock LP, while "Seven Horses" is more of the same, McNabb's throaty voice riding on a wave of colossal guitars and thumping basslines. The Small Price of a Bicycle has its boring moments, such as "All the Daughters (Of Her Father's House)," but McNabb's passion breathes life into every lyric. Even when the Icicle Works falter, McNabb goes down with guns blazing.
IMAGES [UK LP] Beggars Banquet BEGA 61 [UK LP] Beggars Banquet BEGA 61 Labels [Japan LP] Virgin Records,Toshiba EMI 25VB 1051 [Japan LP] Virgin Records,Toshiba EMI 25VB 1051 Labels [UK Cassette RE] Beggars Banquet BBC 61 [UK CD RE] Beggars Banquet BBL 61 CD | DETAILS [UK LP] Beggars Banquet BEGA 61 Tracks
CREDITS Producer | Wally Brill Engineer | Richard Manwaring, assisted by Jacques de Jacques * Producer | Hugh Jones ** Producer | Geoff Muir and The Icicle Works. NOTES UK LP | Beggars Banquet BEGA 61 On the labels: BEGA 61 ℗ & © 1985 Beggars Banquet Published by Chappell Music Ltd. Manufactured in the UK On the sleeve: BEGA 61 This LP was recorded at; Studios de Miraval, Le Val, France; Strawberry North, Stockport; R.G. Jones, Wimbledon; Square One Studio, Bury and Angel Studio, Islington |