Robert Ian McNabb is an English singer-songwriter and musician from Liverpool, England. Although known best for his work as leader and songwriter-in-chief of The Icicle Works in the 1980s, he has also led a critically acclaimed solo career. This article documents his solo releases, followed by a more detailed description of a selection of his releases.
"I'm Game" is the fourth single released by McNabb after disbanding the Icicle Works. The song was the first to be released after publication of his first album Truth and Beauty, rather than to promote it. It failed to chart.[4]
"(I Go) My Own Way" is the fifth single released by McNabb after disbanding the Icicle Works. The song was the last to be released from McNabb's first album Truth and Beauty. It failed to chart.[4]
"Little Princess" is the tenth single released by McNabb after disbanding the Icicle Works. The song was the sole single release from the album A Party Political Broadcast on Behalf of the Emotional Party. The single failed to chart on the official UK charts.[4]
Critical reception
Paul Cole of the Birmingham Evening Mail called ″Little Princess″ "the single the fans asked for", saying, "rarely has McNabb been in better vocal form".[5]
Live at Life is McNabb's first live album.[4]
It was recorded from a pair of Christmas gigs at the Voodoo Room, Life Cafe, Liverpool in 1999, from which the album got its title. McNabb said he "couldn't resist doing a live album at a place called Life as [he] knew the title was brilliant".
[6]
The album included one newly written track, "Why Are the Beautiful So Sad".
Critical reception
Rudyard Kennedy, writing for AllMusic said the album was "a well-thought-out, well-produced niche product" but that "featuring no hits and lacking the raw energy one normally associates with a live release – is probably the least-essential item in McNabb's catalog. Which is not to say that Live at Life is a bad album – just a curious one to put into general release".[7]
Potency: The Best of Ian McNabb is McNabb's second "Greatest Hits"-style compilation album. It came in a two-CD package along with Potency+, a compilation of "B-sides, remixes and rarities", according to the cover notes.[4][6][8][9]
Critical reception
The magazine Uncut commented, "As Potency proves, over more than a decade [Ian McNabb has] been making quality pop characterised by lyrical maturity and an old-fashioned respect for melody", but gave the album a low rating of 3/10.[10]
Boots is an album of previously unreleased archival material recorded between 1991 and 2000. The title refers to both McNabb's nickname (after his penchant for wearing Beatles-style boots in the mid-80s while with The Icicle Works) and the "official bootleg" nature of the release. The double disc set includes some radio performances, demos and alternative versions. It was available by mail only and limited to 1000, copies each numbered on the spine. According to McNabb, the album is "very rare". The cover was designed by Ged Doyle at Plast-c.[4][6]
Critical reception
Jerry Ewing reviewed Boots in the magazine Classic Rock, saying it was "a double CD full of rarities and out-takes from across McNabb's excellent solo career". He concluded by saying it "is sad that Boots is available only from [...] McNabb's website".[11]
Krugerrands is an album primarily containing re-recordings of previously released tracks that, according to McNabb "were either previously stripped to basics for their original recordings or done using drum machines and other such toys". The album was released on 3 August 2015, after having been made available for pre-order on McNabb's website in June. The album was a limited release of 1000 copies, and also included a cover of the Sly Fox song "Let's Go All the Way" and two versions of a new track, "Gravy". The album was a collaboration with Liverpudlian band Cold Shoulder, as was the previous album Eclectic Warrior.
According to McNabb's liner notes for the album, it is an attempt to improve on "a bunch of tunes from [his] catalogue [he] felt, although not uhappy [sic] with in their previous incarnations, had a lot of room to grow".
