Ice Pickin'

Ice Pickin' was Albert Collins at his best. He showed you exactly what kind of blues guitar tricks he had up his sleeve.

Collins attacked his guitar strings in a percussive, almost slapping style. "When the Welfare Turns Its Back on You" is one of the best songs here as far as guitar note placement and rhythmic guitar-talk go. The guitar is Collins's second voice. He made use of it in this way throughout the album.

This album appeared in 1978 and gave Collins the recognition he deserved. He paid his dues on the Texas blues circuit, alongside Albert King and future star Stevie Ray Vaughn.

The smooth instrumental groove of "Ice Pick" shows you how clear-cut his tone could be. His guitar dances and twirls to the rhythms of drums, bass, and a brass section surrounding it. "Conversation with Collins" is a rare spoken word song; a formidable feat. Collins gets it right with his soft swaggering tone and a satisfying background piano. The last song, "Avalanche," is a heavy guitar bending instrumental jam. Collins really lets loose and blasts through the speakers like an avalanche.

It is hard to find another blues guitar player similar to Collins's well placed yet sloppy guitar style. Luther Allison was similar but not as precise. Jimmy Page could be precise or sloppy, depending on the song. Albert Collins is somewhere in between. You won't hear many other guitar players playing electric blues with only fingers in such a precise splatter style slap manner. Collins was the one who could not only do this right but also very well.