Warming Up to the Ice Age
| Warming Up to the Ice Age | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by John Hiatt | ||||
| Released | January 1985 | |||
| Genre | Rock | |||
| Length | 38:51 | |||
| Label | Geffen | |||
| Producer | Norbert Putnam | |||
| John Hiatt chronology | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   |
| Robert Christgau | (B) |
| Spin | (favorable) |
Warming Up to the Ice Age was singer-songwriter John Hiatt's seventh album, released in 1985. It was his last album with Geffen Records, who dropped Hiatt after the album failed to chart. It was the last Hiatt studio album to miss the Billboard 200. "The Usual" would later be covered by Bob Dylan. "Living a Little, Laughing a Little", originally a hit for The Spinners, was a duet with Elvis Costello.
During the recording of the album Hiatt was still doing drugs and drinking which, he felt, diminished the quality of the album and also meant he was short on material. "The wholeness got dissipated by my personal problems, and I think that kind of showed up on 'Warming Up to the Ice Age'. I was drinking and drugging a lot and eventually I was consumed by it. After 'Ice Age' I got sober." Influencing Hiatt's decision to become sober was the birth of his daughter Lily in 1984. Shortly after giving birth to Lily, Hiatt's estranged wife committed suicide, leaving him a single father. Hiatt remained sober throughout the "Warming Up to the Ice Age" tour, which he called a "scary experience".
The album failed to build on the critical momentum of its predecessor, Riding with the King, and Hiatt found himself without a label as Geffen dropped him from their roster.
All tracks written by John Hiatt, except where noted
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