Head Like a Rock

Head Like a Rock
Studio album by Ian McNabb
Released	4 July 1994
Recorded	1993
Studio	Red Zone Studios, Burbank, California; Mayfair Studios, Regents Park, London
Genre	Rock[1]
Length	67:03
Label	This Way Up
Producer	Robert Ian McNabb, John Porter
Ian McNabb chronology
Truth and Beauty (1993) Head Like a Rock (1994) Merseybeast (1996)
Singles from Head Like a Rock
"You Must Be Prepared to Dream" Released: June 1994 "Go into the Light" Released: September 1994

Head Like a Rock is a 1994 concept album released on 4 July 1994,^[2] and recorded by Ian McNabb.^[3] McNabb's second solo album, it was nominated for the 1994 Mercury Music Prize.^[4] The album was recorded in Los Angeles with the backing band Crazy Horse. The album peaked at No. 29 on the official UK charts.^[5]

Late in 2012, Ian revealed that his first three studio albums were to be re-released as 'expanded editions'. In early December 2013, 'Head Like a Rock (Expanded edition)' was announced on Amazon with a scheduled release date of January 28, 2013: "This expanded version has been re-mastered by Ian himself and is a testament to the great album it was, enhanced with upgraded packaging and a bonus disc of the B-sides that came with the assorted singles. This is a great addition to the canon of Ian's work."^[6]

Track listing

All tracks composed by Ian McNabb

1. "Fire Inside My Soul" (8:35)
2. "You Must Be Prepared to Dream" (6:57)
3. "Child Inside a Father" (9:02)
4. "Still Got the Fever" (7:29)
5. "Potency"(4:38)
6. "Go Into the Light" (4:08)
7. "As a Life Goes By" (4:42)
8. "Sad Strange Solitary Catholic Mystic" (4:45)
9. "This Time Is Forever"(5:38)
10. "May You Always" (10:51)

Expanded Edition (Disc 2)

No.	Title	Length
1.	"That's Why The Darkness Exists" (B-side of "You Must Be Prepared to Dream", With guest drummer Zak Starkey)	3:23
2.	"Sometimes I Think About You" (B-side of "You Must Be Prepared to Dream")	4:20
3.	"Woo Yer" (B-side of "You Must Be Prepared to Dream")	3:20
4.	"Love Is A Wonderful Colour" (B-side of You Must Be Prepared to Dream)	4:17
5.	"When It All Comes Down" (B-side of "You Must Be Prepared to Dream")	4:27
6.	"Time You Were In Love" (B-side of "Go into the Light")	4:25
7.	"Go Into The Light (Celestial Dub Mix)" (A-side of "Go into the Light")	7:21
8.	"Rock" (B-side of "Go into the Light")	3:00
9.	"I Stood Before St Peter" (B-side of "Go into the Light")	3:47

Personnel

• Ian McNabb - guitar, vocals
• John Porter - acoustic guitar, keyboards; dobro on "As a Life Goes By"
• Billy Talbot - bass, backing vocals
• Ralph Molina - drums, backing vocals; co-lead vocals on "Child Inside a Father"
• Tommy Eyre - organ; piano on "This Time is Forever"; synthesizer and string arrangement on "Sad Strange Solitary Catholic Mystic"
• James Hutchinson - bass
• Joseph Modeliste - drums
• Tony Braunagel - percussion
• Greg Leisz - pedal steel guitar; lap steel on "Potency"
• Scarlet Rivera - violin on "Potency" and "Sad Strange Solitary Catholic Mystic"
• Roy Corkill - acoustic guitar, bass
• Mike "Tone" Hamilton - rhythm guitar, backing vocals
• Nick Warren - keyboards on "Still Got the Fever" and "This Time is Forever"
• Martin Tillman - cello on "Potency" and "Sad Strange Solitary Catholic Mystic"
• Marty Grebb - alto saxophone on "Go Into the Light"
• Maxi Anderson, Mona Lisa Young, Terry Young - backing vocals

Technical

• Joe McGrath - engineer
• Ian McNabb, Pete Schwier - mixing
• Phil Smee - design
• Theo Westenberger - front cover photography of Reggie J. Trickpus (Alan Ende Ventriloquist Collection)

References

1. Michael Sutton. "Head Like a Rock". AllMusic.
2. The Emotional Party: The Thoughts and Words of Ian McNabb
3. Leslie Carl Seiler. "merseybeasts - ian mcnabb discography". Merseybeasts.COM.
4. "Mercury Prize - Ian McNabb: Head Like a Rock - 1994 Shortlist - Albums of the Year". Mercury Prize. Archived from the original on 8 February 2016. Retrieved 29 April 2012.
5. Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 341. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
6. "Head Like A Rock (2CD Expanded Edition): Amazon.co.uk: Music". Amazon UK. 2013.