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Great Southern Land 1989
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Great Southern Land

Great Southern Land arrived in October 1989 as the first compilation album by Icehouse, and while it sounds like a retrospective, it actually bridged what the band had already done with what was to come. It was released by Regular Records and Chrysalis Records in versions that varied by country: in Australia and New Zealand, it came out as a double vinyl with 16 tracks, in Europe there were shorter editions, and even a VHS version with 15 tracks was released. The sound remains that rock with touches of new wave and synth-pop that defined them, but here it was presented as a ready-made package for the public to rediscover their best-known songs.

Year
1989
Songs
16
Duration
67 min 7 seg
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About the album

Great Southern Land, according to DoReSol

Two new tracks entered the Australian charts that year: Touch the Fire reached number 13 and Jimmy Dean number 47, and while the numbers weren’t stratospheric, they proved the band was still relevant. Touch the Fire features that guitar riff that repeats like a heartbeat, while Jimmy Dean leans into a darker, almost cinematic vibe. The album also includes the title track, Great Southern Land, which was already a live classic before appearing here, along with songs like Hey, Little Girl or No Promises that show why the band resonated with so many people.

What’s interesting is that, despite being a compilation, it ended up as an album with its own personality: it’s not just a run-through of past hits, but a cohesive selection where each track feels like it belongs. That said, international versions altered the order and even omitted some tracks, but the core—those songs that defined Icehouse—remained intact.