This following review is my first contribution to the MAY MUSIC MADNESS w/o. I’m starting off with my selection for "I’ve got the music in me," which is an album which I believe deserves five stars. The selection I have chosen is an obscure 1982 LP from an Australian pop/rock combo called Icehouse, and it's called PRIMITIVE MAN.

Icehouse was formed around 1977 by Iva Davies and Keith Welsh, with the moniker Flowers. Icehouse was the name of that band’s 1980 debut album, which spawned hometown hits with "Can’t Help Myself" and "We Can Get Together." Chrysalis Records offered to release the album, but had to ask the band for a new name seeing as how English and American acts were using the same name. So the band got the name from their album and song title, "Icehouse." But by the time 1982 came about, the band had an absence of material for a sophomore album, and founder Iva Davies had taken himself back to his home studio for inspiration. It came eventually, with the presence of musical machinery and a newfound passion for songwriting. Thus, Iva Davies set the groundwork for the 1982 sophomore album, PRIMITIVE MAN.

It was the first song which he wrote for the album, and the first song appearing on this album, that christened this album. It was a hit in Australia, but had to wait a while for any other overseas chart placement. Instead, "Hey Little Girl" was unleashed in Europe and made 13 appearances in the Top 10 Singles charts. The song I will go into later, has made the band stars in Europe, and faired moderately in American club play/mainstream rock charts. But the album PRIMITIVE MAN as a whole is a moody, effective album of stirring, full-blooded pop art. I had picked this up as an import from Australia, where the album has been remastered by Warner Music/Diva Records, with five bonus tracks and a booklet containing the official lyrics.

Iva Davies had basically written and recorded the album by himself, utilizing guitar, bass, keyboards, the Linn drum machine, and his own vocals. Keith Forsey played some additional percussion, and Abe Laboriel played additional bass on "Mysterious Thing." The result is something I hadn’t expected of a solid album, but it's stellar just the same. He also had Forsey, who worked with Billy Idol and wrote/produced "Don’t You (Forget About Me)" for Simple Minds, help to produce the album alongside him, so the arrangements are crisp and full of presence.

The album opens with Great Southern Land, a brilliant, atmospheric electro-pop number which rises from waves of keyboards and a drum machine intro that follows the "one, two, one, two, three, four" rhythm. The verses are punctuated by a kicking drum track and those keyboard backgrounds, as well as thumping bass riff, all somehow able to conjure up the calm outback scenery before the verse lyrics end, and the chorus sets in a darker, tribal tone, with this ominous keyboard/piano melody, and built-up rhythm punctuated by shots of sharp, effective guitar lines. Iva Davies' vocals range from delicate and focused in the verses, to edgy and deep in the chorus, not yet evident of the Bryan Ferry influence that many place on him yet.

The lyrics to this piece are told through the perspective of a stranger in the verses, "Standing at the limit of an endless ocean/Stranded like a runaway, lost at sea." The cold, watery, gray scenery serves as a chance for him to come to realize the way the land has changed ("Anyone will tell you it's a prisoner island/Hidden in the summer for a million years"). In the second verse, the new atmosphere somewhat seems to take him over: "So you look into the land and it will tell you a story/Story 'bout a journey ended long ago/If you listen to the motion of the wind in the mountains/Maybe you can hear them talking like I do." The chorus evokes the tribal history and dark interior of this Australian desert land, as images of primates making use of nature seem to catch this man’s eye:

"Great Southern Land, Great Southern Land
You walk alone like a primitive man
And they make it work with sticks and bones
See their hungry eyes, it’s a hungry home
I hear the sound of the stranger's voices
I see their hungry eyes, their hungry eyes
Great Southern Land, Great Southern Land
They burned you black, black against the ground."

The song didn’t seem to crack the American Top 100, but it got long overdue exposure in the late 1980s as a title for a hits compilation focusing on 1980-1986 era material as well as being used faithfully in the Yahoo Serious cult classic YOUNG EINSTEIN. To this day, this is Icehouse’s best song, and an rare opening track that captivates you right from the get-go.

Uniform is the second song, and although it isn’t up to par with the last song, it stands on its own as a driving, piercing rock number. The tinkling introductory keyboard notes are undercut by a galloping drum beat married with keyboard-fresh humming and distinct, Robert Fripp-style guitar patter. The song’s bridge is driven by rollicking bass/keyboards and contains samples of German-language propaganda. The song itself is a grim diatribe against the involvement in war, and the identity of death and lost innocence built from it. The first verse fills in a lucky volunteer, before the second briefs the troops in on their pre-ordained fate. And the chorus drives it all in with this message:

"Up the hill, down again/You're the one, you’re the one
Every body wears the badge/Uniform, uniform."

However, both these songs are kind of dark for pop singles, so hence the next number, and the first to show that hint of Ferry I warned about. Hey Little Girl was a smash hit for Icehouse in the early 1980s, and is also one of their most catchiest, funky pop songs in their catalog. With its juxtaposition of thick beats and richly melodic chord structure, this upbeat piece borrows a little from the sound of AVALON, but Davies' confident croons and falsetto background vocals are a really strong ace card for this one. It's not only the inspiration that matters, but the execution, and this one is strong and whimsical. The song also worked good as a 12" mix (I downloaded and immediately adored it), but that failed to make it as a bonus track here. The actual song acknowledges the situation and hurt of the young girl he addresses (who "should have known better"), and offers straightforward advice without actually coming on:

"So why should I care if somebody let you down
That's nothing new, I know just what that can mean
Well, the way that they talk, the talk is all over town
And it’s no surprise, little girls hurt sometimes
Hey, little girl
Where will you hide, who can you run to now
Hey, little girl
Where will you go, who can you turn to now."

Street Café also seems a bit like Roxy Music, but like I said, whatever inspiration that builds up leads to the overall quality of the song, which is able to stand by itself. The slow-tempo drum beats and keyboard textures in the verses kick into gear with the rocking chorus. As a pop piece, it packs a definite punch due to the energy Davies places into the song, vocally and instrumentally. The lyrics also seem to acknowledge the path of lost love, and learns that no matter how time passes, there is always a crowd and a spot at the lonely old "street café" where the man will see his old flame someday again.

"Well, the people may come and go, but,
Here the street and the scene is just the way that it was
The way that it was
No, nothing will ever change here
Maybe a smile reminds you now and again
You wonder now and again
When another night will take you nowhere
You do gown to the street café, street café
And anytime you know the crowd can hide you
The days end at the street café, street café."

The Bowie-esque Glam is an upbeat instrumental which rides upon wailing and thumping keyboards, chanting background vocals, clattering drum beats and scrappy guitar licks. The only lyrics here are these three words: "Dedicated to glam." It became a popular live track and is a very welcome centerpiece to this album.

Trojan Blue is majestic and whimsical, a haunting ballad with a church organ-style synthesizer taking lead upon martial drum beats and Davies' shadowy baritone and wailing. This is as highly atmospheric as "Great Southern Land" is, providing another stellar moment on an already solid album. The lyrics offer a stirring portrait of olden times, as we view a Helen of Troy-type woman who has called for war, and the regret she should feel at the resulting wreckage.

"The finest treasures of kings, all of those precious things
They never tempted you
So as you stood in the ruins how could you dare to look on
As they burned for you
The broken pieces of clay and the palest eyes,
painted in Trojan blue."

One By One is a fiery piece of new wave which packs rampant electrics with a sturdy bass and drum rhythm, as Iva Davies places echo-enhanced vocals on top of another. The arrangement is sort of claustrophobic, but very groovy and polished. And the song simply ticks away at the pains of old mistakes:

"Here in this empty room, the memories will remain
And you may never learn you make the same mistakes again
One by one, you count them one by one."

Break These Chains packs a lot of power chords and screaming guitar licks into one dynamite rock arrangement, an arrangement which was left off the UK/US releases of the album. It's a surprise to hear after hearing the finely-produced pop delights of before, but it is a surefire winner. The song is a simple plaint to get out of a bad love affair, and Davies belts it out with healthy abandon for subtlety.

"It doesn't matter to me now I can leave it all behind
Well, it's the anger in me, you put the anger in me
And I remember a time, it's not so long ago
I was always on the other side and I knew there must be more
Hearing all your empty words, your promises
But now, I'm standing on the outside, watching it all come down on you
I've got to break these chains."

Mysterious Thing mixes ambient keyboard waves with a surprisingly funky groove that reaches a soul-charged zenith in the powerful chorus that packs jangling guitar strumming with a rhythmic drum/handclap pattern. And Davies' vocal traits retain the blend of charming baritone and deep monotone for the most of this one, a song about loving the kind of woman who deals with witchcraft.

"She tells me that she has to go she says that its all over now
She knows how to break me, she knows that it's easy
But when the rain is coming in, she calls me on the telephone
She says, "where did you get to...so come on I need you"
It's a mysterious thing well it's something I can't explain...
Mysterious thing, strangest feeling is holding me
So give me an answer, girl what must I do for your love."

Goodnight, Mr. Matthews (originally recorded for single release alongside "Love In Motion") mixes a bluesy, slow-tempoed bass-drum rhythm with a hypnotic synthesizer melody for the verses, before getting more dynamic in the refrains. There's also a nifty Stratocaster guitar solo mid-song. The song is another love-and-loss track, but the narrator feels a desperate loss of some connection that is giving him mad desperation and the need for repentance as emotions slip away.

"'Cause I love only you, no other will do
Loving you is such a fascination
And I've told you before, only you know the score
But you know a certain part is missing
If I go down on my knees, would you forgive me, please
It's only that my heart is breaking
But it's a very temporary thing, it just happens all the time
Little pieces of my world are falling, it's a good night."

Over The Line ("Are you living in heaven or hell, going over the line") was a B-side release for "Street Café" but appeared on the 1983 sampler EP called FRESCO, and is hardly more than a standard pop rocker with crunching guitars and cascading synths getting the most effect. This number runs all of 2:43; before you know it, the song kicks into Glam (12" version), an extended, more danceable mix of the album instrumental that strips away much of the gloss at times, and piles on the overdubbed, echoed vocals.

The bonus tracks on the remastered edition begin with two alternate mixes of album tracks. First is the interesting Uniform 12" (German version), with German-language translation sung by Iva himself, and an extended bridge which unleashes ricocheting handclaps, keyboards guitars and sound bytes. Next up is Street Café (single mix), with more distinct piano melodies and percussion, as well as louder, fuzzier guitar licks than the refined album version.

Following this are alternate versions of the first three Icehouse hits, Love In Motion, Can’t Help Myself and We Can Get Together. I don't remember hearing the original version of "Love In Motion," but here we get Love In Motion (USA recording), a version supposedly more poppy and well-produced than the original version released on FLOWERS. It’s definitely got that mellow, make-out feel to it, and deserves its status as an Australian hit.

The next two bonus tracks, Can’t Help Myself and We Can Get Together, were recorded live during 1982/1983 concerts when Iva got a full band together in order to support PRIMITIVE MAN. The former song is a really energetic number which busts out with a really nifty guitar solo, and the latter is another on-the-mark performance where the instrumentation is tight and the song given a faithful electric charge.

Icehouse's PRIMITIVE MAN didn’t get much attention here in America, so the only copies you can get are basically imported. But the album itself is a gem, with some of the best songs Icehouse ever recorded, and it gives Iva Davies the perfect chance to display his talent as a singer/songwriter by placing him in a nearly-isolated environment where it’s just him and the tools of his trade. A five-star CD, and well recommended if you can find it cheap, but I definitely say that it is worth every penny.


Recommended: Yes

Great Music to Play While: Reading or Studying