Closer: In The Market 1998 + Suddenly Comes... 2000

 
Review Summary: A fantastic start for a band destined to obscurity.
Review by callum theatre CONTRIBUTOR - April 11th, 2014
                                                         

Closer is an Alternative Rock band formed in 1991 in Athens, Greece. The band consists of Andreas Pappas (lead vocals), Vagelis Pappas, (bass guitar, backing vocals), Nick Zografos (drums), John Ververis (lead guitar) and Vaso Nikolopoulou (Violin).
                                                                   

Is one of the most important bands for the Greek indie scene. Since forming, back in the early 90’s,

they managed to stand out with their unique violin-driven, addictive melodies always “serving” the alternative/indie genre. Rightfully, the band has been chosen for the An Club’s 30th Anniversary/Gagarin 205’s 15th Fest, and they were kind enough to answer our questions, before their 24th November live appearance at AN Club.
                                                                    

It feels unfortunate that in recent years I’ve found myself getting increasingly tired with music. I find myself almost unaltered when I listen to an album no matter how much I may enjoy it. It’s a rare occasion when I finally find an album that has enough in it, that I will end up altered by it in a positive way. It was at this stage when I recall browsing a site that has since escaped my mind and I came across a song by an unknown band named Closer, the song was entitled “Wine”. I put it on and for the three and a half minute run time I found myself captivated by the music, from how fun it was down to the infectious bass work. This song was something special; something that had affected me.
                                                       

Closer is an Alternative Rock band hailing from Athens, Greece who in their life-span of over 15 years

have only released 3 full length albums. They are often overlooked and are unknown in, well, just about any other country than Greece. This is unfortunate as they have such a noticeably original and refreshing style of Slap-bass tinged Alt-Rock and also some interesting vocals from Andreas Melberg who sings in English despite it not being his native language, this makes for some awkward wording at times but ultimately doesn’t affect the album too much.
                                                                 

The first few songs of Closer's debut LP are dark and heavily rely on the atmospheric instrumentation. An example of this atmospheric style is found in the song “In The Desert” in which the indistinguishable vocals are hidden in the background, overcrowded with distorted guitars and harsh drumming patterns and the track works all the better because of this.
                                                            

At frequent times, however, you will see the album branch away from this pattern, such as in the previously mentioned “Wine” which could easily be described as a quirky and fun pop song until you

get down to the fantastically loud and engaging chorus which comes out of nowhere hitting your ears with intent to get stuck in your head. Another song that should be mentioned is the almost acoustic “blue pussy” which is sung by an unknown female vocalist beautifully and takes a minimalistic style that is only seen on this track. In The Market relies on catchy and infectious hooks that are able to impact the listener within first listen.
                                                     

There’s one huge flaw in this album which is down to final song “Morricone” that at 20 minutes long

goes nowhere. In its huge run time (taking up 1/3 of the album) it could have easily been cut as the song prior to it entitled, “ecstasy”, would have been a more appropriate album closer. Fortunately in this album there is still 40 minutes of enjoyable and accessible music on offer. In this album lies a variation of styles yet it remains consistent throughout. The instrumentation is exactly how it needs to be and the songs are a delight to the ears. Closer really hit gold with their debut release.

Super greek alternative band singin' in english.
                                                

Η πρώτη ολοκληρωμένη δισκογραφική δουλειά των Closer, το In The Market (1998, Studio II)

θεωρείται μέχρι σήμερα ένας δίσκος ορόσημο στην κατηγορία των αγγλόφωνων ελληνικών κυκλοφοριών. Η επιτυχία των Wine, Blue Pussy και Storm, σε συνδυασμό με τις διθυραμβικές κριτικές που κερδίζουν απ’ το σύνολο του τύπου, αποτελούν το κλειδί για την πρώτη τους  συμμετοχή στο Rockwave Festival (1998) στο πλευρό των Sonic Youth και των Pulp.
                                                        

Η ραγδαία αυξανόμενη δημοτικότητα της μπάντας, θα την οδηγήσει άλλες δύο φορές στην σκηνή του Rockwave, το 1999 μαζί με τους Garbage και την Patti Smith και το 2000, με τους Muse και τους Oasis, το σημαντικότερο όμως είναι ότι θα προσελκύσει το ενδιαφέρον της βρετανικής ΕΜΙ και του sublabel Chrysalis.
                                                     

Το δεύτερο full album των Closer (Suddenly Comes, 2000) θα κυκλοφορήσει
κάτω από την στέγη της βρετανικής εταιρίας, όπως και το single Mystery Falls Down, ένα χρόνο αργότερα, αποτελώντας το επιστέγασμα της καθολικής αποδοχής που γνώρισαν.
                                                    

Στο απόγειο της δημοτικότητάς τους, οι Closer εξαφανίζονται από τα
δισκογραφικά δρώμενα και τις live εμφανίσεις, δηλώνοντας το παρών έπειτα από χρόνια, με την αυθεντική αρχική σύνθεσή τους, και το τρίτο album τους.

CLOSER - IN THE MARKET  1998

 

Closer – In The Market
Label: Studio II Records – ST II CD/107
Format:     CD, Album
Country: Greece
Released: 1998
Genre: Rock
Style: Alternative Rock

TRAXS

                                                                                

01. Intro    3:21
02. In The Desert    4:31
03. In The Market    3:09
04. Storm    4:18
05. Bored    4:23
06. Wine    3:25
07. Too Late    4:34
08. Pain    3:31
09. Blue Pussy (Music By – Closer, Kostas Parissis/Vocals – Flora Ioannidi)  4:04
10. In Full Swing    3:43
11. Ecstasy    9:14
12. When Morricone Is Hypnotized    20:35

Credits

Acoustic Guitar – John Ververis, Kostas Parissis
Bass – Vagelis Pappas
Design [Cover], Graphics [Computer] – Kosmas A. Arvanitis, Lexima
Drums – Nick Zografos, Nick Hatzopoulos
E-Bow – Kostas Parissis
Electric Guitar – John Ververis
Lead Vocals – Andreas Pappas
Music By, Lyrics By – Closer
Percussion – Nick Zografos
Photography By – Andreas Zorbas
Producer – A. Christou, Closer
Recorded By, Mixed By – Aris Christou
Violin, Violin [Electric Violin] – Tasos Papastamou
Vocals – John Ververis, Vagelis Pappas

MP3 @ 320 Size: 153 MB
Flac  Size: 449 MB

CLOSER - SUDDENLY COMES...  2000

 

Closer – Suddenly Comes...
Label: Chrysalis – 7243 5 27471 2 2
Format:    CD, Album, Digipak
Country: Greece
Released: 2000
Genre: Rock
Style: Alternative Rock

TRAXS

                                                                            

01. In My Hours Of Need    4:32
02. Heaven Knows    3:44
03. Universe  (Drums – Costas Peroglou/Trumpet – Manos Theodosakis)  4:25
04. Session Lover    5:48
05. Total Bitch    4:23
06. Zooloop      0:50
07. Dark Spots    4:04
08. Today    5:19
09. Mystery Falls Down    5:25
10. ...And Waves Became Feelings
(Bass [Parts] – Vagelis Pappas/Guitar, Harmonica, Piano, Drums – John Ververis/Violin [Additional] – Tasos Papastamou)  5:01
11. In The Sunny Morning Rain  (Trumpet – Manos Theodosakis)  6:06
12. Zealot Ape    2:56
13. P.S. Away    14:29

Credits

Artwork, Design [Cover] – Melanie Merges-Dimitriou
Bass, Vocals – Vagelis Pappas
Classical Guitar, Electric Guitar, Vocals – John Ververis
Drums [Drumset], Percussion [Electronic] – Mike Karaplides
Engineer [Assistant] – Alex Indares
Engineer, Mixed By – Aris Christou (tracks: 1 to 11)
Management – Spilios Labropoulos
Mastered By – Christos Hatzistamou
Music By, Words By, Instruments – Closer
Photography By – Elias Bogdanis
Producer – Aris Christou (tracks: 1 to 9, 11 to 13), Closer (2) (tracks: 1 to 9, 11 to 13), John Ververis (tracks: 10)
Recorded By – Aris Christou (tracks: 1 to 11), Lazaros Karayiannis (tracks: 12, 13)
Recorded By [Violin] – Theodoris Zefkilis
Violin – Tasos Papastamou
Voice – Johnny Camp

MP3 @ 320 Size: 156 MB
Flac  Size: 443 MB

Two great albums from the Greek Underground.

This post is for my friends: Josef from Austria and D from USA.

Closer on Urban aspirines HERE

Weather Report: Forecast: Tomorrow (Box Set 3 CD) 2006

Weather Report was an American jazz fusion band active from 1970 to 1986. The band was founded (and initially co-led) by Austrian keyboard player Joe Zawinul, American saxophonist Wayne Shorter and Czech bassist Miroslav Vitouš. Other prominent members at various points in the band's lifespan included Jaco Pastorius, Alphonso Johnson, Victor Bailey, Chester Thompson, Peter Erskine, Airto Moreira, and Alex Acuña. Throughout most of its existence, the band was a quintet consisting of Zawinul, Shorter, a bass guitarist, a drummer, and a percussionist.
                                               

The band started as a free improvising jazz group with avant-garde and experimental electronic leanings; when Vitouš left Weather Report (due mostly to creative disagreements), Zawinul

increasingly steered the band towards a funky, edgy sound incorporating elements of R&B and native musics from around the world. Zawinul utilized the latest developments in synthesizer technology, and took advantage of a large variety of sounds and tone colors to make the band stand out. During the first half of their career, Weather Report were seen as one of the defining acts in modern jazz, winning the DownBeat "best album award" five times in a row.
                                              

The best-selling Heavy Weather album (1977) actually served up a hit song that became a jazz standard ("Birdland"), and with the entry of Peter Erskine on drums (1978), the group finally had a stable lineup for awhile.

Contrary to accepted wisdom, the departures of Pastorius (who died tragically from injuries sustained in a beating in 1987) and Erskine in 1982 led to a recharging of WR's batteries; their replacements Victor Bailey (bass), Omar Hakim (drums), Jose Rossy and later, Mino Cinelu (percussion) were more amenable to Zawinul's deepening inclinations for Third World rhythms, sounds and textures. This edition of WR rattled off three more albums, including the outstanding Procession.
                                              

But Shorter, who had gradually ceded nearly total artistic control to Zawinul, was getting restless; he took a leave of absence in 1985 and later that year, left WR for good. This Is This (1985), in which Erskine returns and Shorter plays only a limited role, was WR's swan song. Zawinul would tour in 1986 with a revamped version called Weather Update (a prelude to the keyboardist's own Zawinul Syndicate), and there was talk in 1996 about Zawinul and Shorter reuniting in the studio for a new edition of WR, but Zawinul later deflated the speculation.
                                             

Although a Weather Report reunion failed to materialize, many of the group's core members stayed

busy. Zawinul continued to perform and record up until his death from a rare form of skin cancer in 2011 at age 75. Shorter also remained active, forming a highly lauded acoustic outfit with pianist Danilo Perez in the 2000s and receiving a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2014. In 2015, drummer Erskine was integral in producing the four-disc Weather Report box set The Legendary Live Tapes, 1978-81, which featured previously unreleased concert recordings.
                                                        

Alongside bands such as Mahavishnu Orchestra, Return to Forever, Herbie Hancock's the Headhunters (all with members inspired by and partially responsible for the fusion-era work of Miles Davis), Weather Report is widely considered one of the defining bands of the jazz fusion genre.
                                               

[In an era when box sets are so plentiful and are basically de rigueur for any major, and some not so major labels, it's virtually a wonder that a Weather Report box set didn't appear until the 21st century. Things take as long as they must, evidently, and Legacy has done an outstanding job with this set.

Consisting of three CDs and a DVD of a phenomenal live concert from 1978 (with Jaco Pastorius and Peter Erskine on the Heavy Weather tour), this document considers every aspect of the band's career carefully and thoughtfully. It actually commences on disc one with some of Wayne Shorter's and Joe Zawinul's pre-Weather Report ensembles, beginning with their joint membership in Miles Davis' band during the Bitches Brew era with "In a Silent Way.
                                                      

                                                                       
" Zawinul composed it; he and Shorter both played on it. This short version of the tune was recorded by Davis, but according to Hal Miller's fantastic liner notes (there should be a Grammy nomination for

these), Zawinul never gave Miles the intro for the tune, just the one chord vamp — his own version is very different. Also here is Shorter's "Super Nova," from his Blue Note record of the same name, along with an excerpt of Zawinul's "Experience in E" with the Cannonball Adderley band (from Adderley's Domination). The reason? Both men showed concepts and tropes that became part of the Weather Report's method of working.
                                                                

The actual Weather Report tunes begin with "Milky Way," from their debut album, and continue with six more from that album, including the full version of "Eurydice." Weather Report was a free and progressive band which took its composer's frameworks and built floating, drifting, melding, sparkings of ideas into them; members at this point also included bassist Miroslav Vitous, percussionist Airto Moreira, and drummer Alphonse Mouzon. The band's sound got bigger and stranger on the classic I Sing the Body Electric disc from 1971.

Moreira was in transition and Eric Gravatt entered the drum chair as Dom Um Romγo became the band's percussionist. There is one of two unreleased cuts from these years: a different version of Zawinul's "Directions" with spark aplenty. The real emergence of a new Weather Report sound began in 1973 with the underrated and classic Sweetnighter. While only "125th Street Congress" is included to round out the first disc, it is a mighty one, clocking in at over 12 minutes and showcasing for the first time the kind of deep funky groove the band was capable of; the song included not only Vitous, but also electric bassist Andrew White, who played English horn on "Unknown Soldier" on their previous album.
                                                         

This is the point where the bass-heavy groove began to dominate the band's sound, and rhythmic groove became the centerpiece not only for improvisation, but composition as well. Disc two kicks off with an unreleased live version of "Nubian Sundance" from 1974, with electric bassist (Vitous had left by this point in time for a solo career) Alphonso Johnson who'd also played on Tale Spinnin'. Pastorius made his first appearance with the band on "Black Market" and thereafter Weather Report became a different unit. The music became more progressive, funky, and complex, where the groove was decorated with all kinds of syncopated keyboard and saxophone charts, and Pastorius became the centerpiece of the band's sound, and its third composer.
                                                                      

(His loss is clearly felt on Procession and Domino Theory, with Victor Bailey replacing him.) This sound becomes paradoxically more and more idiosyncratic and complicated. All the predictable selections are here, from "Birdland," "Three Views of a Secret," "Palladium," "Pursuit of the Woman in

the Feathered Red Hat," "Dream Clock," and "Dara Factor Two" from the subsequent studio albums, by which time the trio of Zawinul, Pastorius and Shorter was aided and abetted alternately by drummers Peter Erskine and Omar Hakim, and percussionists Bobby Thomas, Jr., Mino Cinelu and Jose Rossy, among others, and there are some live cuts from the 8:30 album, including the stunning "The Orphan," where Shorter and Zawinul played with the West Los Angeles Christian Academy Children's Choir.
                                                            

There is also a DJ Logic remix of "125th Street Congress," perhaps to illustrate how the band's sound has remained current after all this time. The DVD from the Heavy Weather tour with Pastorius and Erskine is simply outstanding, Whether watched or listened to it is a document that fans and collectors live for — there have been some dodgy boots of the music out there, but nothing matches this sound quality. All assembled, this is a fitting box set that represents a seminal part of jazz and pop/rock history.
                                                            

The only gripes are that some more of the unedited material from Live in Tokyo (the stuff that didn't make it to the flip of I Sing the Body Electric) isn't here since the album was never issued in the United States, and there isn't more unreleased material. But in sum, this is perhaps really a teaser to induce listeners to dig into the band's catalog. It serves not only as a fitting introduction to Weather Report, but also as a definitive will and testament to a band that was both a critical and popular success for over a decade.
By Thom Jurek]

Weather Report – Forecast: Tomorrow
Label:    Columbia – 82876855752, Legacy – 82876855752
Format:     3 x CD, Compilation, DVD, DVD-Video, PAL
Box Set, CD Sized Package
Country: Europe
Released: 2006
Genre: Jazz
Style: Fusion, Jazz-Funk, Jazz-Rock

Credits

Bass – Alphonso Johnson (tracks: 2-01, 2-03, 2-05, 2-06), Jaco Pastorius (tracks: 2-04, 2-07 to 2-10, 2-12 to 3-04, DVD), Miroslav Vitous (tracks: 1-02, 1-05 to 1-12,), Victor Bailey (tracks: 3-05 to 3-12)
Co-producer – Jaco Pastorius (tracks: 2-07 to 3-04), Omar Hakim (tracks: 3-08 to 3-10), Wayne Shorter (tracks: 2-04 to 2-06, 3-04 to 3-10)
Compiled By – Bob Belden, Joe Zawinul, Wayne Shorter
Drums – Alex Acuña (tracks: 2-07 to 2-09), Alphonse Mouzon (tracks: 1-04 to 1-08), Eric Gravatt (tracks: 1-09 to 1-12), Narada Michael Walden (tracks: 2-04, 2-05), Omar Hakim (tracks: 3-05 to 3-12), Peter Erskine (tracks: 2-10, 2-12, 3-01 to 3-04, DVD)
Guitar – John McLaughlin (tracks: 1-01, 1-02)
Keyboards, Piano, Electric Piano, Synthesizer, Organ – Joe Zawinul
Liner Notes – Bob Belden, Hal Miller (2), Peter Erskine
Mastered By – Maria Triana, Mark Wilder, Woody Pornpitaksuk
Percussion – Airto Moreira (tracks: 1-02, 1-05 to 1-08), Alex Acuña (tracks: 2-05, 2-06), Dom Um Romao (tracks: 1-09 to 2-01), Don Alias (tracks: 2-05), Jose Rossy (tracks: 3-05 to 3-11), Manolo Badrena (tracks: 2-08 to 2-10), Robert Thomas, Jr. (tracks: 3-01 to 3-04)
Producer – Joe Zawinul (tracks: 1-04 to 1-07, 1-09, 2-01 to 2-06), Shoviza Productions Inc. (tracks: 1-08, 1-11, 1-12), Wayne Shorter (tracks: 2-01 to 2-03, 3-11, 3-12)
Saxophone – Wayne Shorter (tracks: 1-01, 1-02, 1-04 to 2-02, 2-04 to 3-12, DVD)
 

Tracks

CD 1

                                                                                                                      

01. In a Silent Way (Zawinul) - 4:18  (8:30 1979)
02. Super Nova (Shorter) - 4:51  (Forecast: Tomorrow 2006)
03. Experience in E (Zawinul) - 5:44  (Forecast: Tomorrow 2006)
04. Milky Way (Shorter, Zawinul) - 2:32 (Weather Report 1971)
05. Tears (Shorter) - 3:24  (Weather Report 1971)
06. Eurydice (Shorter) - 10:46 (Weather Report 1971)
07. Orange Lady (Zawinul) - 8:42  (Weather Report 1971)
08. Unknown Soldier (Zawinul) - 7:59 (I Sing The Body Electric 1972)
09. Directions (Zawinul) - 5:31  (I Sing The Body Electric 1972)
10. Surucucu (Shorter) - 8:19  (I Sing The Body Electric 1972)
11. Second Sunday in August (Zawinul) - 4:12  (I Sing The Body Electric 1972)
12. 125th Street Congress (Zawinul) - 12:14   (Sweetnighter 1973)
 

MP3 @ 320 Size: 183 MB
Flac  Size: 473 MB

CD 2

                                                                                                       

13. Nubian Sundance (Shorter) - 13:07  (Mysterious Traveller 1974)
14. Blackthorn Rose (Shorter) - 5:00 (Mysterious Traveller 1974)
15. Badia (Zawinul) - 5:22  (Tale Spinnin' 1975)
16. Cannon Ball (Zawinul) - 4:38  (Black Market  1976)
17. Black Market (Zawinul) - 6:33  (Black Market  1976)
18. Three Clowns (Shorter) - 3:24  (Black Market  1976)
19. Havona (Pastorius) - 6:02   (Heavy Weather 1977)
20. Birdland (Zawinul) - 5:58   (Heavy Weather 1977)
21. Palladium (Shorter) - 4:48  (Heavy Weather 1977)
22. The Pursuit of the Woman with the Feathered Hat (Zawinul) - 5:03 (Mr. Gone  1978)
23. The Orphan (Shorter, Zawinul) - 3:17  (8:30 1979)
24. Sightseeing (Shorter) - 5:35  (8:30 1979)

MP3 @ 320 Size: 160 MB
Flac  Size: 430 MB

CD 3

                                                               

25. Dream Clock (Zawinul) - 6:29  (Night Passage 1980)
26. Three Views of a Secret (Pastorius) - 5:54  (Night Passage 1980)
27. Port of Entry (Shorter) - 5:08  (Night Passage 1980)
28. Dara Factor Two (Erskine, Pastorius,Shorter) - 4:27  (Weather Report 1982)
29. Procession (Zawinul) - 8:42   (Procession 1983)
30. Plaza Real (Shorter) - 5:31   (Procession 1983)
31. The Well (Shorter) - 3:58    (Procession 1983)
32. D-Flat Waltz (Zawinul) - 11:12   (Domino Theory 1984)
33. Domino Theory (Zawinul) - 6:10   (Domino Theory 1984)
34. Predator (Shorter) - 5:20   (Domino Theory 1984)
35. Face on the Barroom Floor (Shorter) - 3:59   (Sportin' Life 1985)
36. Indiscretions (Zawinul) - 4:08    (Sportin' Life 1985)
37. 125th Street Congress [DJ Logic Remix] (Zawinul) - 5:03   (Sweetnighter 1973)

MP3 @ 320 Size: 176 MB
Flac  Size: 468 MB

Icehouse: Primitive Man 1982

 

Icehouse is a rock band from Sydney, formed in 1977. Initially known in Australia for their pub-rock

style, the band later achieved mainstream success playing new-wave and synthpop music and attained Top 10 singles chart success locally and in both Europe and the U.S. The mainstay of both Flowers and Icehouse has been Iva Davies (singer-songwriter, record producer, guitar, bass, keyboards, oboe) supplying additional musicians as required. The name "Icehouse", adopted in 1981, comes from an old, cold flat Davies lived in and the strange building across the road populated by itinerant people.
                                                                

Davies and Icehouse extended the use of synthesizers particularly the Sequential Circuits Prophet-5

("Love in Motion", 1981), Linn drum machine ("Hey Little Girl", 1982) and Fairlight CMI (Razorback trailer, 1983) in Australian popular music. Their best-known singles on the Australian charts included "Great Southern Land", "Hey Little Girl", "Crazy", "Electric Blue" and "My Obsession"; with Top Three albums being Icehouse (1980, as Flowers), Primitive Man (1982) and Man of Colours (1987).
                                                                         

In January 1982 Davies recorded Primitive Man essentially as a solo project, it was co-produced with Keith Forsey who had worked with Giorgio Moroder and later worked with Simple Minds. Forsey supplied additional percussion; Davies supplied vocals, guitars, keyboards (Prophet 5), bass and

programmed the Linn drum machine. Released in August 1982 as an Icehouse album, Primitive Man reached No. 3 on the National album charts and provided their international breakthrough single, "Hey Little Girl" which peaked at No. 7 in Australia, No. 2 in Switzerland, No. 5 in Germany and top 20 in UK, Sweden and Netherlands. The album was less successful in the U.S where it peaked at number 129 on the Billboard 200 and the song "Hey Little Girl" appeared on the Billboard Top Tracks chart for one week at number 31. Another single "Great Southern Land" made the Australian Top 5, it was later featured in the 1988 Yahoo Serious film Young Einstein, and remains their most popular song according to listeners of Triple M in 2007.
                                                        

To promote Primitive Man on tour, Davies re-assembled Icehouse with Hoste and Lloyd, and new members: Robert Kretschmer (guitar, backing vocals), Guy Pratt (bass guitar, backing vocals) and Andy Qunta (keyboards, backing vocals). Fresco was a five-track EP released in 1983 by this line-up,

they supported David Bowie on the European section of his Serious Moonlight tour. Love in Motion was released in 1983 by Chrysalis for the UK market, it was the Primitive Man album with "Love in Motion" replacing album track "Break These Chains". Back in 1982, Russell Mulcahy had directed two of their video clips: "Hey Little Girl" and "Street Cafe" (released February 1983), after these Mulcahy asked Davies to record the score for his film Razorback; it was entirely instrumental, and featured Davies' first recorded use of the Australian designed Fairlight Music Computer. The trailer for the movie was released in 1983, the film itself in April 1984.
                                                               

Icehouse was inducted into the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) Hall of Fame on 16

August 2006. ARIA described Icehouse as "one of the most successful Australian bands of the eighties and nineties... With an uncompromising approach to music production they created songs that ranged from pure pop escapism to edgy, lavish synthesised pieces..." Icehouse has produced eight top-ten albums and twenty top-forty singles in Australia, multiple top-ten hits in Europe and North America and album sales of over 28-times platinum in Australasia alone.
                                                                       

DAVID BOWIE AND IVA DAVIES

Icehouse – Primitive Man
Label: 2000 FruitGum Corp. – FCCD 26010482
Format:    CD, Album, Remastered, Unofficial Release 2004
Country: Australia
Released: 1982    
Genre: Electronic, Rock
Style:    New Wave, Synth-pop

TRACKS

                                                                                

01.Great Southern Land    5:19
02.Uniform    4:13
03.Hey Little Girl    4:25
04.Street Cafe    4:13
05.Glam (Instrumental)    3:22
06.Trojan Blue    5:03
07.One By One    4:02
08.Breaking These Chains    3:43
09.Mysterious Thing   (Bass [Additional] – Abe Laboriel)  4:25
10.Goodnight, Mr. Matthews    4:00
11.Over The Line    2:45
12.Glam (12" Version)   (Mixed By – Cameron Allan)  6:33

Bonus Tracks
    
13.Uniform 12" (German Version)   (Mixed By – Iva Davies, Keith Forsey)  6:07
14.Street Cafe (Single Mix)   (Mixed By – Bob Clearmountain)  4:13
15.Love In Motion (USA Recording)    3:37
16.Can't Help Myself (Live)
(Bass – Guy Pratt
Drums – John Lloyd
Guitar – Robert Kretschmer
Keyboards – Andy Qunta, Michael Hoste
Lead Vocals – Iva Davies)  5:39
17.We Can Get Together (Live)
(Bass – Guy Pratt
Drums – John Lloyd
Guitar – Robert Kretschmer
Keyboards – Andy Qunta, Michael Hoste
Lead Vocals – Iva Davies)  3:54

Credits

                                                    

Mainman Iva Davies recorded this 1982 release as a one-man band in Sydney and Los Angeles; he worked with Simple Minds/Billy Idol mentor Keith Forsey.
The computer-based Linn drum/synthesiser sound was reminiscent of David Bowie, who hired ICEHOUSE as his opening act in 1983.

First single ‘Great Southern Land’ made the Australian Top 10 and remains the band’s most popular song. Singles ‘Hey Little Girl’ made No.17 and ‘Street Café’ No.62 in Britain (and last-named reached the Top 40 in Germany).
Among the 6 bonus tracks are the Single versions, B-sides, a track from the same period, plus the 1994 version of ‘Great Southern Land’, remixed by Bill Laswell.
The UK version of the ‘Primitive Man’ LP featured not only different cover artwork but also a new title as ‘Love In Motion’.
It reached Number 64 in the spring of 1983 (No.5 in Germany).

MP3 @ 320 Size: 175 MB
Flac  Size: 519 MB