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.

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.

The track "The Flame" was written by Davies in reference to the Langa massacre which took place in South Africa in 1985 on the 25th anniversary of the Sharpeville massacre. Davies makes further reference at the opening of a live performance of the song in 1986 in New York City.

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 to Sydney Dance Company's choreographer Graeme Murphy and Iva Davies.

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 charting of the singles which achieved international success. "Paradise" was released late 1986 in US/UK as 7-inch (3:42) and 12-inch (4:47) singles, but achieved no notable chart success in either market.

There are various versions of this album; the Australian (Regular Records) and international (Chrysalis Records) releases each feature different artwork and track running order while the 2002 Australian remastered version features bonus tracks. The front cover artwork for the international version was by Norman Moore.

Track listing

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 Mastering – Paul Ibbotson Mixing – David Hemmings, Warne Livesey, Glen Tommey Assistant – Raine Shine Producer – Rhett Davies (2,3,4,7,10,11,12), David Lord (1,4,6,8,9) Digital remastering (2002) – Iva Davies, Ryan Scott

Artwork Brett Cabot – Cover Photography David McKenzie – Artwork Norman Moore - Artwork (international album cover)

Charts

Weekly charts + Weekly chart performance for Measure for Measure Chart (1986) Peakposition Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)8

Year-end charts + Year-end chart performance for Measure for Measure Chart (1986) Position Australian Albums (Kent Music Report) 38 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ) 19

Certifications

References

Bibliography

External links