On a couple of Australian music pages on Facebook, a YouTube link was posted for an Icehouse concert in Boston on May 12, 1988: (If the person who posted this link on Facebook reads this - thank you very much for sharing this!)
Realistically, most of us would be happy if they could get in the vicinity of Europe or the US... I'd actually travel to get to the concert...heck I was trying to plan my next trip to Australia to coincide with an Icehouse concert!
@StefanWq you need to start a thread on Mental as Anything... I only know their albums up to about FundaMental. Then I lost track. Love all their early stuff though. Of course the connection with Icehouse is that Mental as Anything was the second signing on Regular Records in Australia. The first being Flowers/Icehouse. Apparently Greedy Smith used to hang out with Iva quite a bit in the early days...and of course, they were probably also insanely plying the band route between Melbourne and Sydney in the late 70s and early 80s. They probably passed one another on the Hume Highway all the time!
Oh dear. Despite having prepared a list of Icehouse videos earlier in the week in preparation for watching them all and making a selection, it hasn't happened this week. My opinions of the videos, from the sampling I've done is similar to what has been mentioned already. Even the surely very high-budget Tunisia filmed 'Street Cafe' isn't really all that wonderful. The video of the band in an unimpressive cafe with the dry ice even less so. I found this quite interesting discussion of Icehouse on screen: THE ICEHOUSE STORY - Icehouse On Video I don't know if it has been posted already - it may have been and I've forgotten it. What I'm going to do is create quite a slapdash video list by returning to my big list and briefly sampling each one. This isn't going to be very well done, but, maybe, it's better than nothing. 1. Can't Help Myself (Must include the one that started this all off, closeups work well) 2. Great Southern Land (Young Einstein version) 3. Hey Little Girl (Iva as a Bryan Ferry-a-like) 4. Street Cafe (Tunisia - Iva and crew suffered for their art, so we have to include this one ) 5. Don't Believe Anymore (Sitting, pensive, Iva reveals psychokinetic powers) 6. No Promises (AUS - for the 'Australian' nature, UK version overdone I think) 7. Crazy (AUS version, for writing (graffiti) 'Crazy' with a descender on the z like I do) 8. Man of Colours (for the painting) 9. Touch the Fire (higher production standards, though graphics still over-done) 10. Satellite (a good one to finish with.)
First of all, many thanks for compiling the links to the videos in the first place. Massive oversight by me and I'm glad you stepped in there! Secondly, thanks for the link back to the website for the description of Icehouse on Video. I may have referred to it at some point (or content on it) but I don't think anyone has posted the link before. Last (but not least) your video selection was pretty excellent (not really slap dash at all although I know your high standards!) I've always thought that Touch the Fire is very much of its time. I seem to recall a lot of videos with this pseudo religious/pagan overtones. It's probably all due to Madge and her influence on music videos generally in the 80s.
I'll be collating the lists from this week for a post later tonight (still got a few chores to do at home - just finished picking raspberries in our garden and now realize that I better mow the lawn before the mosquitos come out...) I'll also post cover songs that Icehouse has recorded later this evening. This will help us with next week's listing - Covers NEVER done by Icehouse.
Hypothetical Best of Album Drum roll please! Eight different "Best of" Albums were submitted resulting in 44 different songs apparently. As usual I'll rank them according to votes and then where there are tied votes, the songs are listed alphabetically. You will also note that in some cases, the songs had multiple versions proposed. In that case, I've collated the votes since the songs is fundamentally the same but noted it. * songs were on the Australian version of the Great Southern Land compilation (16 track). # songs were on the Best of Icehouse (20 track) mentioned by @morgan1098 upthread. Icehouse – The Best Of (2013, CD) I guess we can figure out for ourselves if we did better than the record executives! But it's amazing how much consensus there is a for a 16 track or 20 track album based on the rankings! @morgan1098 for being the only one of us to come up with a title (and an excellent one at that!): Standing at the Limit: The Best of Icehouse 80-93 *Don't Believe Anymore - 8 votes *#Street Café (incl. single mix) *#Great Southern Land - 7 votes *#Hey Little Girl (incl. Aus. 12" version) Icehouse *#Love in Motion (original and PM version) #Electric Blue (incl. US 12" Mix) - 6 votes *#No Promises (incl. US Club Mix) *#We Can Get Together (incl. US album version) #Crazy (incl. album and US album version) - 5 votes Man of Colours *#Can't Help Myself - 4 votes *Paradise *#Touch the Fire #When the River Meets the Sea #Big Wheel - 3 votes *Sister Wind and Sail *Cross the Border - 2 votes #My Obsession Nothing too Serious #Satellite Spanish Gold All Tomorrow's Parties - 1 vote #Anything is Possible Big Fun Boulevarde Cadillac Charlie's Sky Goodbye Valentine Goodnight Mr. Matthews (PM version) Harbour Town Heaven Judas Knockin' Em Down Miracle Mile Not My Kind Someone Like You Stay Close Tonight Stolen Guitar Taking the Town The Great Divide Trojan Blue *Walls
Icehouse Top 10 Videos An entirely subjective list of what we consider to be the best videos in the Icehouse catalog. Ranked by votes and then alphabetically when votes are tied. It should be noted that for Crazy and Great Southern Land the votes were split. Technically this should probably drop them down the list to 2 votes - appeals in writing only! Man of Colours - 4 votes Street Café Crazy (Australian version and international version)* - 3 votes Don't Believe Anymore Great Southern Land (original and Young Einstein version)# Hey Little Girl Icehouse Dusty Pages - 2 votes Glam No Promises (Australian Version) Walls We Can Get Together (UK version) Baby You're So Strange - 1 vote Can't Help Myself Cross the Border Electric Blue Satellite The Flame (live @ Roxy) Touch the Fire * Technically 1.5 votes for each version since I voted for both of them on the same ranking. # 2 votes for the original and 1 vote for Young Einstein version. Honorable mentions in addition to the rankings above. 2 for Can't Help Myself 1 for Satellite 1 for Don't Believe Anymore
Tomorrow we will be starting on a discussion of Best Covers NEVER Recorded by Icehouse. To help with that discussion here's a list of cover songs done by Icehouse with the recording listed (but not linked, sorry).
This week's discussion is Cover Songs NEVER done by Icehouse/Flowers. A recurring theme in the discussion of Icehouse music is the role of influences in Iva Davies songwriting and music. And there are the comparisons to his vocal style to a host of different vocalists but primarily Bryan Ferry and David Bowie. Given Iva's background as a classical musician, and the fact that he was mostly immersed in classical music and folk music as a teenager, it's interesting to look at his laundry list of influences: Lou Reed, Brian Eno, Pink Floyd, T-Rex, David Bowie, etc. But it's also obvious from various interviews that even during his Icehouse career he continued to absorb other influences. Flowers began it's life as a covers band (like many bands in Australia doing the pub circuit). In the early days they were referred to as the "Punk Jukebox" and so it may not be surprising to discover that they have indeed covered the Sex Pistols (Pretty Vacant). In the post above I listed the known recorded covers by Icehouse. Of course the bulk of these were on "The Berlin Tapes". It's known that Flowers covered a lot more songs than that, but we don't have recordings. So the task this week is to come up with 16 songs that you would want Icehouse to cover. It's not necessary to name a style (for instance dub or Berlin Tapes style) - where you haven't called it out, it can be assumed that you are just looking for a pretty straight cover of it. At the end of the week, I'll compile a list and see what we come up with. If you can, please list the original artists. It helps with looking up what the song might sound like originally! Ground Rules 16 tracks (or less) Not recorded by Icehouse/Flowers previously.
Hypothetical Icehouse Cover Album Although I prepared this album ahead of time, I forgot to give it a title and can't think of a good one. I'll leave it untitled. First, I don't want the first video in the list to be inlined, so here is a video 'My Dog is Broken'. In fact, 'My Dog is Broken' could be the title of the album. 1. What's the Matter With You originally by Split Enz https://youtu.be/PcdAU0RlmZY I can imagine Icehouse doing this with more 'solid' rhythm guitars and synths like the Flowers album. 2. More than This originally by Roxy Music https://youtu.be/kOnde5c7OG8 This in 'Man of Colours' style. Keeping the synths and subtle guitar work. 3. Head Above Water originally by Hunters & Collectors https://youtu.be/0SeUPJ8Latc Good and crunchy like the orignial. 4. ケダモノの嵐 (Kedamono no Arashi) originally by Unicorn https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CzBgSUEMG2Q Given Iva's adventures in Japan, I thought I'd include some Japanese covers for him. First of two - again I imagine this with heavier guitars. I volunteer to teach Iva the pronunciation. 5. Maisie's Avenue originally by METAFIVE (Not walking to the beat, more guitars) https://youtu.be/igiiF8qUlUc And, Iva worked with Yukihiro Takahashi. Since Iva sung the original, it would be too obvious for Icehouse to remake 'Walking to the Beat'. So, this more recent song with a Takahashi connection instead. 6. Underwater originally by Midnight Oil https://youtu.be/bDwpQehaKvk My original draft of this covers album was quite full of heavier rocky songs. I replaced some of them with songs in other styles. This is one that stayed. 7. Everyone Says Hi originally by David Bowie https://youtu.be/kz0avEjPCyA Like Roxy Music and Iggy Pop, there are some artists whose songs have to be covered. Bowie is one, and I chose this less obvious - I think - track. I wonder if anyone will post a covers album with a Tin Machine song. 8. Billy is a Runaway originally by Iggy Pop https://youtu.be/ShNDNhUcHZg A song that I think Iva could make a very good go o. 9. Kings Lead Hat originally by Briano Eno https://youtu.be/Yp0k_o8gfQI Brian Eno is another artist who Icehouse has covered repeatedly, and I thin this is a good choice for Icehouse. 10. Don't Look Back originally by Peter Tosh https://youtu.be/3o4Fgh0KW_4 With 16 tracks to play with, I'd like something in Dubhouse style, and I think this track by Peter Tosh would work well. 11. Policy of Truth originally by Depeche Mode https://youtu.be/M2VBmHOYpV8 The first of two songs with a DM connection. I imagine this one being more guitars/heavier than the Depeche Mode version. 12. Sounds of Then (This is Australia) originally by Gang Gangajjang https://youtu.be/ML9h3I5Uktw It would be too cheesy, I think, for Icehouse to do 'Down Under'. I think this would be a better 'Australian' song for Icehouse to do. 13. Blue Day originally by Mi-Sex https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRYOKcPjVvA Originally I had another Mi-Sex song here, But You Don't Care, 14. Reload originally by Junkie XL ft. Dave Gahan https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5V5fLHh40E This is the second Depeche Mode related track - Dave Gahan is DM's lead vocalist. I imagine this done in full Bipolar Poems style. 15. Another Girl, Another Planet originally by The Only Ones https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ilDD5SeHxXE This one I imagine being taken in an even more punky direction than the original, with a thoroughly punk vocal from Iva. 16. Peter Gabriel: Here Comes the Flood originally by Peter Gabriel https://youtu.be/vb7htoJAK7g Something quieter to finish with. I imagine this being done with the chorus being delivered with less histronics than the original.
@HitAndRun - excellent list! I know that there are reports that Kings Lead Hat (Brian Eno) had been covered by Flowers when they first set out (identified in setlist.fm) but not committed to a recording. I'm gonna have to work on my list a bit more. I have a good solid 16 tracks but haven't really thought through how I would like to hear them. I like the proposed title "My Dog is Broken"...actually a variation on that might make a good band name "Broken Dog".
Also wanted to add that I love the choice of "Sounds of Then" by Gangajang. One of my all time favorite songs - very Australian atmosphere. That album was top-notch. Currently residing at my mother's house with all my other vinyl.
Thanks. There is an error in my list of videos. For 'Reload' by Junkie XL ft. Dave Gahan. I meant to post the 'normal' version of the track but accidentally posted a near unrecognisable remix instead. I don't think that everyone will be using the video links, but just in case the following version is what I pictured Icehouse basing a cover on.
A quick post that I just stumbled across I remember when we discussed Code Blue, I could find individual songs from this MTV special but not the entire concert. Here it is. The stuff you find when looking for other Youtube links!
Covers NEVER done by Icehouse I felt really challenged by this week's discussion. I don't know if these are good selections but they are the ones that kind of work for me and they are mostly well known songs. I'm afraid I've put in 2 David Bowie songs - and I've been a bit cheeky and put in some honorable mentions which were songs I considered but ultimately couldn't go with putting them in the sixteen select cuts. I've tried to think about how it might sound live (for a live recording) and also whether Iva's vocal style might work for the song. Since I'm not musical at all, I may have got that drastically wrong... Album title "Icehouse Under Cover" 1. Suffragette City (David Bowie) I know this has been done in a setlist, but I would love to hear a recording of a straight cover version of this. It’s glam, it’s Bowie – it’s a shoo-in for being a cover version. I think the touring version of Icehouse would do a blistering version of this and really, I think Glenn Reither would have brought a very deluxe piece of sax playing. 2. Virginia Plain (Roxy Music) https://youtu.be/_lIiviHjo0w I think this would be a great song for Icehouse to cover. I just like the humor in this song, Iva has the vocals to match, but I’d love to hear a slightly more synth-y style to this for Icehouse. This narrowly edged out “Do the Strand” as the Roxy cover of choice. 3. Blister in the Sun (Violent Femmes) https://youtu.be/hYZkoI1ggEw Well, just a straight cover of this but I think Iva would do a great vocal on this. A bit more funk in the bass line also would be welcome. 4. Sea of Love (The Honeydrippers covering Phil Phillips original) https://youtu.be/2BoUzzFXuVU I’d love to hear Iva do a Berlin Tapes version of this. The version by The Honeydrippers/Robert Plant is already in that direction, but I’d love to hear Iva do a take on this song with the strings being more restrained. Full disclosure: this was the song that my husband and I danced to for our wedding dance (played by a jazz trio) - I may have a small attachment to this song . 5. I Want You (Elvis Costello) https://youtu.be/pp8RjKOID1I I like angsty Iva. This is an extremely powerful song and I’d love to hear Iva do an acoustic version of this song. 6. A Song from under the Floorboards (originally by Magazine, cover version by My Friend the Chocolate Cake) Magazine https://youtu.be/kewkTjNfUfk My Friend the Chocolate Cake https://youtu.be/dxmZ0rCH-lo So this song was originally by Magazine and has been covered by a lot of people. But the version I’m familiar with is the one by Australian band My Friend the Chocolate Cake. I’d love Iva to do a version of this song more in the style of The Berlin Tapes. So closer to the MFtCC version. 7. Real Wild Child (Iggy Pop) https://youtu.be/def3ob2h-1s) Great song, originally by Johnny O’Keefe as a straight 50’s rock and roll song, then the more popular version by Iggy. I’d love to see Iva do this song simply because I think touring Icehouse would blitz this song live. In Australia, the Iggy version is used as the intro for the overnight music program “Rage”. 8. Sarah (I miss you) (Richard Pleasance) https://youtu.be/YFFSgkYiKFg It’s probably just me, but I think this song would really suit Iva’s voice. I love this song in its original form which is a real heartfelt song to a lost love, but I’d really like to hear Iva give it a shot, maybe more stripped back. This is from the first solo album by Richard Pleasance (formerly of Boom Crash Opera who were managed by Keith Welsh). 9. Cry (Godley and Creme) https://youtu.be/ypMnBuvP5kA A great song that probably has endless possibilities for how it could be covered. I’d like to see if it could be moved more up-tempo, without losing the power of the song. Dare I ask for a dance/dub version? 10. Tenterfield Saddler (Peter Allen) https://youtu.be/k2nutnm5ZdQ A bit of an odd-ball choice. It’s a biographical song about Peter Allen’s family, but it’s such a well constructed narrative and great arrangement. I think Iva could do a very nice version of this as he has a much richer vocal tone than Peter Allen (notwithstanding the personal dimension). This always strikes me as a song with a bit of a country feel (and it has indeed been covered by Lee Kernahan), although obviously it could be taken in the direction of even more show-tuney, but I'm hoping for a more country and acoustic version. 11. She Set Fire to the House (Stephen Cummings ft. Andrew Pendlebury) https://youtu.be/vVhdWu52uyg This is such a great song by Stephen Cummings. It’s hard to imagine improving on the original, but I wonder if Iva could actually do a more rock oriented version of this? Stephen already has the acoustic version pretty much covered. 12. Ashes to Ashes (David Bowie) https://youtu.be/HyMm4rJemtI The 2nd Bowie entry onto the list. I think vocally this song is pretty interesting and I’d love to hear Iva sing it. Probably a Berlin Tapes rendition to keep the eerie-ness of the original. I have quite vivid memories of the video clip. 13. Homosapien (Pete Shelley) https://youtu.be/2HwmO_GZfzI I don’t know why this popped into my head as a good cover. It’s so synth-y already and has that great guitar in it so I kind of figure that this should be an easy cover for Iva, right? Maybe a style like “Paradise Lost” – all kind of disembodied voice style. 14. When the War is Over (Cold Chisel) https://youtu.be/RQ68u2z5pe4 This is a bit of a challenging song to put in. The song is terrific, with most of the original lead vocal done by Ian Moss. I do think Jimmy Barnes does add to the contrast in the chorus and final verse. It would be interesting to see how Icehouse might tackle a version of this - there is an opportunity to start acoustic and then bring in the rock guitars very similarly to how they do Great Southern Land live. 15. Persuasion (Tim Finn) https://youtu.be/v4MR4I5jsBo A risky choice. I love the original song so much that it’s hard for me to imagine anyone other than Tim Finn singing this. That being said, I’d like to hear an Iva take on this because his vocal is so expressive that it would probably be great. The guitar part (composed by Richard Thompson) is really the heart of the song, so it would be interesting to see what direction Icehouse would go. 16. Running up that Hill (Kate Bush) https://youtu.be/wp43OdtAAkM Way back about 50 pages ago, there was a comment about how adaptable Iva Davies voice was to different styles. There was an off-hand reference by @HitAndRun about whether Iva could do Kate Bush. This is that song! I love this song and I think this is a good fit lyrically (unlike say Wuthering Heights). Done in the style of The Berlin Tapes with some synths (very similar to the take on Love like Blood) would be a good possibility, and obviously transposed to the correct key for Iva to sing. Honorable mentions - the covers that almost made the cut Fade to Grey (Visage) https://youtu.be/Koy3Szyb-zo?t=102 I feel like Iva could do an interesting take on this song, but I feel like there just isn’t quite enough song there to really do Iva justice. Of course he would have to do the spoken French part…so it might be worth it. Pump it Up (Elvis Costello) https://youtu.be/3Y71iDvCYXA I have a feeling that Flowers may have done this in their sets originally (back in 1978). Seems like a fit given the synths, the guitars. Beyond the Sea (Bobby Darin) https://youtu.be/m8OlDPqYBLw Because I think Iva could do a lot of standards and older songs. Exhibit A: All the Way by Frank Sinatra which I like a LOT. It's a very romantic song and well I would listen to any romantic song sung by Iva...
Do you suppose it would be with more brooding synths? It just came up on my random playlist and while the song is quite pop-py with rather dark lyrics, I wondered if the synth direction would be more gothic and brooding (like a lot of the Flowers album). If so, I do think it would be excellent. I'd never even contemplated that Enz song for the covers (but did contemplate some of the early stuff before deciding it was just too extra) And as I type this, one of my other missed cuts rolls up on my playlist (Love Song by Simple Minds which BTW has a bonkers video...)
Great choice of songs! I have made a Spotify playlist of the above and have listened to it in its entirety. I think "Absolute Beginners" is a superb choice as an opening track, I can imagine what it would sound like if done by Icehouse. The original by Bowie is brilliant too. I've been listening a fair bit to the first four Psychedelic Furs albums, as per the recommendations of you and also @drewrclv9 upthread, and from my beginner's point of view I think "Imitation of Christ" is an excellent choice for this hypothetical covers album. Thanks again for recommending those first four Psychedelic Furs albums! It is obvious that you have put a lot of thought into the track order and have considered what it would be like on a vinyl release. "Fragile" is a good way to end side A, leaving the listener in a reflective mood while flipping over to side B which starts with the timeless classic "Myrrh". I'm a big fan of The Church (and all related solo albums and the myriad of side projects) so it was nice to see one of their songs included here. One thing I would really like to happen in real life is a Iva and Steve Kilbey collaboration, for a full album of new songs, I think that could be astounding. I have to admit that while I've of course heard of New Order, the only songs of theirs that I had heard before were "Blue Monday" and "World in Motion". I absolutely love "Your Silent Face" included here so will check them out more. Do you have any recommendations on which album(s) I should start with? I like the choice of "Careless Memories" by Duran Duran. I hadn't heard that song before but I can certainly imagine that it's a song that Iva/Icehouse could do an excellent rendition of. I've only recently heard Simple Minds New Gold Dream album (thanks to the recommendation upthread by @morgan1098) and will explore their back catalogue more. Again from my beginner's perspective this is an inspired choice to include from that album! Peter Gabriel's "Secret World" would be a good closing track, slowly building in intensity and I like the whispered "Shh! Listen" towards the end. Very good choice of songs and track sequence (so don't let Chrysalis anywhere near this hypothetical covers album!)! There were several songs here that I hadn't heard before and that is one thing that I look forward to during this week - to see what songs everybody chooses and to discover new (to me) music. I plan to make Spotify playlists based on the posts here in the forum thread. Thank you very much for your hypothetical covers album, @JeffMo!
Would you like 6 more? I thought we were limited to 10 but I think Kangamom is allowing more! Morgan and I have similar tastes so he can also recommend some good post punk and synth pop from early 80s. I purposely chose a rock oriented song by Duran even though they have some great synth songs just to have some variety. Their debut album from 1981 is quite a bit edgier than slick pop act they became later. When I finally caught Simple Minds in concert they actually played “Hunter and the Hunted”, one of my favorites from New Gold Dream 81-82-83-84 album, which I consider their masterpiece. A number of Peter Gabriel and Bowie songs would work with Iva’s voice and stylistic tendencies, so I chose two of my favorites. I’m a huge New Order fan so I’ll message you a “beginner’s” playlist to check out (not go too far off topic and get in trouble with the teacher… ). May throw a few Joy Division tracks in as well since they were the parent group. Flow and mood matter, and I freely admit to be a complete music geek when it comes to album running orders, setlists, etc.
@JeffMo if you would like to add to your list, please do so. I'm sorry I didn't make that clear. When you posted your covers album last week I was actually struggling to come up with 16 tracks myself (and ended up with a list of 22!) and so didn't want to put any pressure on people to come up with more than they wanted. No album fillers! I'm yet to circle back through the thread to pick up all the recommendations (XTC etc.). I've been a little busy lately with home chores (yesterday was yard work and making raspberry ice-cream, all of which took a lot longer than expected)
Hypothetical Icehouse Covers Album For this, I have been inspired by a music TV show in Sweden called Så Mycket Bättre, which translates as "so much better". This TV show has been broadcast since 2010 and the concept is the following: seven artists from different genres (ranging from rock/pop to soul to jazz to hip hop to Idol/X factor type of artists) and generations take part and are sent to share a house for a week at the beautiful island Gotland. In each programme, one of the artists is in focus and the other six will perform one cover each from that artist's repertoire, three during lunch and three during dinner. There is no live audience, just the seven of them plus the TV crew and the in-house band that they all share during this week. The in-house band has traditional pop/rock setting (guitars, bass, keyboards, drums) though at least one of them is a multi-instrumentalist and if someone wants to bring in a guest vocalist or instrumentalist, or simply perform a song solo on acoustic guitar, that is okay too. The artist in focus does not know in advance which songs the other artists will cover, this is revealed the moments before they are to perform it. As the artists are from different genres and generations, they will all be "forced" out of their musical comfort zones several times during this week. Part of the appeal for TV viewers is that very fact, "tonight artist X is in focus, what on earth will artist Y (who is musically poles apart from artist X) choose to do?" The thought has occurred to me, once or twice, what this TV show would be like if it was done in Australia and Iva was one of the participants. (The TV show has solo artists or the lead singer from groups, they never have an entire group participating). So for my choice of songs below I've followed the same spirit as this TV show - different genres, different generations - and at first I thought I should stick with Berlin Tapes instrumentation as I think that album is just superb. However, I would also like to add French horn, trombone and double bass, plus that Iva is welcome to bring his oboe and cor anglais. If he wants to bring in other Icehouse members here and there that is fine, and if he himself wants to add the odd electric guitar or synthesizer that is fine too. And not every musician involved needs to play on every track, and if he wants to bring in a guest singer that is all well. I think the current Icehouse line-up are such skilled musicians that they could possibly to perfectly straight covers of the below songs, making them sound just like the originals, but I prefer covers to sound different to the originals, as on The Berlin Tapes and on Iva's cover of The Easybeats' "Sad and Lonely and Blue". And I think the best covers are when artists have challenged themselves and gone outside their musical comfort zone a bit, as I think Iva did on The Berlin Tapes. Apart from the songs there, the best covers I've heard are Steve Kilbey's cover of Alice Cooper's "Poison", Richard Thompson's cover of Britney Spears' "Oops! I Did It Again" and Robert Forster's cover of Heart's "Alone". In each of those examples, they have done something very different to the original versions and also covered artists that might not be their natural habitat. So: my covers album will feature Iva/Icehouse covering Australian artists only, from different genres and generations. And since Icehouse's recording career started in 1980, no pre-1980 song has been chosen. I have mainly used Spotify to choose tracks, though one track isn't available there so for that I've used YouTube. (I will include YouTube links when possible below, unfortunately not all songs are available there) So, with that said, here are the tracks I've chosen for this hypothetical Icehouse covers album, to be titled Visible People and feature striking cover artwork by Reg Mombassa: 1. Do Re Mi - Warnings Moving Clockwise (from the album Domestic Harmony, 1985). A brooding opener to set the atmosphere for this covers album. Do Re Mi's lead singer Deborah Conway has gone on to a solo career since 1991 and in my opinion all her albums are highly recommended. 2. Sally Seltmann - Hey Daydreamer (from the album Hey Daydreamer, 2014) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYp-2J_Tceg 3. Mental As Anything - Away (from the album Espresso Bongo, 1980) This doesn't seem to be available on YouTube but it is on Spotify. Mental As Anything were of course also on Regular Records and their first two albums (the debut Get Wet in 1979 and this one) were produced by Cameron Allan. Like Icehouse, Mental As Anything had a huge number of hits in Australia in the '80s. The band had four members (out of five) writing songs and singing lead vocals. Most of the hits were written/sung by either Martin Plaza or Greedy Smith. This song was an album track only, written by bassist Peter O'Doherty who also sings lead vocals on it. The Espresso Bongo album is seldom mentioned even by Mentals fans, but I love it from start to finish. 4. Flash and the Pan - Restless (from the album Lights in the Night, 1980) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sSHoTcYbAU Songwriters/producers/musicians Harry Vanda and George Young made an enormous contribution to Australian music for several decades, starting with The Easybeats in the '60s, writing and producing lots of hits in the '70s (including global hit "Love Is In The Air"), producing the first six albums by AC/DC (of course featuring two of George Young's younger brothers, Malcolm and Angus) and so on. From the late '70s through to the early '90s they had a studio only group Flash and the Pan which released six albums. I've recently rediscovered them and find their first five albums very unique and timeless in a weird'n'wonderful way. This song is from an album that actually reached #1 on the Swedish album chart in 1980. 5. Emma Donovan & The Putbacks - Pink Skirt (from the album Crossover, 2020) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNoi1CzF5WI Emma Donovan wasn't even born when Icehouse started making records and her music might be classified as singer/songwriter, so it would be fascinating to hear what Iva would do with this song to Icehouse-ify it. I think she has a great voice and this is a great song with great lyrics too. 6. Jack Frost - Cousin/Angel (from the album Snow Job, 1996) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cgtEFahULXk Jack Frost was a two album collaboration between Grant McLennan of The Go-Betweens and Steve Kilbey of The Church. This is a song from their second album. For some reason, the title is "Cousin/Angel" on the CD but only "Cousin" on Spotify and YouTube. 7. James Freud - Enemy Lines (from the album Breaking Silence, 1980) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kmWiK3Cam78 James Freud released his debut album in 1980 and this song was a single around the time that Flowers' debut album was released. He later joined the group Models which enjoyed huge success in Australia in the mid/late '80s and some success internationally as well. 8. Yothu Yindi - Djapana (Sunset Dreaming) (from the album One Blood, 1999) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r4L9lD_dI2I Originally released on their second album Tribal Voice in 1991, but for my own playlist I've chosen the 1999 re-recording. Fans of Simple Minds will no doubt be aware that Jim Kerr is a guest vocalist on the 1999 re-recording of the song "Dots on the Shells" (the original version from 1993 featured Neil Finn as the guest vocalist) on the same album. For my hypothetical Icehouse covers album, this song will close side A (or side B if it has to be a double album). 9. Divinyls - Back To The Wall (from the album Temperamental, 1988) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MIRSM11PLq4 Christina Amphlett of Divinyls was the guest singer on the 1992 re-recording of "Love In Motion", so it seems only fair to include a Divinyls song on this hypothetical Icehouse covers album and this is a brilliant song. 10. Emily Wurramara - Lady Blue (from the album Milyakburra, 2018) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fSoozjg9Fvk I've only recently discovered this artist but love her album. It has plenty of great songs and it was a close call between this and a song called "Tap Sticks" (obviously, this song fits well with "Trojan Blue", "Electric Blue", Code Blue and Iva's cover of "Sad and Lonely and Blue"... ) 11. The Church - Delirious (from the album Further Deeper, 2014) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SxoHW-sGO2c I'm a big fan of The Church and all related solo albums and side projects. This is from one of their most recent albums. 12. Ruby Hunter - So Close So Near (from the album Thoughts Within, 1994) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vht1kLqcDBM Stylistically, this is quite a long way away from Icehouse, but I'm hoping that Iva would view that very fact as a positive creative challenge. 13. The Triffids - Hell of a Summer (from the album Treeless Plain, 1983) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=utzjeGrY1Qc As a big fan of The Triffids I think it would be intriguing to hear what one of their songs, like this one, would sound like if done by Iva and Icehouse. 14. Penny Flanagan - Inseparable (from the album Light Sleeper, 1998) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3WEAi8b9RrI Penny Flanagan was in the duo Club Hoy in the early '90s and then went solo. This song first appeared in an acoustic version on her mini album Seven Flights Up (1996), but for this covers album I've chosen the fully produced version from her album Light Sleeper (which unfortunately seems to be the most recent one, if anyone knows of any newer album by her, please let me know!) 15. Sarah Blasko - A Shot (from the album Depth of Field, 2018) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_ltkVfrzI4 (for some reason, the video clip starts around 20 seconds before the actual song does, but this seems intentional in the video clip) I'm a big fan of Sarah Blasko and wanted to include one of her songs. I had a very long "short list" of nominated songs, but feel this is one that Iva and Icehouse could do something unique and brilliant with. 16. The Saints - All Fools Day (from the album All Fools Day, 1986) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JsgdLWOhoJA A magnificent song in its original version and to finish the covers album with. Not available on Spotify unfortunately. So that would be the song list for my hypothetical Icehouse covers album Visible People.
love the Australian theme - very inspired idea! And cool that you even included a Steve Kilbey side project too.
I've actually got a second covers album here, with a slight twist. In hindsight I'm a bit annoyed at myself for only including songs by male artists in my list of covers. Too conservative thinking on my part. And, @KangaMom including a song by Kate Bush, and @StefanWq has included many songs by female aritsts or originally sung by female artists in his list. So, here is my second covers album. For this album, all of the songs were originally sung by women and by female solo artists or bands led by women. First, a funny animals video so that the music videos all get inlined. 1. Violent originally by Stellar* https://youtu.be/U-VQVC7Miqo I think this would work fine in its current arrangement, but simply sung by Iva. As with all of these tracks in this album 2. Drop the Pilot originally by Joan Armatrading https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifARMmcqhD8 I think this arrangement is also close to the first Flowers album - listen to the rhythm guitars. A bit more icy on the synths and an Iva vocal and I think this would fit right in. 3. We Got The Beat originally by The Go-Gos. https://youtu.be/f55KlPe81Yw I think Icehouse could take this in a heavier but still catchy direction without losing the hook. 4. Better in Blak originally by Thelma Plum https://youtu.be/ExMjEwymQ3A A more modern song, but I imagine this rearranged to sound more like a Primitive Man track, maybe most influenced by the arrangement/instrumentation of 'Great Southern Land'. 5. Talking to the Universe by Yoko Ono https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHIcemCY3-U Like a number of the songs here, I imagine Icehouse taking this in a harder/heavier/more new wavey direction. Note: language warning on the song. 6. Lights Out originally by Santigold https://youtu.be/-RA_M33fQxo I really like the original of this, but I think there's a great new wave song in here, and Icehouse and Iva could take it a bit further in that direction. 7. Les Petit Bon Bon originally by Akiko Yano https://youtu.be/5m3CewiJ4ik My original list of covers had Iva returning to a song associated with Yukihiro Takahashi whom he twice collaborated with in Japan. Takahashi is male, so we need to look slightly further afield. I think that Takahashi played drums on this, so it is a solution. And a catchy song that I imagine Icehouse doing fairly straight except for a much lower Iva vocal. 8. Friend originally by Christine McVie https://youtu.be/hC3_J6zHV_k I imagine this being more like Man of Colours style Icehouse, and the current arrangement isn't a world away from that. 9. Pavement Cracks originally by Annie Lennox https://youtu.be/R4HC1JTE0G8 I think this song could benefit, or at least be given new life, by some more prominent electric guitars, and I think Icehouse could provide that. Even if Iva doesn't soar so high on the bridge, I could imagine that working. 10. I Feel The Earth Move originally by Carole King https://youtu.be/6913KnbMpHM Continuing with my mentions of songs being taken in a heavier direction, I think that this song would be interesting taken in a rockier, new wavier, perhaps slightly glam-like direction. 11. Maxine originally by Sharon O'Neil https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-gLnGpFagU This is a great song, which I could imagine Iva singing. I think the arrangement would have to change quite a bit 12. Good Friends originally by Joni Mitchell https://youtu.be/eauThJditpw Perhaps I have included too many songs without much challenge. It wouldn't require much change at all to make this a Man of Colours era track I think. The original is a duet with a male singer (Michael MacDonald), but as Joni writes it solo I think it qualifies within my self-imposed restriction. 13. Language is a Virus from Outer Space originally by Laurie Anderson https://youtu.be/KvOoR8m0oms This is another one where I would want to hear a brand new arrangement. It's a very interesting song, but I don't think the current arrangement suits. I think Iva could do the spoken bits well. 14. Mountains O' Things originally by Tracy Chapman https://youtu.be/QUntOdgpby8 I think this has a beautiful melody, but the production has a bit too much 80s in it. I'd like to hear it sung by Iva, perhaps with a less 80s production. Perhaps it could have the beat removed and sung voice + keyboards like the song (not album) Man of Colours 15. So Bad originally by Nina Hagen https://youtu.be/HrPm-TAoRLM I imagine this being done in a Big Wheel style. Which it isn't too far away already. 16. Panic Attack originally by ***** Riot https://youtu.be/Bdw0xjjVFpI I'm not sure the semi-spoken bits of this would work well, and I'm not sure if they are in Russian. But, a de-emphasis of those bits and more focus on the more Icehouse-y parts of the song would I think work. There have been a fair number of songs that I've considered for this covers album but didn't use because I couldn't imagine them as Icehouse songs. Perhaps I have a bit of trouble with this last song imagining it as an Icehouse song. But, I'm going to leave it in assuming that they'd find some way to take it in a new but equally weird (in a fun way) direction. I hope me posting two covers albums does not cause @KangaMom problems in counting votes for songs. But, with limited overlap between cover albums, perhaps that isn't a factor.
