Head Like a Rock

Head Like a Rock
Studio album by
Released4 July 1994
Recorded1993
StudioRed Zone Studios, Burbank, California; Mayfair Studios, Regents Park, London
GenreRock[1]
Length67:03
LabelThis Way Up
ProducerRobert Ian McNabb, John Porter
Ian McNabb chronology
Truth and Beauty
(1993)
Head Like a Rock
(1994)
Merseybeast
(1996)
Singles from Head Like a Rock
  1. "You Must Be Prepared to Dream"
    Released: June 1994
  2. "Go into the Light"
    Released: September 1994

Head Like a Rock is a 1994 concept album released on 4 July 1994,[2] and recorded by Ian McNabb.[3] McNabb's second solo album, it was nominated for the 1994 Mercury Music Prize.[4] The album was recorded in Los Angeles with the backing band Crazy Horse. The album peaked at No. 29 on the official UK charts.[5]

Late in 2012, Ian revealed that his first three studio albums were to be re-released as 'expanded editions'. In early December 2013, 'Head Like a Rock (Expanded edition)' was announced on Amazon with a scheduled release date of January 28, 2013: "This expanded version has been re-mastered by Ian himself and is a testament to the great album it was, enhanced with upgraded packaging and a bonus disc of the B-sides that came with the assorted singles. This is a great addition to the canon of Ian's work."[6]

Track listing

[edit]

All tracks composed by Ian McNabb

  1. "Fire Inside My Soul" (8:35)
  2. "You Must Be Prepared to Dream" (6:57)
  3. "Child Inside a Father" (9:02)
  4. "Still Got the Fever" (7:29)
  5. "Potency"(4:38)
  6. "Go Into the Light" (4:08)
  7. "As a Life Goes By" (4:42)
  8. "Sad Strange Solitary Catholic Mystic" (4:45)
  9. "This Time Is Forever"(5:38)
  10. "May You Always" (10:51)
Expanded Edition (Disc 2)
No.TitleLength
1."That's Why The Darkness Exists" (B-side of "You Must Be Prepared to Dream", With guest drummer Zak Starkey)3:23
2."Sometimes I Think About You" (B-side of "You Must Be Prepared to Dream")4:20
3."Woo Yer" (B-side of "You Must Be Prepared to Dream")3:20
4."Love Is A Wonderful Colour" (B-side of You Must Be Prepared to Dream)4:17
5."When It All Comes Down" (B-side of "You Must Be Prepared to Dream")4:27
6."Time You Were In Love" (B-side of "Go into the Light")4:25
7."Go Into The Light (Celestial Dub Mix)" (A-side of "Go into the Light")7:21
8."Rock" (B-side of "Go into the Light")3:00
9."I Stood Before St Peter" (B-side of "Go into the Light")3:47

Personnel

[edit]
  • Ian McNabb - guitar, vocals
  • John Porter - acoustic guitar, keyboards; dobro on "As a Life Goes By"
  • Billy Talbot - bass, backing vocals
  • Ralph Molina - drums, backing vocals; co-lead vocals on "Child Inside a Father"
  • Tommy Eyre - organ; piano on "This Time is Forever"; synthesizer and string arrangement on "Sad Strange Solitary Catholic Mystic"
  • James Hutchinson - bass
  • Joseph Modeliste - drums
  • Tony Braunagel - percussion
  • Greg Leisz - pedal steel guitar; lap steel on "Potency"
  • Scarlet Rivera - violin on "Potency" and "Sad Strange Solitary Catholic Mystic"
  • Roy Corkill - acoustic guitar, bass
  • Mike "Tone" Hamilton - rhythm guitar, backing vocals
  • Nick Warren - keyboards on "Still Got the Fever" and "This Time is Forever"
  • Martin Tillman - cello on "Potency" and "Sad Strange Solitary Catholic Mystic"
  • Marty Grebb - alto saxophone on "Go Into the Light"
  • Maxi Anderson, Mona Lisa Young, Terry Young - backing vocals
Technical
  • Joe McGrath - engineer
  • Ian McNabb, Pete Schwier - mixing
  • Phil Smee - design
  • Theo Westenberger - front cover photography of Reggie J. Trickpus (Alan Ende Ventriloquist Collection)

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Michael Sutton. "Head Like a Rock". AllMusic.
  2. ^ The Emotional Party: The Thoughts and Words of Ian McNabb
  3. ^ Leslie Carl Seiler. "merseybeasts - ian mcnabb discography". Merseybeasts.COM.
  4. ^ "Mercury Prize - Ian McNabb: Head Like a Rock - 1994 Shortlist - Albums of the Year". Mercury Prize. Archived from the original on 8 February 2016. Retrieved 29 April 2012.
  5. ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 341. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  6. ^ "Head Like A Rock (2CD Expanded Edition): Amazon.co.uk: Music". Amazon UK. 2013.