Customer Reviews

Icon

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Before I start this review, I just want to state that I am a huge Nico fan. Saying that, I was incredibly disappointed with this album. First off there is only one interview session with Nico; and though it was amazing enough to hear her speak in my room, I was expecting several conversations like this strewn from 1977-1986 like the track listing said. No problem though, the one interview by itself is a wonderful gift to Nico fans, for it is a really good one. Now we come to the actual songs. "ICON" contains the tracks from the first "Drama of Exile" sessions. Once listening to them, it is easy to understand why the second (quite outstanding) version was made. The instrumentation isn't so bad, except for the fact it all sounds like a glaring blur layered right on top of Nico's vocals causing the ears to strain to find the lyrics. The "Drama of Exile" tracks are so jumbled and distant they are hard to enjoy; though "One More Chance", "60/40" and "Ghengis Khan" still have a spark of beauty to them, nothing here compares to the second product. Now the good stuff: "Vegas" and "Saeta". Simply put these two songs are the best tracks Nico has created in the 80's; "Vegas" seems to have an extremely catchy pop rythm, while "Saeta" holds a dark beauty comparable to her "The End" album. The live versions of "Mutterlein" and "We've Got the Gold" are definitely good, but feel very out of place compared to rock 'n roll ambience of the rest of the album. All in all, if you are starting to discover Nico's work, do not let "ICON" be your first album. For fans, "Vegas", "Saeta", the '86 interview, and the always lovely "Mutterlein" are the highlights of this album. Everything else you'll get out of "ICON" is a small piece of Nico history that doesn't do to much to represent her great talent.

If you are going to buy a Nico compilation, I would suggest buying 'The Classic Years' instead, as it has a better overall selection of her songs. If you are going to buy your first Nico album, I would suggest The Marble Index or Desertshore instead (and if you have those, pick up everything/anything else of hers produced by John Cale). I wouldn't really suggest this heartily, but then again, I wouldn't tell you to NOT buy it, because it's still Nico.