Icehouse should have been big. Classically trained front man Ivor Arthur “Iva” Davies had the talent, look, voice and instrumental chops to go along with his great songwriting and production. While they achieved a reasonable amount of chart success in the US and UK over their lifespan, they never really broke through (except in their native Australia).
From their beginnings in Sydney in 1977 as a “pub band” playing covers of artists such as David Bowie, T. Rex, Lou Reed and others (along with original songs), through nearly five decades and shifting personnel, Icehouse has persevered. The band was originally called Flowers, but they had to change it due to legal issues and the existence of a Scottish band called the Flowers. Their first album as Flowers was titled Icehouse, and they chose to rename the band after that.
In 1981, the US release (on the Chrysalis label) used Icehouse as both the band and album title. The style was more New Wave than anything else. At least one track, “We Can Get Together,” made it into the bottom half of the Billboard Hot 100.
Another standout from the album is “Can’t Help Myself.”
Their second album, Primitive Man, showed a lot of development. It was originally intended to be an Iva Davies solo effort. Producer Keith Forsey (who worked with Simple Minds and Billy Idol) added some percussion, but it was primarily Davies on all other instruments along with drum machine programming. Members of Flowers were reconvened along with extra musicians to promote the album on a tour. Tracks such as “Hey Little Girl” and “Street Café” show Davies singing in the style of Bryan Ferry, so much so that they could almost be mistaken for outtakes from the Roxy Music album Manifesto.
One of Icehouse’s biggest early songs (certainly in Australia) is “Great Southern Land.” This song about Davies’s native country was featured in the forgettable 1980s movie Young Einstein (does anyone remember Yahoo Serious?).
A five-track EP (Fresco)was released in 1983. It contained the song “Break These Chains,” which was originally on the UK version of Primitive Man. That album ended up being reissued in England as Love in Motion, to capitalize on the chart success of “Hey Little Girl.” “Over the Line” was the only previously unreleased cut.
1984’s Sidewalk followed with more strong tracks but failed to reach the heights of the prior hits. “Don’t Believe Anymore” is a standout with an atmospheric intro and great guitar power chords.
“Someone Like You” is another of my favorites for guitar power from the album.
The track “Shot Down” reminds me a lot of Simple Minds. Although he was not involved, perhaps Keith Forsey’s prior influence had something to do with it.
Another of my favorites from Sidewalk is “This Time.”
1986 found Davies and company working with a number of outside musicians, including Brian Eno (backing vocals, treated piano, and keyboards), Japanese drummer Masaki Tanazawa, and percussionist Steve Jansen (from the bands Japan and Dolphin Brothers), for their album Measure for Measure. The Australian and US versions featured different covers and track sequencing. The first side featured five tracks, most of which should have been successful singles. Here’s the lead-off cut, “No Promises.” The vocals remind me of David Bowie at times.
“Cross the Border” is another strong track from the album.
Although the rest of their music largely stayed away from political themes, “The Flame” is an attack on South Africa’s apartheid policy. It could be part of a one-two punch with Peter Gabriel’s “Biko.”
One cut that wasn’t included on the US release is “Just a Word.” It finds Davies singing in the style of John Lennon.
Side two of the album seems like a whole ‘nother animal. In my opinion, none of the songs come close to those on side one, and many of them have a more experimental feel with odd noises and lesser melodies. The worst of them is “Lucky Me.” (Don’t say I didn’t warn you.)
Getting back to what they do best, the band released Man of Colours the next year. By far their most successful album, it spawned several hit singles. “Crazy” even reached No. 14 on the Billboard Hot 100 here in the US. Fans of Robert Fripp (King Crimson) could be forgiven for thinking that he did the guitar solo at 4:08 – it was band member Robert Kretschmer.
“Electric Blue” was co-written by Davies and John Oates (Hall & Oates)! It was one of five hits from the album to chart in Australia, an unprecedented achievement. As in some of the previous videos, Iva is rocking a mullet for the ages.
The title track is a moody piece about a painter hiding in an attic. Davies plays oboe on it and the chorus is haunting.
Side two of Man of Colours fares better than that of Measure for Measure. It leads off with “The Kingdom.”
“My Obsession” is another of the great songs that charted for the band.
Following Man of Colours, Davies and Icehouse were not as active for a few years. Davies and guitarist Kretschmer contributed a track to Yukihiro Takahashi’s album Ego in 1988. Takahashi was a member of Yellow Magic Orchestra after having been in the Sadistic Mika Band with guitarist Masayoshi Takanaka in the 1970s. A double compilation Icehouse album, Great Southern Land, was released in 1989, although it was reduced to a single disc in the US. Two tracks, “Jimmy Dean” and “Touch the Fire,” were not on their earlier US albums. The latter was another chart hit in Australia.
“Love in Motion” had been released as a single in 1981, and was later re-done as a duet with Chrissy Amphlett of the band Divinyls. There’s something about the chorus that reminds me of the old David Essex hit “Rock On.”
Code Blue was the next full album, released in 1990. Although a few of the cuts charted in Australia, overall, the album was disappointing. None of the songs would qualify for my “Personal Best” compilation of the band’s repertoire. They seem to rely too heavily on repeated words and phrases trying to pass as hooks. I do like “Wind and Sail,” though.
An album of remixes, Full Circle, followed a few years later. Their last new studio album, 1993’s Big Wheel, featured attractive cover art, but was not much of an improvement musically. The title track starts out sounding promising, but uses an “oh, oh, oh” backing vocal that quickly wears thin.
For my taste, the band peaked in the 1980s. Davies has worked on a number of outside projects in the intervening years, and Icehouse has re-formed for performances in Australia. Their huge 40th anniversary concert in 2017 is a testament to Davies and company’s enduring musicianship and songwriting.
If you haven’t heard this band before, the concert makes an excellent introduction.
Header image: Icehouse, early 1980s promotional photo.
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