The Icicle Works – Whisper To A Scream (Birds Fly) (US 12″ Promo)
Posted by DjPaulT on 8th October 2012
BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1983
The Icicle Works are an English alternative rock band of the 1980s. Named after the 1960 short story “The Day the Icicle Works Closed” by science fiction author Frederik Pohl, The Icicle Works joined Liverpool’s early 1980s ‘neo-psychedelia’ wave, which also propelled Echo & the Bunnymen and The Teardrop Explodes to stardom.
“Birds Fly (Whisper to a Scream)” was a hit single in 1984 written by Ian McNabb, produced by Hugh Jones and performed by The Icicle Works (of whom McNabb was a member). The song was also released as “Whisper to a Scream (Birds Fly)”, and it became a hit under this reversed title as well.
The recording was initially released as a single in Britain in June 1983 as “Birds Fly (Whisper to a Scream)” on the Situation Two label. This initial release hit #2 on the UK independent charts, and scraped the lower reaches of the overall UK national charts at #89. After The Icicle Works’ next UK single “Love Is a Wonderful Colour” hit #15 on the UK charts in late 1983 and early 1984, Beggars Banquet Records re-released “Birds Fly (Whisper to a Scream)” in March 1984 with a new cover and B-side. This re-release climbed to #52 in the UK.
In the U.S., Arista Records refused to release the record unless some changes were made. First, the track was remixed slightly in order to remove a brief spoken-word intro that was heard over the opening bars of music. (The woman performing this intro was identified only as “Mariella” on the original Situation Two single sleeve.) Then the song title was reversed, becoming “Whisper to a Scream (Birds Fly)”. This change was made so that the record’s primary title would match the words sung repeatedly in the chorus, making it easier for radio listeners to track down the record in the stores.
Finally, Arista shortened the band’s name to “Icicle Works”, removing the initial “The”. With these changes made, in the summer of 1984 “Whisper to a Scream (Birds Fly)” by Icicle Works reached #37 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and #34 on Cashbox’s singles chart.
Just to make things a little more confusing, the Canadian version of the single (credited to The Icicle Works) used the original UK mix with the spoken word intro, but the revised US title “Whisper to a Scream (Birds Fly)”. This was the most successful commercial release of the single, reaching #19 on the Canadian charts in the summer of 1984.
SIDE A:
Whisper To A Scream (Birds Fly) (European Version) 5:21
Remix – Hugh Jones
SIDE B:
Whisper To A Scream (Birds Fly) (Extended Club Remix) 5:27
Engineer [Assistant] – Rick Kerr
Engineer [Remix] – Jack Nuber
Remix – Steve Thompson
Whisper To A Scream (Birds Fly) (Single Version) 3:47
VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint
CHARTS:
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | Whisper To A Scream (Birds Fly) | U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | #37 |
| 1984 | Whisper To A Scream (Birds Fly) | U.S. Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks | #18 |
| 1984 | Whisper To A Scream (Birds Fly) | U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play | #13 |
RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Arista – ADP-9187
Format: Vinyl, 12″, Single, Promo, 33 RPM
Country: US
Released: 1983
Genre: Electronic
Style: Alternative Rock, New Wave
Credits: Producer – Hugh Jones
Written-By – McNabb*
NOTES:
From the debut album by Icicle Works
Find The 12″ On DISCOGS
EQUIPMENT USED:
Turntable: Pro-Ject Debut III
Cartridge: Ortofon Super
Stylus: Ortofon OM Stylus 30
Bellari VP130 Tube Phono Preamp
Soundcard: ESI Juli@
VPI HW 16.5 Record Cleaning Machine
Brother MFC-6490CW Professional Series Scanner
SOFTWARE USED:
Adobe Audition 3.0 (Recording)
Adobe Photoshop CS5
ClickRepair
dBpoweramp
Playlist Creator
RESTORATION NOTES:
All vinyl rips are recorded @ 32bit/float
Downsampled to 24bit/96kHz and16bit /44kHz using iZotope RX Advanced 2
FLAC (Level Eight)
MP3 (320kbps)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi
PW: burningtheground
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Tags: 1983, Hugh Jones, Steve Thompson, The Icicle Works, US 12" Promo, Whisper To A Scream (Birds Fly) (Extended Club Remix)
Posted in The Icicle Works | 12 Comments »