Measure for Measure is the fourth studio album by the Australian rock band Icehouse, released in April 1986 in Australia by Regular Records and in the United States by Chrysalis Records. It was one of the first three albums to be recorded entirely digitally.
Contents
Recording
Lead vocalist Iva Davies said the album was the first time he had worked with producers he could "get on with" and also the first time they had a surplus of songs to choose from. "We've actually got more songs than we'll ever be able to use. It's very strange. It's created problems because they've all turned out really well and I'm loath to give anything away."
"No Promises" and "Regular Boys" are re-recorded tracks that were originally from the soundtrack album Boxes (1985).The recording of "Cross The Border" included Guy Pratt (later Pink Floyd) on bass, Steve Jansen on drums (formerly of the band Japan) and Brian Eno (of Roxy Music) on backing vocals and piano/keyboards.
The female vocals on the album's bonus track "Into The Wild" are co-credited to P.P. Arnold who in Australia is best known for the Small Faces song "Tin Soldier". An alternate techno-style version titled "Wild" appears on the 1994 Icehouse album Full Circle. Remixed and produced by Cameron Allan (who co-produced the debut Icehouse album in 1980) "Wild" is also listed in the end credits of the 1996 film Space Jam.
Release and critical reception
The album, which peaked at number eight in Australia, features the singles "No Promises", "Baby, You're So Strange", "Mr. Big", "Cross the Border" and "Paradise". "No Promises" had been released as a 7-inch vinyl single in October 1985, it peaked at number 30 on the Australian singles chart. It was used for the Boxes ballet created by Icehouse members Iva Davies and Robert Kretschmer together with Sydney Dance Company's choreographer Graeme Murphy, Davies and Kretschmer performed the score with guest percussionist Masaki Tanazawa.
Both "No Promises" and "Cross the Border" were remixed and released as 12-inch singles, and while a major US pop hit would elude them until the following year, "No Promises" went Top 10 on both the Billboard Rock tracks and Dance/Club charts. "Cross the Border" did not see as much club play in the US, but was a Top 20 rock hit there. In Australia, the two further singles lifted from the album, "Baby, You're So Strange" and "Mr. Big", both reached the top 20, higher than the Australian chartings of the singles which achieved international success. "Paradise" was released as a late 1986 US/UK single but achieved no notable chart success in either market.
There are various versions of this album; the Australian and American releases each feature different artwork and track running order while the 2002 Australian remastered version features bonus tracks.
Personnel
Credited to:
Icehouse
Iva Davies – vocals, guitar, keyboards (Fairlight CMI), drum programming, bass guitar
Simon Lloyd – reeds, brass, trumpet, keyboard programming, Fairlight CMI
Robert Kretschmer – guitar
Guy Pratt – bass guitar, fretless bass guitar
Andy Qunta – keyboards, backing vocals
Steve Jansen – drums, percussion (on "No Promises", "Cross the Border" and "The Flame")
Masaki Tanazawa – drums, percussion
Additional musicians
Brian Eno – backing vocals, piano, keyboards
Stuart Gordon – strings
Maurice Green – backing vocals
Gasper Lawal – percussion
David Lord – keyboards, string arrangement, percussion
Shena Power – female voices
Glen Tommey – percussion
Recording
Engineer – Rhett Davies, David Lord, Andy Lyden, Iva Davies, Warne Livesey
Assistant – George Shilling, Matt Howe