''Ice Pickin is a studio album by
Albert Collins
Albert Gene Drewery, known as Albert Collins and the Ice Man (October 1, 1932 – November 24, 1993),Skeely, Richard. "Albert Collins: Biography" Allmusic.com. was an American electric blues guitarist and singer with a distinctive guitar style. ...
, released in 1978. It was Collins's breakthrough album.
[ ''Ice Pickin was nominated for a 1979 ]Grammy Award
The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...
.
Production
The album was recorded at Curtom Studios, in Chicago.The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper
A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background.
Newspapers can cover a wide ...
'' wrote of Collins's guitar technique: "Collins had developed a highly distinctive approach to the guitar, tuning it to a D minor chord and using a capo high up the neck to achieve a sharp, brilliant effect, his 'ice-cold, sheet-metal sound' that was mirrored in the name of his band, The Icebreakers."
Critical reception
The ''Bay State Banner
The ''Bay State Banner'' is an independent newspaper primarily geared toward the readership interests of the African-American community in Boston, Massachusetts. The ''Bay State Banner'' was founded in 1965 by Melvin B. Miller who remains the chi ...
'' thought that "when Collins cooks, with fluent riffs and humorous vocals plus innovative tuning and incorporation of minor blues keys, the result is masterful." ''The Rolling Stone Album Guide
''The Rolling Stone Album Guide'', previously known as ''The Rolling Stone Record Guide'', is a book that contains professional music reviews written and edited by staff members from ''Rolling Stone'' magazine. Its first edition was published in 1 ...
'' wrote that the album "burrows down to the real nitty gritty of urban existence ... it's one of the best '70s blues albums."[ The '']Chicago Tribune
The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television a ...
'' called the album "a classic."[ The '']Iowa City Press-Citizen
The ''Iowa City Press-Citizen'' is a daily newspaper published in Iowa City, Iowa, United States that serves most of Johnson County and portions of surrounding counties. Its primary competitors are '' The Gazette'' of Cedar Rapids, which has a ne ...
'' called it "a cool, invigorating blast across the era's barren blues landscape." The ''Dayton Daily News
The ''Dayton Daily News'' (''DDN'') is a daily newspaper published in Dayton, Ohio, United States. It is owned by Cox Enterprises, Inc., a privately held global conglomerate headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, with approximately 5 ...
'' wrote that Collins "made several other stellar releases before his untimely demise in '93, but none match the muscle and depth of this certifiable classic."
''Melody Maker
''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. It was founded in 1926, largely as a magazine for dance band musicians, by Leicester-born ...
'' deemed it the best blues album of 1978, as did the Montreaux Jazz Festival
The Montreux Jazz Festival (formerly Festival de Jazz Montreux and Festival International de Jazz Montreux) is a music festival in Switzerland, held annually in early July in Montreux on the Lake Geneva shoreline. It is the second-largest annu ...
.The Penguin Guide to Blues Recordings
''The Penguin Guide to Blues Recordings'' is an encyclopedia of blues music albums released on CD.
Content
The book was released on 31 October 2006 and was written by Tony Russell and Chris Smith with contributions by Neil Slaven, Ricky Russe ...
'' awarded the album a “Crown”, indicating that they considered it to be an exceptional CD, and one that should be part of any blues collection.
Personnel
*Albert Collins - guitar
The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected string ...
, vocals
*Larry Burton - guitar
*Allen Batts - keyboards
Keyboard may refer to:
Text input
* Keyboard, part of a typewriter
* Computer keyboard
** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping
** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware
Music
* Musi ...
*Aron Burton
Aron Burton (June 15, 1938 – February 29, 2016) was an American electric and Chicago blues singer, bass guitarist and songwriter. In a long career as a sideman he played with Freddie King, Albert Collins and Junior Wells and released a number ...
- bass
Bass or Basses may refer to:
Fish
* Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species
Music
* Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range:
** Bass (instrument), including:
** Acoustic bass gu ...
*Casey Jones
John Luther "Casey" Jones (March 14, 1863 – April 30, 1900) was an American railroader who was killed when his passenger train collided with a stalled freight train at Vaughan, Mississippi.
Jones was a locomotive engineer for the Illinois Ce ...
- drums
A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair of matching drumsticks ...
*A.C. Reed
Aaron Corthen, better known as A.C. Reed (May 9, 1926 – February 24, 2004) was an American blues saxophonist, closely associated with the Chicago blues scene from the 1940s into the 2000s.
Biography
Reed was born in Wardell, Missouri, a ...
- tenor saxophone
The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (while ...
*Chuck Smith - baritone saxophone
Track listing
#"Honey, Hush! (Talking Woman Blues)" (Lowell Fulson
Lowell Fulson (March 31, 1921March 7, 1999) was an American blues guitarist and songwriter, in the West Coast blues tradition. He also recorded for contractual reasons as Lowell Fullsom and Lowell Fulsom. After T-Bone Walker, he was the most ...
, Washington) - 04:28
#"When the Welfare Turns Its Back on You" (Lucious Porter Weaver, Sonny Thompson) - 05:26
#"Ice Pick" (Collins) - 03:08
#"Cold, Cold Feeling" (Jessie Mae Robinson) - 05:19
#"Too Tired" (Saul Bihari
The Bihari brothers, Lester, Jules, Saul and Joe, were American businessmen of Hungarian Jewish origins. They were the founders of Modern Records in Los Angeles and its subsidiaries, such as Meteor Records, based in Memphis. The Bihari brothers wer ...
, Maxwell Davis, Johnny "Guitar" Watson
John Watson Jr. (February 3, 1935 – May 17, 1996), known professionally as Johnny "Guitar" Watson, was an American musician and singer-songwriter. A flamboyant showman and electric guitarist in the style of T-Bone Walker, his recording caree ...
) - 03:00
#"Master Charge" (Gwen Collins) - 05:12
#"Conversation with Collins" (Collins) - 08:52
#"Avalanche" (Collins) - 02:39
Liner notes
According to the inside cover of the album:
References
External links
Albert Collins Alligator Website
{{Authority control
1978 albums
Albert Collins albums
Albums produced by Bruce Iglauer
Alligator Records albums