Search - Albert Collins :: Frostbite

Brick (but not goldbricking)

blender | 03/01/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The instrumental tunes really kick, and the lyrics Collins comes up with are so cold, you can feel the Hawk comin' across Lake Michigan...Get this one from Alligator records - it's definitely worth the cost of admission, folks. You'll not find a better Telecaster player than Albert Collins. (I'd heard that his volume knob on his amp went past 10, to 11, but I didn't believe it 'til I saw him live in California - I couldn't verify that it wasn't simply painted on, but it sure did sound like he was blowing that speaker past its limits to the coldest sound I'd ever heard.)May your music live on through future generations of blues aficionados, Albert.Peace out."

Fine follow-up to "Ice Pickin'"

Docendo Discimus | Vita scholae | 04/03/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

""Frostbite" may not be as well known as Albert Collins' commercial zenith, the 1978 album "Ice Pickin'", but it is nevertheless a fine effort. Featuring a handful of excellent musicians, "Frostbite" includes some of Collins' best songs, like the supremely funky "If You Love Me Like You Say" and the wonderful piano-driven "The Highway Is Like A Woman", and he is backed by a five-man horn section which plays soulful riffs and fills without ever overwhelming Collins himself.
The excellent drummer Casey Jones is perhaps mixed a little bit too far into the background on a couple of tracks, but the sound and the mixing is generally very good, and the interplay between drummer Jones and bassist Johnny Gayden is top-notch.As you probably know, the late Albert Collins played with a capo high up on the neck of his Fender Telecaster, delivering his muscular solos with no overdrive and very little sustain, and the resulting clear, "brittle" notes gave him his nickname "the Iceman".
He plays a number of excellent solos here, particularly on "Give Me My Blues" and "Blue Monday Hangover", and his vocals are strong and confident. Not all of these songs are strong enough to make "Frostbite" a five-star album, but most of what is here is very good or even great, making this a fine addition to anyone's Albert Collins-collection."