Man of Colours

The entire album is a solid collection of late eighties material from the band that is firmly entrenched in the same vein as other bands of their time, such as INXS, Midnight Oil and, to a certain extent, even U2. Though "Crazy" will always live in my mind as a song that I will always remember 1987 for, the rest of the album is packed with great works, such as "Electric Blue", the title track and "Kingdom". To complement it, this remastered edition comes packed with extra tracks of remixes of the other songs. In particular, the midnight mix of "Crazy" is the 'background' music that was playing in the beginning of the song's video, before the actual song kicked in, and it's one hell of a song to begin the day!

Overall: go, don't walk -run to get a copy of this album!


Introspection is NOT a dead artform   November 7, 2003
Lee Donovan (Pittsburgh, PA)
7 out of 7 found this review helpful

Icehouse has always been difficult band to pigeon hole. That can be a good thing for artists, who prefer to move from style to style, genre to genre, if their writing talents are so disposed. Most songwriters will find a niche, one that's safe, self-expressive (and profitable). From its very beginnings, Icehouse moved through a variety of styles and personnel changes, culminating in the seminal "Man of Colours", a near tribute to the song-writing prowess of the band's longtime frontman, Iva Davies, the seemingly only, constant member of the band.
Davies is a consummate songwriter. He has the ability to shove his heart into your face, and still reveal only what he wants to let you see. He has made his dark, quirky mind and heartfelt emotion truly available to us in this work, a collection of pop savvy melodies and haunting, atmospheric songs.
An undercurrent of insecurity seems to be pervasive in many of the tracks, such as the opener, "Crazy", a wonderful pop, yet powerful song with one heck of a hook, a solid rhythm complement and great guitar sound, reminiscent of "the Fixx" or early James Honeyman-Scott of the "Pretenders". The insecurity is found in the lyrics, not the masterful execution by the musicians, with lines such as the chorus: "Yeah, you gotta be crazy, baby/ To want a guy like me/ Yeah, you gotta be out of your mind/ Crazy..."
Tracks like "Electric Blue" continue Mr. Davies' feeling of anxiety with exposing his feelings, or would writing about those anxieties actually be his way of dealing with them(?): "I just freeze/ Everytime you see through me/ And it's all over you? Electric Blue..."
"Man of Colours", the title track, is a smorgasbord of well documented emotion, and "Heartbreak Kid" is eerie, haunting, and beautiful in its execution. This cd is a must for any Iva Davies fan, Icehouse fan, or any fan of well written pop music.


Icehouse fans should love this cd with no exceptions   June 22, 2003
Peter (Australia)
6 out of 6 found this review helpful

First of all the tracks on this cd are simply unique. The title of the album is simply a reminder of one of the most head-catchy songs of icehouse's you will ever locate (Man Of Colors) and as for the likes of 'Sunrise' and a few of the other important songs on here you will not be disappointed. I have listened to many of the other complilations of Icehouse's individualised cds and they all lack the geniune need for including some really head-catchy music that remains in the brain-cells for days. Well believe me you will find the through taste of music on this album irresistable so if you are a Icehouse fan looking for music and you have just happened to come here to amazon from any remote location (i.e. even antarctica); throw this one on your shopping basket and get it delivered to your frontdoor instantaneously within 24-caret gold protective gladwrap - you will not regret paying the extra dollars to get it delivered ;-) - trust me...


Ice Houses best album!   March 18, 2004
Micheal Hunt (Hellbourne)
5 out of 5 found this review helpful

Its not hard to understand why this is one of Australis best selling albums of all time! The band put together some great songs here that range from a light rock to southing sounds and relaxing hangover music! And now with the re-issue including the great song "touch the fire" your getting an even better deal then the original release!


PRICELESS   November 14, 2002
K. M. Morris (Reno, NV)
6 out of 7 found this review helpful

This album is priceless. Simply every song on this CD are great to listen to from beginning to end. Its about time Warner Bros Re-released Icehouse's albums. But above all, Man of Colours stands as their all time best. Best of all this cd is remastered to perfection and it contains Bonus tracks of all new mixes and never before heard songs.