Measure for Measure (album)

Measure for Measure
Measure for Measure
	Australian cover
Studio album by Icehouse
Released	April 1986
Recorded	August 1985
Studio	Crescent Studios (Bath); Whitehouse (Livingston); Air Studios (London);
Genre	Rock; new wave;
Length	51:55
Label	Regular
Producer	David Lord; Rhett Davies;
Icehouse chronology
Singles from Measure for Measure
	"No Promises"; Released: 28 October 1985; "Baby, You're So Strange"; Released: 10 March 1986; "Mr. Big"; Released: 16 June 1986; "Cross the Border"; Released: 20 October 1986; "Paradise"; Released: 1986 (US and UK only);
Alternative cover
	US cover

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[2]

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.^[3]

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."^[4] "No Promises" and "Regular Boys" are re-recorded tracks that were originally from the soundtrack album Boxes (1985).

Release and critical reception

The album, which peaked at number eight in Australia,^[5] 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.^[5] 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.^[6]

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.^[7] "Cross the Border" did not see as much club play in the US, but was a Top 20 rock hit there.^[7] In Australia, the two further singles lifted from the album, "Baby, You're So Strange" and "Mr. Big", both reached the top 20,^[5] 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.

Track listing

All tracks are written by Iva Davies and Robert Kretschmer, except where noted

Australian release
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Paradise"	Iva Davies	4:47
2.	"No Promises"		4:40
3.	"Mr Big"		3:33
4.	"Angel Street"		4:46
5.	"The Flame"	Davies	5:11
6.	"Regular Boys"		3:30
7.	"Cross the Border"		4:25
8.	"Spanish Gold"	Davies	4:17
9.	"Lucky Me" aka "American Way"		4:38
10.	"Baby, You're So Strange"		3:59

1993 reissue bonus tracks
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
11.	"Too Late Now"	Davies	3:11
12.	"Into the Wild"		4:53

2002 remastered reissue bonus tracks
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
13.	"Just a Word"		4:26
14.	"The Perfect Crime"	Davies Kretschmer Andy Qunta Masaki Tanazawa	3:38
15.	"The Flame" (live)	Davies	5:26
16.	"No Promises"		5:25
17.	"Sister" (live)	Davies Michael Hoste	3:48
25.	Untitled (live)

American release
No.	Title	Length
1.	"No Promises"
2.	"Cross the Border"
3.	"Spanish Gold"
4.	"Paradise"
5.	"The Flame"
6.	"Regular Boys"
7.	"Mr. Big"
8.	"Angel Street"
9.	"Lucky Me"
10.	"Baby, You're So Strange"
11.	"Too Late Now"
12.	"Into the Wild"

Personnel

Credited to:^[8]^[9]

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

Charts

Weekly charts

Weekly chart performance for *Measure for Measure*
Chart (1986)	Peak position
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)^[5]	8
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)^[10]	64
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)^[11]	37
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)^[12]	2
US Billboard 200^[13]	55

Year-end charts

Year-end chart performance for *Measure for Measure*
Chart (1986)	Position
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)^[14]	38
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)^[15]	19

Certifications

Certifications for *Measure for Measure*
Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
New Zealand (RMNZ)^[16]	Gold	7,500^{^}
^{^} Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

^ "Singles: New Releases". Kent Music Report. No. 590. 28 October 1985 – via Imgur.
^ AllMusic review
^ "Artist: Icehouse". Warner Music Australia. Archived from the original on 11 June 2008. Retrieved 16 June 2008.
^ David Rowley (January 1986). "What's in the Box, Iva?". Countdown Magazine. No. 30.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Kent 1993, p. 147.
^ McFarlane, Ian (1999). Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop (doc). Allen & Unwin. ISBN 1-86448-768-2. Retrieved 11 June 2008.
^ ^a ^b "Billboard Music Charts – Search Results – Icehouse". Billboard. Retrieved 3 July 2008.
^ "Measure for Measure (bonus tracks) credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 2 July 2008.
^ Holmgren, Magnus. "The Flowers / Icehouse". Australian Rock Database. Passagen.se (Magnus Holmgren). Archived from the original on 29 September 2013. Retrieved 21 March 2014.
^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Icehouse – Measure for Measure" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Icehouse – Measure for Measure" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
^ "Charts.nz – Icehouse – Measure for Measure". Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 December 2021.
^ "Icehouse Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
^ Kent 1993, p. 438.
^ "Top Selling Albums of 1986". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
^ "New Zealand album certifications – Icehouse – Measure for Measure". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 20 November 2024.

Bibliography

Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.

External links

Measure for Measure at Discogs (list of releases)

[1] "Singles: New Releases". Kent Music Report. No. 590. 28 October 1985 – via Imgur.

[2] AllMusic review

[Warner-3] "Artist: Icehouse". Warner Music Australia. Archived from the original on 11 June 2008. Retrieved 16 June 2008.

[4] David Rowley (January 1986). "What's in the Box, Iva?". Countdown Magazine. No. 30.

[FOOTNOTEKent1993147-5] Kent 1993, p. 147.

[McF-6] McFarlane, Ian (1999). Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop (doc). Allen & Unwin. ISBN 1-86448-768-2. Retrieved 11 June 2008.

[Billboard_charts_search-7] "Billboard Music Charts – Search Results – Icehouse". Billboard. Retrieved 3 July 2008.

[Allmusic-8] "Measure for Measure (bonus tracks) credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 2 July 2008.

[Holmgren-9] Holmgren, Magnus. "The Flowers / Icehouse". Australian Rock Database. Passagen.se (Magnus Holmgren). Archived from the original on 29 September 2013. Retrieved 21 March 2014.

[ac_Netherlands_Icehouse-10] "Dutchcharts.nl – Icehouse – Measure for Measure" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 5 February 2022.

[ac_Germany4_Icehouse-11] "Offiziellecharts.de – Icehouse – Measure for Measure" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 5 February 2022.

[ac_New_Zealand_Icehouse-12] "Charts.nz – Icehouse – Measure for Measure". Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 December 2021.

[ac_Billboard200_Icehouse-13] "Icehouse Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 5 February 2022.

[FOOTNOTEKent1993438-14] Kent 1993, p. 438.

[15] "Top Selling Albums of 1986". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 5 February 2022.

[New_ZealandIcehouseMeasure_for_MeasurealbumCertRef-16] "New Zealand album certifications – Icehouse – Measure for Measure". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 20 November 2024.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]

[14]

[15]

[16]

v t e Icehouse
Iva Davies Keith Welsh Don Brown Michael Hoste Anthony Smith John Lloyd Robert Kretschmer Guy Pratt Andy Qunta Glenn Krawczyk Simon Lloyd Paul Wheeler Roger Mason Paul Gildea Tony Llewellyn David Chapman Max Lambert Adrian Wallis
Studio albums	Icehouse (as Flowers) Primitive Man Sidewalk Boxes Measure for Measure Man of Colours Code Blue Big Wheel
Soundtracks	The Berlin Tapes
Remix albums	Full Circle Meltdown
Compilations	Great Southern Land Masterfile The Singles Love In Motion No Promises Heroes White Heat: 30 Hits
EPs	Fresco EP Spin One
Singles	"Can't Help Myself" "We Can Get Together" "Walls" "Icehouse" "Love in Motion" "Great Southern Land" "Hey Little Girl" "Taking the Town" "Don't Believe Anymore" "Dusty Pages" "No Promises" "Crazy" "Electric Blue" "My Obsession" "Love in Motion" (feat. Chrissy Amphlett) "Great Southern Land" (remix) "Hey Little Girl '97 remixes"
Related articles	Discography