Ice Pickin

Albert Collins | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 25, 1990)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Alligator Records
• ASIN: B0000009XI
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #87,717 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #30 in Music > Indie Music > Blues > Texas Blues
  • #53 in Music > Indie Music > Blues > Electric Blues Guitar

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Until this album was released in 1978, Albert Collins had been a journeyman Texas bluesman, little known and unrecorded for six years. His guitar playing here won him a new generation of fans, and set the stage for the popularity he enjoyed until his death. His clustered, sustained, choked, and bent notes, played with his thumb and fingers, set a generation of pickers agog. The tone was piercing; the timing impeccable. Collins' vocals were never quite as strong, but it scarcely mattered as he was the man for whom the electric guitar might have been invented. The eight songs on this set include "When the Welfare Turns Its Back on You," and several jaw-dropping instrumentals. --Colin Escott

Product Description

Limited Edition Japanese pressing of this album comes housed in a miniature LP sleeve. 2007. --This text refers to an alternate Audio CD edition.

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Classic Collins, November 26, 2001

By 

Michael Strom (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Ice Pickin (Audio CD)

The late Albert Collins was one of the very best guitarists America ever produced. His idiosyncrasies probably hurt his recording career, because he didn't fit neatly into a marketable category. He incorporated elements of blues, R&B, rock & had a very funky sound. If you ever heard him play, you would recognize his style within 3 notes, a block away. He tuned his Telecaster to a D-minor open chord & always had a capo halfway up the neck. He used his thumbnail instead of a pick, and didn't really pick, strum or pluck -- he attacked the strings in an incredibly percussive way. His style was so unusual that you might overlook the fact that the guy could flat-out play.

Unless you saw him live. Albert was a showman, and you couldn't take your eyes off him. He had crazy-looking eyes, a perpetually impish look about him, and he was really, really funny. It's a cliche to talk about a guitarist making it sing, scream or cry. Albert made his guitar swear during his nightly diatribes at his woman.

Although there are great tracks on his live efforts, some of the cuts really worked a lot better where you could actually see him. For those who never saw him live, there are three studio CDs that give a good overview of his work.

THe 2-CD Complete Imperial Recordings set is a revelation to those who are only familiar with Albert's work after his Alligator releases finally raised his profile in the late 70's. Not yet the pyrotechnic showman, this compilation of 3 60's albums shows a surprising kinship with the solid, fundamental funk of the Meters. At times, he sounds like he was from New Orleans, not Texas. Understated, soulful, classy and as always, cool. Most cuts are the Albert Collins equivalent of lean, powerful Booker T & the MGs instrumental workouts. The 36 songs are good enough to stand on their own, and he didn't try to overpower anyone with his technical prowess.

Like a number of unjustly neglected blues acts, Albert got a boost from Alligator Records in the 70's. His breakthrough came with 1978's Ice Pickin.' It features two of the live-wire instrumentals he was famous for ("Ice Pick," "Avalanche") and a generous helping of his world-weary grievances with women, including the classic "Conversation With Collins" (more fun live, but still fun on disc) where his guitar not only spouts obscenities, it takes on the multiple roles of a complaining husband, and a wife both seductive & defiant. Some shuffles, a couple slow burners.

In 1991, Albert served up Iceman, practically a straight-up funk revue. If you play it for people who aren't familiar with electric blues, they'll adamantly deny that it is blues at all. Well, it is & it isn't. Albert is backed by the fullest band sound he ever had, with a full 4-man horn section, bass, organ & keyboards (yes, 2 different guys), plenty of rhythm guitarists, a solid rock-steady drummer, and 2 female background singers cooing "Mr. Collins, Mr. Collins!" on the tracks that start & end the CD.

All three come highly recommended.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Master of the Telecaster in Fine Form, February 5, 2002

By 

Jon Kleinman "guitar player/blues freak" (Rockville Centre, New York United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Ice Pickin (Audio CD)

When people refer to the late Albert Collins as the "Master of the Telecaster", it's for a good reason. The Texas bluesman was known for the unique, instantly recognizable sound he wrung out of his guitar. Playing a specially tuned Fender Telecaster with his bare fingers instead of a pick, Albert got a sound that was dynamic and powerful, yet never lacking in soul. He could shake the walls playing a driving shuffle or send chills up your spine with a gut wrenching slow blues. His backup band, the Icebreakers, always provided exceptionally tight accompaniment. Until his untimely death of lung cancer in 1993, Albert was one of the most in demand performers on the contemporary blues scene.

"Ice Pickin'" is Albert Collins' first recording for Alligator records, and finds Albert and his band in fine form. The CD kicks off with the up-tempo shuffle "Honey Hush", a showcase for Albert's guitar and wry vocals. The band slips into a low-down groove for the powerful slow blues "When the Welfare Turns its Back on You." On this tune Albert shares solo space with Chicago sax man AC Reed, and is backed by a soulful horn section. The horns return in the next track, a funky instrumental groove called "Ice Pick." "Cold, Cold Feeling" is a mournful minor key blues that gives Albert plenty of room to stretch out on guitar, and showcases some of his most soulful singing. "Master Charge" is a modern day blues classic, featuring a funky rhythm section and tongue in cheek lyrics about the dangers of credit card debt. "Conversation With Collins" displays a similar tongue in cheek attitude, as Albert tells amusing tales of his domestic life with musical accompaniment. The disc concludes with the driving instrumental shuffle "Avalanche", another showcase for Albert's no-holds-barred guitar playing.

With its spectacular guitar work, tight rhythm section and soulful horn arrangements, "Ice Pickin'" is a contemporary blues masterpiece. After listening to this CD, you just may find yourself wanting to hear more of the Master of the Telecaster at work. "Frostbite", "Live in Japan", and "Showdown" (with Johnny Copeland and Robert Cray) were all recorded for the Alligator label, and feature Albert at his best.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Blues Master, March 29, 2003

By 

Russell Diederich (Littleton, CO United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Ice Pickin (Audio CD)

Albert Collins was one of the most unique blues pickers to grace the stage. Tuning his guitar to alternate tunings and using a capo, he would walk around the bar with his 100-foot cord wandering into the bathrooms, out on the street, around the bar playing the blues all the while. He mixes his blues up playing soft, slow blues, and powerful instrumentals. Sometimes his topics are serious, other times his humor comes through. Collins was quite the entertainer.

Although "Ice Pickin'" is a short album, it is jammed with the blues over eight tracks. In such a short amount of time, Collins covers a lot of ground. From his upbeat "Honey, Hush!" to making his guitar talk the argument between him and his wife on "Conversation with Collins" it is nothing but enjoyable. He shines with instrumentals like "Ice Pick" and "Avalanche". His phrasing is like talking. Never to many words, and he can get his point across with hardly any effort. Humor shows through in "Too Tired", where he's too tired to stand after sitting on a pin, and "Master Charge". He also gets heavy on "When the Welfare Turns Its Back On You" and "Cold, Cold Feeling".

A definite master of the guitar, and the blues. He has entertained many a people over his life. As he said in the movie "Adventures In Babysitting" - No one leaves until they sing the blues. He sure did.