Lust for Life (Iggy Pop album)

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Lust for Life
IggyPopLustForLife.jpg
Studio album by
Iggy Pop
ReleasedAugust 29, 1977 (1977-08-29)
RecordedMay–June 1977
StudioHansa (West Berlin)
Genre
Length41:53
LabelRCA
Producer
Iggy Pop chronology
The Idiot
(1977) 		Lust for Life
(1977) 		Kill City
(1977)
Singles from Lust for Life
  1. "Success" / "The Passenger"
    Released: 30 September 1977
  2. "Lust for Life" / "Success"
    Released: November 1977

Lust for Life is the second solo album by American musician Iggy Pop, released on August 29, 1977 by RCA Records. It was his second collaboration with English musician and friend David Bowie after The Idiot, released earlier in March the same year. Shortly after Bowie released his own album Low in January, Pop went on a tour to support The Idiot with Bowie as his keyboardist. At the tour's conclusion, Pop and Bowie regrouped in Berlin to record the former's next solo album.

Lust for Life was recorded at Hansa Studio by the Wall in West Berlin from May to June 1977, with production being co-handled by Bowie, Pop, and engineer Colin Thurston. The touring band of Pop, Bowie, guitarist Ricky Gardiner, and brothers Tony Fox and Hunt Sales on bass and drums, respectively, comprised the primary lineup for the album. After The Idiot was mostly composed by Bowie, Pop was adamant about having more control over Lust for Life, often composing his own arrangements, including for "The Passenger". This resulted in a hard rock sound more akin to his older style with the proto-punk band the Stooges. Pop would use Bowie's arrangements for some songs, including the well-known title track.

Upon release, Lust for Life received little promotion from RCA but nevertheless peaked at number 28 on the UK Albums Chart and would remain his highest-charting album there until 2016's Post Pop Depression. It also peaked at number 120 on the US Billboard 200. Critically, Lust for Life was well-received, with many praising Pop's energetic performance throughout the album and his greater role compared to its predecessor; it would later be regarded as one of his best works. It also marked Pop and Bowie's final collaboration until the mid-1980s.

Background[]

After a period of drug addiction, Iggy Pop joined his friend David Bowie on his 1976 Isolar Tour and afterwards, moved to Europe with him in hopes of getting sober. After moving into the Château d'Hérouville in Hérouville, France, Bowie decided to produce Pop's first solo album.[1][2] Recorded from June to August 1976, The Idiot was Pop's first release since the breakup of his former band the Stooges in 1974.[3] The majority of the music was composed by Bowie, while Pop wrote most of the lyrics, often in response to the music being composed.[4] Due to Bowie's major influence on its making, The Idiot marked a departure from the proto-punk sound of the Stooges,[5] in favor of a style more akin to art rock.[6] After the completion of The Idiot, Bowie recorded his own album, Low, in a style reminiscent of The Idiot.[7] Bowie's label, RCA Records, released Low in January 1977 and due to its unexpected commercial success,[8] Bowie persuaded RCA to release The Idiot in March.[9] The album became Pop's biggest commercial success up to that point, reaching the top 40 in both the US and the UK charts.[3]

Bowie declined to promote Low, instead opting to support Pop in a tour of his own. With himself on keyboards, Bowie assembled a band that included Ricky Gardiner on guitar, with brothers Tony Fox and Hunt Sales on bass and drums, respectively. Rehearsals began in mid-February and the tour began at the start of March.[10] Songs played included popular Stooges numbers, a couple tracks from The Idiot, and songs that would appear on Lust for Life,[11] including "Tonight", "Some Weird Sin", and "Turn Blue".[12] Bowie was adamant about not taking the spotlight away from Pop, often staying behind his keyboard and not addressing the audience. The tour ended on April 16.[11] The success of The Idiot and the tour earned Pop fame and success greater than he ever achieved with the Stooges. However, during interviews, he was often asked about Bowie more than his own work. This frustrated Pop, who realized that for their next collaboration, he would have to take more control.[13]

Recording[]

David and I had determined that we would record [Lust for Life] very quickly, which we wrote, recorded, and mixed in eight days, and because we had done it so quickly, we had a lot of money left over from the advance, which we split."[14]

– Iggy Pop on the recording process for Lust for Life

At the end of the tour, Pop and Bowie returned to Berlin to start writing. To further achieve his own identity, Pop moved out of the apartment he was sharing with Bowie and his assistant Coco Schwab and got his own place in the same building. The two continued writing for a few weeks before they were joined by Gardiner in May, who recalled that "quite a few ideas were already present."[12][15] The trio spent a few more weeks writing, devising tracks such as "The Passenger" and "Lust for Life". At the end of May, they moved to the Hansa Studio by the Wall to begin recording. The rhythm section of brothers Hunt and Tony Sales on drums and bass, respectively, returned from the tour, along with guitarist Carlos Alomar, who Bowie brought in as a musical director. Bowie reduced his role significantly from The Idiot, solely contributing keyboards like the tour. Gardiner recalled that because they were already a "tour-hardened band", there was a more "live" feel to the tracks than The Idiot.[16]

Bowie, Pop, and producer-engineer Colin Thurston produced Lust for Life under the pseudonym "Bewlay Bros.", named after the final track on Bowie's 1971 album Hunky Dory.[17] Pop slept little during its making, commenting "See, Bowie's a hell of a fast guy ... I realized I had to be quicker than him, otherwise whose album was it gonna be?"[18] Pop worked frequently with the Sales brothers and Gardiner, even rejecting some musical arrangements Bowie provided him for a few tracks,[17] including "Success".[19] Pop prepared only fragments of lyrics before singing, and essentially improvised at the microphone. This spontaneous lyrical method inspired Bowie to improvise his own words on his next project, "Heroes".[20] According to Pop, the entire album was written, recorded, and mixed in eight days.[14] Although Bowie had told interviewers that he planned to do a third collaboration with Pop in 1978, Lust for Life would be the two's last official collaboration until the mid-1980s.[21]

Music and themes[]

Lust for Life is generally considered to be more of an Iggy Pop record than the Bowie-dominated The Idiot, being less experimental and having more of a rock and roll flavor.[7][22] Overall, reviewers have characterized Lust for Life as hard rock,[23] proto-punk,[24][25] and industrial rock.[26] However, some of its themes were similarly dark, as in "The Passenger", cited by NME editors Roy Carr and Charles Shaar Murray as one of Pop's "most haunting" tracks,[7] and "Tonight" and "Turn Blue", both of which dealt with heroin abuse.[27] In contrast were more upbeat songs such as "Success" and "Lust for Life", the latter of which described by Rolling Stone as Pop's "survivor message to the masses".[23][28][29]

According to Pop, Bowie's celebrated riff on "Lust for Life" was inspired by the Morse code opening to the American Forces Network news in Berlin.[30] At various points in the song, the melody is doubled by the entire band; in Carlos Alomar's words, "You can't play a counter-rhythm to that, you just had to follow".[20][31] Joy Division drummer Stephen Morris declared, "On Lust for Life the drums sound not huge but massive! The loudest cymbals known to man, that riff! I wanted to sound like that, still do."[22]

"The Passenger" was inspired by a Jim Morrison poem that saw "modern life as a journey by car", as well as rides on the Berlin S-Bahn, according to Pop's former girlfriend Esther Friedmann.[32][33] The lyrics have also been interpreted as "Iggy's knowing commentary on Bowie's cultural vampirism".[22] The music, a "laid-back ... springy groove", was composed by guitarist Ricky Gardiner.[34] It was released as the B-side of the album's first single "Success". Characterized by AllMusic as "a glorious throwaway" and by Rolling Stone as "an infectious throwaway", "Success" was a light-hearted track of the call and response variety.[29][35]

At just under seven minutes, "Turn Blue", the longest song on the album, was a sprawling confessional that dated back to an abortive recording session by Bowie and Pop in May 1975, when the latter was in the depths of his drug addiction. Originally titled "Moving On", it was composed by Bowie, Pop, Walter Lacey, and Warren Peace.[28][36] It was the only set of lyrics that did not appear on the original vinyl record sleeve. The album's remaining tracks included "Sixteen", the only piece written entirely by Iggy Pop, "Some Weird Sin", a hard rock number featuring a "lost-boy lyric",[37] the "neo-punk" "Neighborhood Threat",[23] and "Fall in Love with Me", which grew from an impromptu jam by the band to which Pop composed lyrics apparently evoking his then-girlfriend Esther Friedmann.[20]

Release and artwork[]

The sleeve photo was taken by photographer Andy Kent, who also shot the cover for The Idiot, in a dressing room during his UK tour.[38] Pegg writes that the cover provides a stark contrast to The Idiot, in that Pop's healthy appearance and smiling gaze represent the album's overall positive tone compared to its predecessor.[18]

Lust for Life was released by RCA Records on August 29, 1977,[23] with the catalog number RCA PL-12488.[15] It received little promotion from RCA, primarily due to the death of Elvis Presley three weeks earlier, whose catalog the label was adamant on reissuing.[39][40] Although the label had pressed a decent quantities of the album, once the first pressings were sold out, there were none left. Tony Sales recalled: Lust for Life just disappeared from the shelves, and that was it." With little promotion from the label, Pop was forced to continue touring.[41]

Despite little promotion and lack of vinyl pressings, Lust for Life managed to peak at number 28 on the UK Albums Chart and remained Pop's highest-charting release in the UK[42] until 2016's Post Pop Depression.[18] It also peaked at number 120 on the US Billboard 200.[15] "Success", backed with "The Passenger", was released on September 30, 1977 as a single from the album,[7] but failed to chart.[43]

Critical reception[]

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic5/5 stars[23]
Blender4/5 stars[44]
Chicago Tribune3.5/4 stars[45]
Christgau's Record GuideA−[46]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music5/5 stars[47]
Pitchfork9.0/10[48]
Q5/5 stars[49]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide4/5 stars[50]
Sounds5/5 stars[51]
Spin Alternative Record Guide6/10[52]

On release, Lust for Life received positive reviews. In a contemporary review, Rolling Stone critic Billy Altman considered that "purely on its own terms, Lust for Life is a successful album", but complained that Pop's "new stance is so utterly unchallenging and cautious."[29] By contrast, Robert Christgau of The Village Voice refuted the critical opinion that Pop's "creative power has dissipated", finding The Idiot and Lust for Life to be more consistent than Pop's albums with the Stooges.[53] He later noted that of the two, he preferred Lust for Life "because it's faster and more assertive—which means, among other things, that the nihilistic satire is counteracted by the forward motion of the music itself."[46] Kris Needs of ZigZag magazine felt Lust for Life was not as "consistent" as its predecessor. He nevertheless considered it one of his favorite albums of the year, finding it to be more of a "day" record with its predecessor being a "night" record.[54] In Sounds magazine, Pete Makowski praised the record, calling it "excellent". He complimented the band's performance and Pop's vocals, calling them "a bit jagged but powerful".[51] Writing for NME, Max Bell gave the record a positive review, calling it "quite good". He praised Pop's greater role compared to The Idiot, as well as his vocal performance. However, he was critical of some tracks, including "Some Weird Sin", "Tonight", and "Success", the last of which he considered "'Fame' revisited".[55]

Writing for AllMusic, Mark Deming called Lust for Life Pop's best solo work, stating that with the record, "managed to channel the aggressive power of his work with the Stooges with the intelligence and perception of The Idiot, and the result was the best of both worlds."[23] Reviewing the album as part of the 2020 box set The Bowie Years, Sasha Geffen of Pitchfork praised Pop's performance on the record, writing that he managed to put more of himself into the record than The Idiot.[48]

Legacy[]

"Lust for Life" and "Sixteen" appeared the following year on the live set TV Eye. Bowie covered "Tonight" (minus the opening lines referencing drugs) with Tina Turner, along with "Neighborhood Threat", on his 1984 release Tonight. Siouxsie and the Banshees recorded a cover of "The Passenger" with brass instruments on their 1987 album Through the Looking Glass. Pop praised it, commenting: "She threw a little note in when she sings it that I wish I had thought of, it's kind of improved it [...] The horn thing is good."[56]

2020 deluxe edition[]

On April 10, 2020, Pop released an alternate mix of "China Girl" from The Idiot in promotion of the forthcoming release of The Bowie Years, a seven-disc deluxe box set featuring expanded remastered versions of The Idiot and Lust for Life. The box set, released on May 29, includes remastered versions of both albums along with outtakes, alternate mixes and a 40-page book. The two original albums were also re-released individually, each paired with an additional album of live material to create separate stand-alone two-disc deluxe editions.[57]

Track listing[]

All lyrics are written by Iggy Pop, except "Turn Blue" by Pop and Walter Lacey; music composers are listed below.

Side one
No.TitleMusic composer(s)Length
1."Lust for Life"David Bowie5:13
2."Sixteen"Pop2:26
3."Some Weird Sin"Bowie3:42
4."The Passenger"Ricky Gardiner4:44
5."Tonight"Bowie3:39
Side two
No.TitleMusic composer(s)Length
6."Success"Bowie, Gardiner4:25
7."Turn Blue"Bowie, Warren Peace6:56
8."Neighborhood Threat"Bowie, Gardiner3:25
9."Fall in Love with Me"Bowie, Hunt Sales, Tony Sales6:30

Personnel[]

According to Thomas Jerome Seabrook:[58]

  • Iggy Pop – vocals
  • David Bowie – keyboards, piano, organ, backing vocals
  • Carlos Alomar – rhythm guitar, backing vocals, lead guitar ("Lust for Life", "Turn Blue")
  • Ricky Gardiner – lead guitar, backing vocals, drums ("Fall in Love with Me")
  • Warren Peace – keyboards and backing vocals ("Turn Blue")
  • Tony Sales – bass, backing vocals, guitar ("Fall in Love with Me")
  • Hunt Sales – drums, backing vocals, bass ("Fall in Love with Me")

Charts[]

1977 weekly chart performance for Lust for Life
Chart (1977) Peak
position
UK Albums (OCC)[59] 28
US Billboard 200[60] 120

References[]

  1. ^ Seabrook 2008, pp. 76–79.
  2. ^ O'Leary 2019, pp. 20–27.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b Pegg 2016, pp. 487–488.
  4. ^ Seabrook 2008, pp. 80–81.
  5. ^ Deming, Mark. "The Idiot – Iggy Pop". AllMusic. Archived from the original on December 30, 2014. Retrieved December 8, 2014.
  6. ^ Little, Michael H. (March 30, 2016). "Iggy Pop, The Idiot". The Vinyl District. Archived from the original on July 1, 2016. Retrieved June 4, 2016.
  7. ^ Jump up to: a b c d Carr & Murray 1981, p. 118.
  8. ^ Buckley 2005, p. 272.
  9. ^ Trynka 2011, p. 324.
  10. ^ Seabrook 2008, pp. 136–137.
  11. ^ Jump up to: a b Pegg 2016, pp. 570–571.
  12. ^ Jump up to: a b Seabrook 2008, pp. 145–146.
  13. ^ Seabrook 2008, pp. 144–145.
  14. ^ Jump up to: a b Ambrose 2004, p. 173.
  15. ^ Jump up to: a b c O'Leary 2019, pp. 66–70.
  16. ^ Seabrook 2008, pp. 146–147.
  17. ^ Jump up to: a b Seabrook 2008, p. 147.
  18. ^ Jump up to: a b c Pegg 2016, p. 489.
  19. ^ O'Leary 2019, p. 76.
  20. ^ Jump up to: a b c Trynka 2007, pp. 263–272.
  21. ^ Seabrook 2008, p. 148.
  22. ^ Jump up to: a b c Ambrose 2004, pp. 185–186.
  23. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f Deming, Mark. "Lust for Life – Iggy Pop". AllMusic. Archived from the original on April 3, 2019. Retrieved October 15, 2020.
  24. ^ Wilkinson, Matt (March 11, 2016). "Iggy Pop – 'Post Pop Depression' – The NME Verdict". NME. Archived from the original on March 12, 2016. Retrieved August 1, 2016.
  25. ^ Brod, Doug; Kenny, Glenn; Peisner, David; Raftery, Brian; Robbins, Ira (October 2007). "The 30 Essential Punk Albums of 1977". Spin. Vol. 23 no. 10. pp. 67–70. Archived from the original on October 20, 2020. Retrieved October 15, 2020.
  26. ^ "Gig Highlight: Iggy Pop". Totally Stockholm. May 4, 2016. Archived from the original on January 26, 2020. Retrieved January 26, 2020.
  27. ^ Ambrose, Joe (2007). Gimme Danger: The Story of Iggy Pop. ...two other songs 'Drink to Me' and 'Turn Blue' which, with a new lyric, featured on Iggy's 1977 solo tour and in much altered form on Lust for Life
  28. ^ Jump up to: a b Thompson, Dave. "Turn Blue – Iggy Pop". AllMusic. Archived from the original on June 2, 2016. Retrieved October 15, 2020.
  29. ^ Jump up to: a b c Altman, Billy (January 12, 1978). "Iggy Pop: Lust for Life". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on April 20, 2008. Retrieved October 15, 2020.
  30. ^ Pegg 2016, pp. 177–178.
  31. ^ Huey, Steve. ""Lust for Life" – Iggy Pop". AllMusic. Archived from the original on October 27, 2016. Retrieved October 15, 2020.
  32. ^ Pegg 2016, p. 208.
  33. ^ "S-Bahn brachte Iggy Pop auf "The Passenger"". Die Welt (in German). February 21, 2013. Archived from the original on June 16, 2016. Retrieved October 15, 2020.
  34. ^ Maginnis, Tom. "The Passenger – Iggy Pop". AllMusic. Archived from the original on August 8, 2020. Retrieved October 15, 2020.
  35. ^ Thompson, Dave. "Success – Iggy Pop". AllMusic. Archived from the original on May 31, 2016. Retrieved October 15, 2020.
  36. ^ Pegg 2016, p. 290.
  37. ^ Thompson, Dave. ""Some Weird Sin" – Iggy Pop". AllMusic. Archived from the original on March 14, 2017. Retrieved October 15, 2020.
  38. ^ O'Leary 2019, pp. 74–75.
  39. ^ Trynka 2007, p. 231.
  40. ^ Seabrook 2008, p. 149.
  41. ^ Trynka 2007, pp. 231–232.
  42. ^ Trynka 2007, pp. 417–426.
  43. ^ Pegg 2016, p. 269.
  44. ^ Smith, RJ (September 2004). "Iggy Pop: Lust for Life". Blender. No. 29. Archived from the original on June 30, 2006. Retrieved August 11, 2016.
  45. ^ Kot, Greg (July 22, 1990). "Pop On Pop: Iggy Rates His Own Music (And So Do We)". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on August 9, 2020. Retrieved November 4, 2020.
  46. ^ Jump up to: a b Christgau 1981.
  47. ^ Larkin 2011.
  48. ^ Jump up to: a b Geffen, Sasha (June 6, 2020). "Iggy Pop: The Bowie Years". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on June 6, 2020. Retrieved June 6, 2020.
  49. ^ Goddard, Simon (Summer 2020). "The Berlin Stories". Q. No. 413. p. 108.
  50. ^ Coleman & Kemp 2004, p. 645.
  51. ^ Jump up to: a b Makowski, Pete (August 20, 1977). "Iggy Pop: Lust For Life (RCA AFLI 2488)". Sounds. Archived from the original on September 24, 2020. Retrieved October 15, 2020 – via Rock's Backpages (subscription required).
  52. ^ Rubin 1995, p. 378.
  53. ^ Christgau, Robert (October 3, 1977). "Christgau's Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved August 11, 2016.
  54. ^ Needs, Kris (September 1977). "Iggy Pop: Lust for Life". ZigZag. Retrieved March 12, 2021 – via Rock's Backpages (subscription required).
  55. ^ Bell, Max (27 August 1977). "Iggy Pop: Lust for Life (RCA)". NME. Retrieved March 12, 2021 – via Rock's Backpages (subscription required).
  56. ^ 120 Minutes. July 15, 1990. MTV.
  57. ^ Deriso, Nick (April 10, 2020). "Iggy Pop Box Set to Focus on First Two David Bowie-Produced LPs". Ultimate Classic Rock. Archived from the original on September 28, 2020. Retrieved October 15, 2020.
  58. ^ Seabrook 2008, pp. 152–158.
  59. ^ "Iggy Pop | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved May 6, 2021.
  60. ^ "Iggy Pop Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved May 6, 2021.

Sources[]

External links[]

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