Ian McNabb

It is time for another musical meander, as we travel along Six (ish) Degrees of musical separation from our chosen starting point, in bizarre eccentric circles towards our end point - the King of Shoegaze, Kevin Shields.

So, this time we kick the journey off with one of Britain's, I think it's fair to say, unfairly undervalued musical talents, Mr Robert Ian McNabb. A founder of one of Liverpool's impressive arrays of post-punk bands, the Icicle Works, since the early 90s he has also rattled off an impressive run of solo works. Despite having listened to his music since 1991, this weekend I will be seeing him live for the first time.

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Ian McNabb was born in Mossley Hill, Liverpool in 1960. With a liking for the glam sound of T. Rex, he started to learn guitar, and by fifteen was playing in the band Daybreak at working men’s clubs around the region. When Chris Sharrock joined the band on drums, he had a new friend, with whom he would form the Icicle Works in 1980, where they were joined by bass player Chris Layhe.

Icicle Works: Whisper To A Scream (Birds Fly) (official music video)

As the 1990s dawned and he had largely left the Icicle Works in the rearview mirror, his solo work would see him work with a wide range of collaborators, and as is his songwriting want, pinball his way around multiple genres. Second album, Head Like A Rock, gave him the dream of working with Ralph Molina and Billy Talbot of Crazy Horse (Neil Young’s band), and earned him a Mercury Music Prize nomination. He has worked with musicians like Zak Starkey and Mike Scott along the way, and more recently with R.E.M.’s Peter Buck, who he has known since the 1980s. 

Ian McNabb: If It Wasn't For The Music (official music video)

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As well as getting Mike Scott to play with him on his 1998 album, A Party Political Broadcast On Behalf Of The Emotional Party, McNabb also toured with Scott’s legendary folk-rock band, The Waterboys for a few years in the early 2000s, playing keyboards and bass, and later providing some backing vocals for the 2022 record, All Souls Hill.

As well as McNabb, the list of musicians that Mike Scott has tempted into his ranks over the 40+ year existence of the band, is quite phenomenal. Some have merely passed through briefly and some have hung around for longer, but the list includes Eddi Reader, Guy Chambers (perhaps best known for writing many of Robbie Williams biggest hits), and even legendary session drummer Jim Keltner. What is quite interesting, to me at least, is that one of the founding fathers of American Alt-Country, Steve Earle, has been signed to be a part of the touring band later in 2026.

The Waterboys: Blackberry Girl (official music video, including McNabb on bv's)

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Steve Earle has been ploughing the furrow for country infused with punk, rock and folk, since way back in the mid-80s. He left his home (well he ran away actually) in Virginia, aged 14, to go and seek out his musical hero, the iconic Townes Van Zandt. He did end up staying in school until 16, but then headed down to Houston, staying with his 19-year old uncle, also a musician - finally meeting Van Zandt there. 

A move to Nashville in 1974, saw him working day jobs and gigging around town at night, leading to a stint playing bass for Guy Clark’s band. He would spend much of the next decade switching between Texas and Nashville, picking up credits writing songs for others, such as Mustang Wine, recorded by Carl Perkins.

His own career launched with 1986’s Guitar Town, followed by his most successful album, Copperhead Road. He never shied away from his progressive political beliefs, and they became increasingly a part of his music, often causing controversy along the way (especially amongst those who didn’t like their country with a more leftist stance). As he went on, his songs got covered more and more by the great and the good of the country scene and beyond. Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Vince Gill, Percy Sledge and Emmylou Harris are among the many artists who have taken on one of his songs.

Steve Earle: Guitar Town (live from Austin, TX)

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It is perhaps unsurprising that when Johnny Cash covered a Steve Earle tune, it was for his now legendary series of American albums with veteran producer Rick Rubin. Cash had found himself commercially on the back burner by the 1980s when Rubin approached him. It seemed something of a strange fit at first (Rubin is better known for metal and rap), but it was a relationship that ultimately resurrected Cash’s career.

Rubin felt it was too soon for Cash to be on the scrap heap, although Cash was initially sceptical, until Rubin promised him full control of the process. The pair bonded, and in 1994, the first effort, American Recordings came out. Recorded between Cash’s Tennessee cabin and Rubin’s L.A. home, the record was stripped back, allowing Cash’s emotion soaked voice to shine. 

There would be several more records in the series, each one mixing Cash originals with a varied series of covers by the likes of U2, Paul Simon, Depeche Mode, Kris Kristofferson, Nick Lowe (his former son-in-law), Leonard Cohen and even Glen Danzig and Trent Reznor. Then we get the Unearthed boxset, released just after Cash’s death, which includes a version of Steve Earle’s Devil’s Right Hand - a song that had first been on Copperhead Road, before Cash and his cohorts in The Highwaymen also covered it in 1995.

Johnny Cash: Devil's Right Hand (audio only)

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Photo: Asylum Records

Also on that Unearthed record is the song Down There By The Train, written by Tom Waits for Johnny Cash. Waits is the man probably best known for that distinctive ultra deep, gravel-filled voice, mixing rock, jazz, blues and more (and also known for his acting in movies like Bram Stoker’s Dracula). He fused his early love for Bob Dylan, with more avant-garde influences like Captain Beefheart.

In 1983 came Swordfishtrombones, the critically acclaimed album that probably represented this fusion of abstract and songwriting. He produced it himself, and after issues elsewhere, Chris Blackwell stepped in and offered to release it on Island Records. Musicians on the record included noted jazz and rock players like Bill Reichenbach Jr, Victor Feldman, Fred Tackett and Ronnie Barron. Waits was assisted in the recording process by Tim Boyle and Biff Dawes at the Sunset Sound Studios in Hollywood.

Tom Waits: In The Neighborhood (audio only)

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I don't have much to bring you on Walter ‘Biff’ Dawes except that he is a noted producer, engineer and mixer, based out of Los Angeles. He has been involved with the recording of over 400 records down the years, and producing work for Stevie Nicks, Soul Asylum and Elvis Costello.

He produced three unplugged tracks that appeared on the 2002 bonus disc for the reissue of Costello’s 1991 LP, Mighty Like A Rose - The Other Side Of Summer, Deep Dark Truthful Mirror and Hurry Down Doomsday - originally recorded for an MTV Unplugged show, with Deep Dark Truthful Mirror first released on The Unplugged Collection, a compilation from 1994 (also including performances by the likes of Eric Clapton, Lenny Kravitz, Paul Simon, Elton John, Paul McCartney and R.E.M).

Elvis Costello: Deep Dark Truthful Mirror (audio only - the unplugged version)

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The main original part of Mighty Like A Rose features contributions from many notable musicians, including guitarist Marc Ribot, (getting a second mention) legendary session drummer Jim Keltner, Benmont Tench of The Heartbreakers, and Costello’s old Attractions bandmates, Pete Thomas and Steve Nieve.

Steve Nieve (born Stephen Nason) has played keyboards with Elvis Costello on and off for most of his over forty year career, as part of The Attractions, but has also played with Madness, led the house band for Jonathan Ross’s 1990s chat show and also has an extensive solo career.

Elvis Costello & The Attractions: Pump It Up (blistering live version from Rockpalast in 1978)

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But our final meander in this pointless game is perhaps our most tenuous yet.. 

In their 2004 review of the album Mockingbird by Papercuts (the working name of Jason Quever), Pop Matters mentioned that the uplifting song Poor and Free, “sounds like the Polyphonic Spree being produced by a sparring combo of Steve Nieve and KEVIN SHIELDS.”

So here is that song - check out for yourself whether it is some weird Nieve / Shields hybrid..

Papercuts: Poor And Free (live in San Francisco, 2009)