New Values
| Untitled | |
|---|---|
New Values is the third solo studio album by Iggy Pop and his first record since The Stooges' Fun House and post-Stooges Kill City not to have any involvement from David Bowie. It was released in April 1979 by record label Arista.
Background
New Values was Pop's first record for Arista and the first collaboration by Pop and James Williamson since Kill City. The album also reunited Pop and Williamson with multi-instrumentalist Scott Thurston, who had played live piano for The Stooges on Metallic K.O. and Kill City.
Recording and release
Although guitar was played by Williamson on "Don't Look Down", Scott Thurston played guitar on all other tracks, with Williamson concentrating on production.[2] Likewise, although one of the songs was written by Pop and Williamson, five tracks were collaborations between Pop and Thurston.
New Values was released in April 1979 by record label Arista. Although well-received critically, the album was not a commercial success, only reaching number 180 in the Billboard Top 200 album chart.
Videos were made for "I'm Bored" and "Five Foot One".
Critical reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| Robert Christgau | B+[3] |
| New Musical Express | favorable[4] |
New Values has been well received by critics.
Charlotte Robinson of PopMatters wrote that the album's "delicate balancing act of tough with tender, rebellion with contentment, sincerity with humor, cocksure wailing with nuanced balladeering ... makes the album a winner".[5]
Legacy
David Bowie later covered the New Values track "Don't Look Down" on his album Tonight (1984) and used it for the opening and closing titles of his short film Jazzin' for Blue Jean.
Pixies frontman Frank Black cited New Values as one of his favorite albums.[6]
"The Endless Sea" was covered by the Australian psychedelic rock band The Church on their 1999 covers album A Box of Birds.
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Tell Me a Story" | Iggy Pop | 2:50 |
| 2. | "New Values" | Pop, Scott Thurston | 2:39 |
| 3. | "Girls" | Pop | 3:00 |
| 4. | "I'm Bored" | Pop | 2:47 |
| 5. | "Don't Look Down" | Pop, James Williamson | 3:39 |
| 6. | "The Endless Sea" | Pop | 4:50 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Five Foot One" | Pop | 4:29 |
| 2. | "How Do Ya Fix a Broken Part" | Pop | 2:55 |
| 3. | "Angel" | Pop, Thurston | 3:44 |
| 4. | "Curiosity" | Pop, Thurston | 2:29 |
| 5. | "African Man" | Pop, Thurston | 3:35 |
| 6. | "Billy Is a Runaway" | Pop, Thurston | 2:31 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 13. | "Chains" (previously unreleased) | unknown | 2:40 |
| 14. | "Pretty Flamingo" | Pop | 2:53 |
Personnel
- Iggy Pop – vocals
- Scott Thurston – guitars, harp, keyboards, synthesizer, vocals, horn arrangement
- Klaus Krüger – drums
- Jackie Clark – bass
- John Harden – horns
- David Brock – strings, string arrangement
- Earl Shackelford – backing vocals
- The Alfono Sisters – backing vocals
- James Williamson – guitar, horn and string arrangement, production, mixing
- Technical
- Lloyd Malan – production assistance
- Peter Haden – engineering, mixing
- Paul Henry – sleeve design and art direction
- Trevor Rogers – sleeve photography
- Graphyk – sleeve graphics
References
- ^ a b Deming, Mark. "New Values – Iggy Pop | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved December 20, 2014.
- ^ "Iggy-pop.com : Interviews". Iggy-pop.com. Archived from the original on March 5, 2012. Retrieved December 20, 2014.
- ^ Christgau, Robert. "Robert Christgau: CG: Iggy Pop". robertchristgau.com. Retrieved December 20, 2014.
- ^ Morley, Paul (April 28, 1979). "Iggy Pop: New Values (Arista)". New Musical Express. Retrieved December 20, 2014.
- ^ Robinson, Charlotte (February 5, 2003). "The Weird Trilogy: Iggy Pop's Arista Recordings | PopMatters". AllMusic. Retrieved December 20, 2014.
- ^ Wright, Mic (April 16, 2012). "The Quietus | Features | Baker's Dozen | Number 13 Baby: Frank Black's Favourite Albums Revealed". The Quietus. Retrieved December 20, 2014.
External links
- New Values at Discogs (list of releases)