Icehouse: “No Promises” (1985)

A single split between its idols: David Bowie and Bryan Ferry.

Kronomyth 4.01: A gem from a golden age.

After the misstep of Sidewalk, Iva Davies regained his artful balance of David Bowie and Bryan Ferry on Measure for Measure. The first single, No Promises, was a wondrous wilting over something. Maybe it’s a cautionary tale for someone starting a new life. Maybe it’s a promise to be there in a world where few promises are kept. Maybe it’s just a bunch of words that sound good together. References to “Arabian nights” remind me of Bowie’s word salads. Further evidence that Davies was experiencing a creative second wind is found on the non-album B sides, The Perfect Crime and Into the Wild. The former feels a bit underdone while the latter is an even better approximation of Bowie’s “Wild Is the Wind” from Station to Station than the A side. A video (or two) was created to support “No Promises” featuring Davies and, in the shadows, the rest of Icehouse. My initial reaction is that it seemed like an OMD video with one less pasty white guy, but maybe I need to mullet over more.

Original 7-inch single version

A1. No Promises (Iva Davis/Bob Kretschmer)
B1. The Perfect Crime (Iva Davies/Bob Kretschmer/Andy Qunta/Masaki Tanazawa)

Original 7-inch single version (US)
A1. No Promises (Iva Davies/Bob Kretschmer) (3:33)
B1. Into the Wild (Iva Davies/Bob Kretschmer) (4:52)

Original 12-inch single version (UK)
A1. No Promises (Extended) (Iva Davis/Bob Kretschmer)
B1. The Perfect Crime (Iva Davies/Bob Kretschmer/Andy Qunta/Masaki Tanazawa)
B2. No Promises (Iva Davies/Bob Kretschmer)

Original cassette single version (AUS’L)
A1. No Promises (extended mix)
A2.The Tempest
A3. Gravity
A4. Terra Incognita

The Players

(A) produced and engineered by Rhett Davies; mixed by David Lord and Warne Livesey. “No Promises (extended)” produced by Rhett Davies; mixed by Warne Livesey. “Into the Wild” produced by Rhett Davies; mixed by David Lord, assisted by Raine Shine.

The Pictures

European picture sleeve cover concept by Bob Kretschmer.

The Plastic

Released on 7-inch, 12-inch and cassette single on October 28, 1985 in Australia (Regular, K 9850 / X/C 14252), Germany (Chrysalis,107 964 100) and the UK (Chrysalis, CHS/CHS 12 2978) and in 1986 in the US (Chrysalis, VS4 42978), Canada (Chrysalis, 42978) and South Africa (Chrysalis, PD 2477) with regional picture sleeve. Reached #79 on the US charts.