Sidewalk (album)

Sidewalk is the third studio album by Australian rock band Icehouse, released on 26 June 1984 by Chrysalis Records and Regular Records. It peaked at No. 8 on the National albums chart. Founding member Iva Davies used the Fairlight CMI digital sampling synthesizer on this more sombre and reflective album.^[4] This is the first studio album that bassist Guy Pratt worked on as a member of the band. Pratt would later become a session musician, and go on to work with artists such as Pink Floyd, Roxy Music, David Bowie, Madonna and Michael Jackson.^[5]

Sidewalk
Studio album by Icehouse
Released	26 June 1984 (1984-06-26)
Recorded	February 1984
Studio	EMI Studios 301 (Sydney) Baby-Oh (Los Angeles) El Dorado (Los Angeles)
Genre	New wave synth-pop pop rock
Length	45:09
Label	Chrysalis Regular
Producer	Iva Davies John Brand
Icehouse chronology
Fresco EP (1983) Sidewalk (1984) Boxes (1985)
Singles from Sidewalk
"Taking the Town" Released: April 1984 "Don't Believe Anymore" Released: 2 July 1984 "Dusty Pages" Released: 26 November 1984[1]

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic (1984)	[2]
AllMusic (2002)	[3]

In 2002, Warner Music re-released the album, digitally remastered by Davies and Ryan Scott, with four bonus tracks.^[6]

Use in other media

Included are two tracks, "Shot Down" and "The Mountain", that were used for the Russell Mulcahy 1984 film Razorback.^[6][7][8][9] Iva Davies also composed the film's score.

Track listing

All songs written by Iva Davies.^[10]

Side one

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Taking the Town"	3:34
2.	"This Time"	4:15
3.	"Someone Like You"	4:17
4.	"Stay Close Tonight"	5:09
5.	"Don't Believe Anymore"	5:18

Side two

No.	Title	Length
6.	"Sidewalk"	4:08
7.	"Dusty Pages"	4:48
8.	"On My Mind"	3:43
9.	"Shot Down"	5:02
10.	"The Mountain"	4:52
Total length:		45:09

2002 reissue bonus tracks

No.	Title	Length
11.	"Java"	4:54
12.	"Dance On"	3:58
13.	"Dusty Pages" (Single Version)	4:03
14.	"Taking the Town" (Extended Version)	5:09

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes.^[6][11]

Icehouse

• Iva Davies – vocals; guitar; oboe; Fairlight CMI programming; drum programming
• Robert Kretschmer – guitar; backing vocals
• John Lloyd – drums; percussion; backing vocals
• Guy Pratt – bass guitar; backing vocals
• Andy Qunta – keyboards

Additional musicians

• Joe Camilleri – saxophone (tracks 2, 3, 5, 10)
• Remy Corps – backing vocals (track 1)
• James SK Wān – bamboo flute

Production

• Iva Davies – producer; engineer; mixing
• John Brand – producer
• Andy Hilton – engineer
• Jim Taig – assistant engineer
• David Jerden – mixing

Charts

Weekly charts Weekly chart performance for Sidewalk Chart (1984–85) Peak position Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)[12] 8 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[13] 39 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[14] 2

Year-end charts 1984 year-end chart performance for Sidewalk Chart (1984) Position Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)[15] 44 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[16] 40

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
New Zealand (RMNZ)[17]	Gold	7,500^
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

1. "Kent Music Report No 543 – 26 November 1984 > Singles: New Releases". Imgur.com (original document published by Kent Music Report). Retrieved 28 November 2017.
2. Allmusic (1984) review
3. Allmusic (2002) review
4. McFarlane, Ian (1999). Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop (doc). Allen & Unwin. ISBN 1-86448-768-2. Retrieved 11 June 2008.
5. biography, retrieved 22 September 2015
6. "Sidewalk (bonus tracks)". allmusic guide. Retrieved 1 July 2008.
7. "Artist: Icehouse". Warner Music Australia. Archived from the original on 11 June 2008. Retrieved 16 June 2008.
8. "Razorback trailer details". National Film & Sound Archive (NFSA). Retrieved 16 June 2008.
9. "Razorback (1984) full cast & crew". Internet Movie Database (IMDb). Retrieved 16 June 2008.
10. "APRA search engine". APRA. Archived from the original on 24 January 2008. Retrieved 27 June 2008. Note: requires user to input song title e.g. TAKING THE TOWN
11. Holmgren, Magnus. "The Flowers / Icehouse". Australian Rock Database. Passagen.se (Magnus Holmgren). Archived from the original on 29 September 2013. Retrieved 21 March 2014.
12. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 147. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
13. "Offiziellecharts.de – Icehouse – Sidewalk" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 2 February 2022.
14. "Charts.nz – Icehouse – Sidewalk". Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 December 2021.
15. "Forum – ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts – 1984". Australian-charts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 March 2017.
16. "Top Selling Albums of 1984 — The Official New Zealand Music Chart". Recorded Music New Zealand. Retrieved 2 February 2022.
17. "Official Top 40 Albums". Recorded Music NZ. 18 November 1984. Retrieved 6 December 2022.

External links

• Sidewalk at Discogs (list of releases)