Track Listing

1. Honey Hush
2. When the Welfare Turns Its Back on You
3. Ice Pick
4. Cold, Cold Feeling
5. Too Tired
6. Master Charge
7. Conversation with Collins
8. Avalanche

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #22315 in Music
• Released on: 1990-10-25
• Number of discs: 1

Album Description
Limited Edition Japanese pressing of this album comes housed in a miniature LP sleeve. 2007.

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

From Grove Press Guide to Blues on CD
The Cool Sound. Collins's first Alligator recording, in 1978, is impervious to wear, tear, or melting. His fretboard work is amazing: he builds suspense deliberately, letting ideas emerge at their own pace, eventually achieving release at the peak of hard-won excitement. His singing likewise displays interpretive keenness for control of pitch, dynamics, and blues inflections. Support players Casey Jones (drums), Larry Burton (second guitar), and Aaron Burton (bass) have exemplary command of rhythmic shadings. -- © Frank John Hadley 1993

Customer Reviews

Classic Collins
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.

The Master of the Telecaster in Fine Form
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.

Great but not the best one...
I like this CD, but for a true blues fan I recommend "Alive and Cool" more than this. On "Alive and Cool" you will find Mr.Collins' telecaster crying.