''The Small Price of a Bicycle'' is the second studio album by

The Icicle Works The Icicle Works (also known as Icicle Works in the United States) are an English alternative rock band and were named after the 1960 short story "The Day the Icicle Works Closed" by science fiction author Frederik Pohl. They had a top 20 UK hi ...

. The album was released in 1985 and charted at number 55 in the UK Despite the success of the band's first album in North America, it was not released in either the US or Canada, with

Arista Records Arista Records () is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. The label was previously handled by BMG Entertainmen ...

in the US memorably rejecting it as "punk-rock demos". In Canada, an early version of the track "Book of Reason" was released by

Vertigo Records Vertigo Records is a record company with United Kingdom origins. It was a subsidiary of the Philips/Phonogram record label, launched in 1969 to specialise in progressive rock and other non-mainstream musical styles. Today, it is operated by Uni ...

on their 1984 ''Vertigo Sampler'' 2-LP set, with a note that the track was from the forthcoming Icicle Works LP. However, the LP never actually forthcame; instead, Vertigo Canada issued a 5-track EP called ''Seven Horses Deep''. This EP included the so-called "American Version" of "Seven Horses" (which was never actually issued in the US), the single version of "All The Daughters", and the previously issued UK b-sides "(Let's Go) Down to the River", "Beggars Legacy" and "Goin' Back". In 2011,

Cherry Red Records Cherry Red Records is a British independent record label founded in Malvern, Worcestershire by Iain McNay in 1978. The label has released recordings by Dead Kennedys, Everything But the Girl, The Monochrome Set, and Felt, among others, as well ...

issued a 3-CD expanded edition of ''The Small Price of a Bicycle''. Disc 1 featured the original album in its entirety, while discs 2 and 3 featured a wealth of related demos, b-sides, radio sessions, live tracks, remixes and unreleased session outtakes.

Critical reception

The album was reviewed by Roger Holland for the music magazine

Sounds In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave, through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by the ...

where it received a perfect score of five stars out of five. Holland wrote that ''The Small Price of a Bicycle'' was "a very fine album" and praised its "combinations of exuberant young rock rhythms and enchanting, inspiring vocals".

Track listing

UK Edition

All tracks composed by Ian McNabb; except where indicated #"Hollow Horse" (McNabb,

Chris Layhe Chris Layhe is an English musician, and founding member of Liverpool alternative rock band, The Icicle Works. Signed to Beggar's Banquet, The Icicle Works had a handful of chart hits (notably " Birds Fly (Whisper to a Scream)") and toured the ...

) – 4:00 #"Perambulator" (McNabb, Chris Layhe) – 4:02 #"Seven Horses" – 4:12 #"Rapids" – 4:32 #"Windfall" – 4:13 #"Assumed Sundown" – 5:53 #"Saint's Sojourn" – 4:33 #"All the Daughters (Of Her Father's House)" – 4:40 #"Book of Reason" – 3:45 #"Conscience of Kings" – 4:48

2011 Expanded Edition

Personnel

;The Icicle Works * Robert Ian McNabb – guitar, lead vocals, keyboards *

– bass, backing vocals, keyboards, violin *

Chris Sharrock Chris Sharrock (born 30 May 1964) is an English drummer, hailing from Bebington, Cheshire (now Merseyside), England. He has been a member of the Icicle Works, the La's, the Wild Swans, World Party, the Lightning Seeds, Robbie Williams's live ...

– drums, percussion

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Small Price of a Bicycle 1985 albums The Icicle Works albums Albums produced by Hugh Jones (producer) Beggars Banquet Records albums