Measure for Measure (album)

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]

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
Boxes (1985) Measure for Measure (1986) Man of Colours (1987)
Singles from Measure for Measure
"No Promises" Released: 28 October 1985[1] "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]

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.