Primitive Man (album)

Primitive Man is the second studio album by Australian synthpop band Icehouse, released in September 1982. In January 1982, Icehouse founder Iva Davies started recording Primitive Man essentially as a solo project,[3] it was co-produced with Keith Forsey[4] who later worked with Simple Minds and Billy Idol. Forsey supplied additional percussion; Davies supplied vocals, lead guitar, keyboards (Sequential Circuits Prophet-5), bass guitar and programmed the Linn drum machine.[5] Released as an Icehouse album, Primitive Man reached #3 on the National album charts[6] and provided their international breakthrough single, "Hey Little Girl" which peaked at #7 in Australia,[6] #2 in Switzerland,[7] #5 in Germany,[8] Top 20 in UK,[9] Sweden and Netherlands,[3] and #31 on the U.S. Billboard Mainstream Rock chart.[10] Another single "Great Southern Land" made the Australian Top 5,[6] it was later featured in the 1988 Yahoo Serious film Young Einstein,[11] and remains their most popular song according to listeners of Triple M in 2007.[12] To promote Primitive Man on tour, Davies re-assembled Icehouse with Michael Hoste (keyboards) and John Lloyd (drums), and new members: Bob Kretschmer (guitar, backing vocals), Guy Pratt (bass guitar, backing vocals) and Andy Qunta (keyboards, backing vocals).[4]

For discussions of primitive humans, see Human evolution.
Primitive Man
1982 Australian release (Regular Records)
Studio album by
Icehouse
Released6 September 1982 (1982-09-06)
RecordedMay 1982
StudioParadise Studios, Sydney; Westlake Audio, Eldorado and Musicland West Studios, Los Angeles
GenreSynthpop
Length42:45
LabelChrysalis Records
ProducerIva Davies, Keith Forsey
Icehouse chronology
Icehouse
(1980)		 Primitive Man
(1982)		 Fresco EP
(1983)
Singles from Primitive Man
  1. "Great Southern Land"
    Released: August 30, 1982
  2. "Hey Little Girl"
    Released: November 15, 1982
  3. "Street Café"
    Released: March 21, 1983
  4. "Uniform"
    Released: 1983 (U.S./Euro release only)
Love in Motion
1983 UK release (Chrysalis Records)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]
Rolling Stone[2]

After the United Kingdom Top 20 chart success of "Hey Little Girl" the album was re-released as Love In Motion in 1983 and contained the same tracks in different order except "Break These Chains" being replaced by "Love in Motion"; the alternate cover work was a still from the Russell Mulcahy directed video for "Hey Little Girl" (see infobox below right).[13][14] In 1996, Icehouse released a compilation album called Love in Motion on dIVA / Massive Records, which contains "Love in Motion" but does not have any material from the original Australian release of Primitive Man.

Primitive Man represented a slight departure from earlier material and a move from the more rock based style of their first album to the synth based, more atmospheric albums such as Sidewalk and Measure for Measure. This style is exemplified in "Hey Little Girl", a very relaxed, introspective song which reflects the overall tone of the album punctuated by the heavier "Glam" and the more dance based "Mysterious Thing". The final track "Goodnight Mr. Matthews" was Iva Davies by his own account directly referencing John Lennon's songwriting and singing style for the first and only time.[15]

The "Street Café" music video clip was filmed in Tunisia, in a four-day visit into which was packed a lifetime’s worth of difficult, unpleasant and even hazardous living experience for performers and film crew alike. Iva Davies flew out of Tunisia still covered with dust and camel dung, clad in the boots, breeches and bandolier used in the filming, and vowing never to return to that part of the world again.[16]

Track listing

All songs written by Iva Davies.[17]

1982 Australian release
  1. "Great Southern Land" – 5:19
  2. "Uniform" – 4:14
  3. "Street Café" – 4:13
  4. "Hey Little Girl" – 4:25
  5. "Glam" (Instrumental) – 3:27
  6. "Trojan Blue" – 5:03
  7. "One By One" – 4:02
  8. "Break These Chains" – 3:43
  9. "Mysterious Thing" – 4:26
  10. "Goodnight Mr. Matthews" – 4:00 (This is a re-recording of the B-side to the 1981 single "Love in Motion".)

The album was re-issued on CD (CD 38443) in 1983 with the following bonus tracks:

  1. "Over The Line" (B-side to "Street Cafe" single) – 2:46
  2. "Uniform" (German Version) (B-side to "Great Southern Land" single) – 4:06
  3. "Glam" (12" Version) (Instrumental) (B-side to "Hey Little Girl" 12" single) – 6:34
  4. "Hey Little Girl" (12" Version) – 6:59

The 2002 remastered CD (0927489822) contained the following alternative bonus tracks:

  1. "Over The Line" (B-side to "Street Cafe" single) – 2:46
  2. "Glam" (12" Version) (B-side to "Hey Little Girl" 12" single) – 6:34
  3. "Uniform" (12" German version) – 6:08
  4. "Street Cafe" (Single Mix) – 4:14
  5. "Love in Motion" (USA Recording) – 3:37
  6. "Can't Help Myself" (Live) – 5:39
  7. "We Can Get Together" (Live) – 3:55

The 2012 remastered CD contained the following alternative bonus tracks:

  1. "Over the Line" (B-side to "Street Cafe" single) – 2:46
  2. "Glam" (12" Version) (B-side to "Hey Little Girl" 12" single) – 6:34
  3. "Uniform" (12" German version) – 6:08
  4. "Hey Little Girl" (12" Version) – 6:59
  5. "Street Cafe" (Single Mix) – 4:14
  6. "Love in Motion" (USA Recording) – 3:37

1983 US / UK release

The US (1982) release was titled Primitive Man, but in the UK (1983) was re-titled Love in Motion and had the alternate cover. Despite the different titles and cover art, both the UK and US releases had exactly the same track listing. The US/UK track listing was resequenced from the original Australian LP and substituted the song "Love In Motion" for "Break These Chains".

  1. "Uniform" – 4:15
  2. "Street Cafe" – 4:13
  3. "Hey, Little Girl" – 4:25
  4. "Glam" (Instrumental) – 3:27
  5. "Great Southern Land" – 5:19
  6. "Trojan Blue" – 5:03
  7. "Love in Motion" – 4:02
  8. "Mysterious Thing" – 4:26
  9. "One By One" – 4:03
  10. "Goodnight Mr. Matthews" – 4:00

Singles
  • "Love In Motion" c/w "Goodnight Mr. Matthews" (#10 Aus)
  • "Great Southern Land" c/w "Uniform" (German version) (#5 Aus, #83 UK)
  • "Hey Little Girl" c/w "Glam" (Extended Dance Mix) (#6 Aus, #5 Germany, #17 UK, #31 U.S.)
  • "Street Café" c/w "Over The Line" (#57 Aus, #28 Germany)
  • "Uniform" c/w "Mysterious Thing" (#83 UK) US / European release only

Chart positions

Weekly charts
Year Chart Peak
1982 Australian Chart 3
1982 New Zealand Album Chart 1
1982 Billboard Top Pop Albums 129
1983 United Kingdom Charts 64

Year-end charts
Chart (1982) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[18] 18

Personnel

Credited to:[19]

Icehouse members

Additional musicians

  • Keith Forsey – additional percussion
  • Abraham Laboriel – bass guitar (bonus tracks)
  • James SK Wān – bamboo flute

Recording details

  • Mixing – Cameron Allan, Bob Clearmountain, Iva Davies, Keith Forsey
  • Engineer – Dave Jerden, Brian Reeves, David Price, Rick Butz
  • Produced – Iva Davies, Keith Forsey
  • Digital remastering (2002) – Iva Davies, Ryan Scott

Art work

  • Front Cover – Bill Tom
  • Sleeve & Back Cover Photography – Craig Dietz
  • Cover Concept – Janet Levinson, Iva Davies
  • Cover design (Love in Motion) – David Storey

See also

References
  1. Primitive Man at AllMusic
  2. Archived October 7, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  3. McFarlane, Ian (1999). Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop (doc). Allen & Unwin. ISBN 1-86448-768-2. Retrieved 2008-06-11.
  4. Holmgren, Magnus. "The Flowers / Icehouse". Australian Rock Database. Passagen.se (Magnus Holmgren). Archived from the original on 29 September 2013. Retrieved 21 March 2014.
  5. "Masterfile". Discogs. Retrieved 2008-06-24.
  6. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  7. "Search results for:Icehouse". hitparade.ch. Retrieved 2008-06-20.
  8. "Search results for:Icehouse". musicline.de. Archived from the original on 2008-12-02. Retrieved 2008-06-22.
  9. "Icehouse on UK charts". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2008-06-19.
  10. "Billboard singles charts". Allmusic. Retrieved 2008-06-11.
  11. "Young Einstein soundtrack listing". Internet Movie Database (IMDb). Retrieved 2008-06-12.
  12. "Triple M's Essential 2007 Countdown". Triple M. Archived from the original on 2008-11-22. Retrieved 2008-06-12.
  13. Grech, Jason (2004-07-23). "An interview with Iva Davies". Countdown Memories. Archived from the original on November 8, 2007. Retrieved 2008-06-16.
  14. Alex S. Garcia, ed. (2008). "Icehouse artist videography". mvdbase.com. Retrieved 2008-06-19.
  15. "Re: Iva's response – FROM INSIDE THE MIND OF MR MATTHEWS". Retrieved 2009-05-30.
  16. http://www.spellbound-icehouse.org/storynew4.html
  17. "Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA)". APRA. Archived from the original on January 24, 2008. Retrieved 2008-06-26.
  18. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 434. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  19. "Primitive Man (bonus tracks) credits". allmusic guide. Retrieved 2008-07-02.
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