Iggy Pop - Biography
Iggy Pop is one of the great rock n roll performers of the genre, creating a character and style unparalleled, yet often imitated. Starting in the 1960s with his seminal proto punk outfit The Stooges- Iggy unleashed a feral, monstrous presence dripping with blood, sweat, and a carnal lust so wild and free initially audiences had no idea what to make of it. Over the course of three solid albums- The Stooges (1969), Funhouse (1970), and Raw Power (1973- Produced by Iggy fan boy David Bowie)- Iggy set the world aflame with nasty, distortion driven tomes of feedback flailing and corrosive caterwauling, riotous riffing and howling blasts of sonic madness that did it's best to disturb, disrupt, and detonate average American values. Once The Stooges disbanded, after recording the later released Kill City, Iggy was a drift- an artist with no label, no management, no prospects. David Bowie then came back into the picture, producing, directing, and co-writing a set of LPs that would prop Iggy up as a solo star for the rest of his days. Both The Idiot and Lust For Life came out in 1977, securing Iggy's rightful place as one of the great artists for all time, though neither made him as huge a star as Bowie, they gave the man a solid basis upon which to launch the rest of his professional existence.
Which started in kind with 1979's New Values, produced by one time Stooges guitar slinger James Williamson- the first to contain more or less Iggy's full vision of himself, with mixed results. This would set the pattern for all future Iggy releases- high points saddled with middling cuts- iconic songs next to filler. Followed by 1980's Soldier- an all star punk affair featuring Sex Pistols' Glen Matlock, Patti Smith Band's Ivan Kral, Rich Kids' Steve New, and XTC's Barry Andrews- which got closer to the Iggy zeitgeist than the previous record, possibly his best collection of gutter rock this side of The Stooges. After this you get the ersatz pop funk rock of 1981's Party!, 1982's vaguely interesting, slightly experimental Zombie Birdhouse, the Bowie produced, commercial chart grabbing of 1986's Blah Blah Blah (featuring the minor hit "Real Wild Child"), the cock rock metal of Instinct (1988), and the pristine pop of Brick By Brick (1990)- all designed to market Iggy to an audience that never quite got it, though moments of commercial presence littered each release, Iggy the undeniable presence he is.
Sensing this, Iggy went back to releasing more street level, gutter rocking affairs that echoed his 70s period more closely with American Ceaser (1993) and Naughty Little Doggie (1996)- both showcasing loud guitars, feedback, hard riffs, proto punk and proto metal framing the sound. Iggy takes a detour on Avenue B (1999)- recording a more spoken word, intimate affair with jam jazzers- a certain commercial nose dive followed. Returning to rock, he pushed forth a grip of records- Beat Em' Up (2001), Skull Ring (2003), and The Weirdness (2007) (with a reformed Stooges)- none of them charting or accomplishing much in sales. Iggy then went of on a tangent, recording two records- 2009's Preliminaires- a jazz record, and 2012's Apres- an LP of French cover songs. Both went unnoticed by fans or the public. in 2013 he made one last Stooges record, Ready To Die, his highest charting record since 1990's Brick By Brick- yet still far from the star making, critical success Iggy deserved at such a point in his long career. Sensing his retirement was imminent, Iggy announced he would do one more album and tour and possibly call it quits. Released March 2016, Post Pop Depression- made with Queens Of The Stone Age's Josh Homme- became Iggy's biggest selling album to date, as well as his highest charting- going Top 10 in the UK, Top 20 in the USA, followed by a totally sold out tour. Iggy had finally- at the age of 69- become a POP STAR, though he had always been, and will forever be one of the greatest rock stars to ever grace a stage anywhere, in any time.
