Ice Pickin’ was the album that sparked Albert Collins’ belated rise to blues stardom, 20 years after the ‘Master of the Telecaster’ recorded the first of his incendiary ‘cool’ instrumentals, ‘The Freeze.’ Collins’ trademark guitar attack had made him a favorite among fellow guitarists, but he had yet to achieve major success with audiences. That changed after Alligator teamed him with a unit of crack Chicago blues sidemen for Ice Pickin’ and subsequent albums and tours. Collins responded by not only unleashing his explosive guitar licks but by proving that, given the proper encouragement and support, he could handle blues singing better than many — perhaps including Albert himself — thought he could. Previous albums had usually featured more instrumental than vocal numbers, but his Alligator debut included only two instrumentals. Collins’ humor, an important element in his performances, was also on display in numbers such as ‘Master Charge’ and ‘Conversation With Collins.’
Recorded in Chicago, May 22-25, 1978. Released on LP as Alligator AL 4713 in 1978; on CD as ALCD 4713 in 1990.
–Jim O’Neal
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