I Just Freeze: Repertoire Plans Remix Compilation for Icehouse

UPDATE (7/30/2013): There are now two Icehouse remix sets scheduled from Repertoire. The second, out August 26, features more remixes from the singles covered on the first volume and selections from 1994’s Full Circle remix project. Both sets are now after the jump.

ORIGINAL POST (5/28/2013): Having done remix compilations for the likes of Sparks and Giorgio Moroder in recent months, German label Repertoire turns their attention down under, to the dance mixes of Australian group Icehouse.

Led by Iva Davies, the synth-pop/rock band (first known as Flowers, but renaming themselves after their first album due to legal restrictions) became local chart mainstays with early singles like “Great Southern Land,” “Hey Little Girl” and “Love in Motion,” then later on in the decade with Top 5 hits “My Obsession,” “Crazy” and “Electric Blue.” (The latter, co-written by noted Icehouse fan John Oates, was the band’s biggest hit worldwide, peaking at No. 7 on the Billboard charts.)

“Electric Blue” is one of many, many Icehouse classics represented on this two-disc set, which includes mixes from all over their catalogue, on various international pressings. “Hey Little Girl,” “Mr. Big,” “No Promises,” “Big Wheel” and “Great Southern Land” (featured in its original 12″ version and a special aboriginal version on 1993’s Spin One EP) are all here, too. Record Collector writer Michael Heatley pens the liner notes for the set.

Available on June 10, The 12 Inches can be pre-ordered now after the jump, which is of course where you’ll also find the track list. (Thanks to super-reader Mark Goring for the tip!)

Release Round-Up: Week of June 11

Paul McCartney and Wings, Rockshow (Eagle Rock)

Macca’s newly-restored live show may not be in the Wings Over America box, but that means you can buy it for that much less now. (DVD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.; BD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

ZZ Top, The Complete Studio Albums 1970-1990 (Warner Bros./Rhino)

So not only are you getting all of ZZ Top’s London/Warner-era albums in one convenient box, but you’re getting a fair amount of them in their original mixes for the first time ever on CD. Win? Win. (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

Various Artists, The Complete Motown Singles Volume 12A: 1972 (Hip-O Select/Motown)

It’s finally here! The penultimate volume of the long-running series features some of Motown’s most out-there stuff yet. (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

Richard Pryor, No Pryor Restraint: Life in Concert (Shout! Factory)

Nine discs (seven CDs, two DVDs) of side-splitting, wildly off-color humor from one of the greatest stand-up acts there ever was. (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

Burt Bacharach, Anyone Who Had a Heart: The Art of the Songwriter (U.K.-only box set) (UMe)

From the U.K. comes a new six-disc anthology of Bacharach’s best works as a writer or performer – easily more comprehensive than the double-disc set U.S. audiences got recently. (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

Icehouse, The 12 Inches Volume 1 (Repertoire)

Two discs of dance mixes from the Australian hitmakers. (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

Men of Colours: More Icehouse Expansions Coming from Universal Australia

Following up on last year’s successful expanded reissue of Australian band Icehouse’s debut LP Flowers, as well as a new compilation, frontman Iva Davies will again partner with Universal Music Group’s Australian arm to put the band’s catalogue back into print, as well as release new expanded editions of two of the group’s most beloved works.

Davies’ Diva Records and Universal will release expansions of the remainder of the group’s back catalogue (Primitive Man (1982), Sidewalk (1984), Measure for Measure (1986), Man of Colours (1987), Code Blue (1990), Big Wheel (1993) and The Berlin Tapes (1995)) on CD this month. While most of them are just new pressings of the last round of expanded remasters released in 2002 through Warner Music, Primitive Man and Man of Colours will receive bonus DVDs to mark the records’ 30th and 25th anniversaries, respectively.

And what wise choices those two are for expansion: both albums are the most successful of Icehouse’s work in their native land, reaching No. 3 and No. 1, respectively, on the Australian charts. Two of the band’s biggest hits come from each album as well; there’s 1982’s “Great Southern Land,” a beloved tribute to the band’s native country, and 1987’s “Electric Blue,” co-written with John Oates and not only a chart-topping single in Australia but a Top 10 hit in America, the band’s biggest song on those shores.

All discs in the program are appended with B-sides, remixes and non-LP songs, and the DVDs for Primitive Man and Man of Colours feature archival live footage from around the world. Additionally, Universal will reissue Colours on red, yellow and blue vinyl.

All discs will be released in Australia on July 13 and are expected to ship in America around July 24. All reissues, as well as several bundles, are available on the band’s official site; Amazon links are after the jump.

Icehouse Catalogue Heats Up with New Aussie Compilation

Sometimes reissues happen in the most unexpected places. This is nowhere more true than in Australia, where Universal Music is gearing up for a thus-far well-received catalogue expansion for Australian rockers Icehouse.

If you’re an ’80s pop fan – or grew up in the U.S. with a radio tuned to a pop station in your house – you’ll easily remember “Electric Blue,” the band’s biggest Stateside hit (and only one of two Top 40 singles on these shores). The hook-laden tune, written by bandleader Iva Davies with avowed Icehouse fan John Oates, rocketed to No. 7 on Billboard‘s Hot 100 in 1987. But in Australia, where “Electric Blue” went to the top of the charts, it was only the peak of a lengthy, hit-filled decade. The band’s first album, called Icehouse and credited under the band’s original name, Flowers (leading some to mistakenly call the album Flowers), was the highest-selling debut album in Australia until Savage Garden broke the record in the 1990s, and there were plenty of hits to go around, like “Love in Motion,” “Great Southern Land,” “Hey Little Girl,” “Crazy” and more.

The Icehouse train started rolling anew in 2011 with the announcement of a new deluxe edition of Icehouse/Flowers for its 30th anniversary (following a series of remasters of the band’s full catalogue by Chrysalis/EMI Warner Music in 2002). This set would feature a new remaster, three bonus tracks and two bonus discs (a CD and a DVD) of unreleased live material. The reissue was a stunning success in its native country, peaking at No. 10 (when does a reissue do that in America, sad to say). Now, a new compilation has been announced for release in Australia at the end of August. White Heat: 30 Hits collects nearly all of the band’s singles (and some album cuts), from Icehouse/Flowers to 1993’s Big Wheel, on two discs and adds a bonus DVD of the band’s music videos, many of which boast alternate edits for Australian and international markets.

Two additional details sweeten the deal for hardcore fans: first, anyone who pre-orders the set before August 12 will have their copy’s liner notes signed by Iva Davies; second, more catalogue activity is to follow, with another expansion of sophomore album Primitive Man in the works.

White Heat: 30 Hits is available to order here and will be released on August 27. Hit the jump for the full track list!