Product Description

It seems as if Elton John was still settling on a discernable style on 1985's ICE ON FIRE. He brought in Gus Dudgeon, the architect of such elaborate, wide-screen productions as GOODBYE YELLOWBRICK ROAD, and his touch can be felt in the lush synthesized sound that dominates this record. Even the song credits, full of Simmons drums, synth-guitar, and Yamaha TX81C, attest to the slick production values.
"Nikita" was the record's Top 10 single. The sweeping melody of this gentle ode to a Russian girl rides atop a percolating rhythm track. The synthesizer-drenched sound tends to place it firmly within its era, but the pull of "Nikita"'s melody is fairly irresistible. It features backing vocals by George Michael, who was at his peak of superstardom at the time. Elsewhereon the record, Elton joins forces with the rhythm section of Queen for "Too Young". The fade of "Wrap Her Up", in whichElton sings out the names of women he'd like to wrap up andtake home--ranging from Princess Caroline of Monaco to Nancy Reagan--is the record's strangest moment.

Track Listing

1. This Town
2. Cry To Heaven
3. Soul Glove
4. Nikita
5. Too Young
6. Wrap Her Up - Elton John, George Michael
7. Satellite
8. Tell Me What The Papers Say
9. Candy By The Pound
10. Shoot Down The Moon
11. The Man Who Never Died
12. Restless
13. Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word
14. I'm Still Standing - Elton John, Jean-Yves Lievaux

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #49761 in Music
• Released on: 1998-06-01
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Extra tracks, Original recording remastered
• Running time: 64 minutes

Customer Reviews

Another album spoilt by 80's production values
If Elton John had produced this album in the first half of the 1970's or in the same way as 'Songs from the West Coast'/'The Captain and the Kid' was made it would probably be a fine album. As it is its an average album spoilt my the 1980's production values.

There are some very good songs on here: This Town, Cry to Heaven, Shoot Down the Moon. There are at least a couple of others that merit a few listens. Eventually once you get though the treacled layers of 80's keyboards you will find Elton's unique melodic gift shining through.

All the musicians on this album are top notch, but to a large degree they are wasted. If you want final evidence of the souless nature of this recording compare the album version of 'This Town' with Elton's performance on the Tube. There is no comparison the live version on the Tube is absolutely stunning. The album version sounds castrated by comparison.

So its worth getting, but be prepared to have to listen to it a few times to find the gems.

Elton brings in brass section but still lacks the soul
After the Breaking Hearts 1984 tour, Elton announced, yet again, that he would not tour for some considerable time. However, the following year brought Live Aid, and a 30minute set with a new band bolstered by a brass section. This line-up is showcased here on "Ice on fire" released later that year. It's clear that Elton wanted a change in musical direction...the last two albums "Too low for zero" and "Breaking hearts" reunited his original 70s band (Davey,Dee and Nigel) with producer Chris Thomas at the helm. Here, only guitarist Davey stays on with the addition of top 80s session musicians such as Charlie Morgan, Fred Mandel, Pino Palladino and Dave Mattacks. Gus Dudgeon, arguably Elton's most successful producer returns after almost a 10 year gap.
Unfortunately, apart from a few exceptions, the songs are lacklustre despite good studio production and musicianship. The sound is brighter and snappier, owing much to the "onward international horns" and the aforementioned ace musos, but Elton's attempts to get into a more 80s soul/funk feel doesn't succeed. Even George Michael (then, at the top of his game) fails to improve matters.
The album kicks off with "This Town" (a song Elton performed on Channel4's "The Tube" to promote the album),is all slapbass and brass stabs with Sister Sledge backing vocals...it's catchy enough to deserve its place. "Cry to Heaven" is one of those classic Elton moments...a plaintive A-minor piano piece, good vocals, awash with string padding. Elton was convinced it would be a hit, and duly filmed a promo video for it dressed as a clown! Alas, it barely scraped the top 40, which was a shame because it's one of his best songs of the 80s and certainly the standout track here. "Soul Glove", "Candy By The Pound", "Tell Me What The Papers Say" and "Satellite" are pretty much standard album filler...some of which are good for a few listens but ultimately forgettable. The only other standout is the lyrically-dated "Nikita" and that's saying something!
Mystifyingly, this re-released cd omits "Act of War" and in its place includes three pointless live songs from the Breaking Hearts tour. However, one welcome addition is the Song For Guy-type instrumental "The Man Who Never Died" which was the B-side to "Nikita"....written in the aftermath of John Lennon's death (hence the vocal "Imagine he's the man who never died" coda) it's a pleasant piano piece which some fans may enjoy.
For the newly initiated Elton fan, there are some interesting moments here but its not one of his best 80s albums and nor is it his worst. Mediocre really.

a dissapionting album
I am a big fan of elton john and I like most of his albums but not this one. The only good tunes on the album are Nikita and cry to heaven but that's it the rest of the songs fail to get me playing this album. Elton john is known for playing the piano on his albums but don't expect to hear much piano on this album. Cry to heaven and Nikita are the only songs that I would say that you should buy this album for but don't compare this album to any other elton john albums.