(2020) Iggy Pop – The Bowie Years


Review:
While David Bowie’s “Berlin Trilogy” officially kicked off with the January 1977 release of Low, the international superstar had actually been working in Germany a bit earlier with Stooges frontman Iggy Pop on his solo debut, The Idiot. The LP was a departure from Pop’s primitive-styled proto-punk with The Stooges, embracing a steely and electronic yet funky sound. Now, Universal Music is collecting the entirety of Pop’s German period of Bowie collaborations in a new 7-CD box set. The Bowie Years brings together remastered versions of The Idiot, its even more successful follow-up Lust for Life, and the TV Eye Live concert album plus a disc of demos and singles, and three discs of live performances. Iggy Pop described The Idiot (its title inspired by Dostoyevsky) as a cross between Kraftwerk and James Brown. Sessions began in France at Château d’Hérouville in France, the same studio where Bowie had recorded Pin-Ups and much of Low. They continued at Munich’s Musicland Studios (the same studios where Donna Summer recorded many of her classic hits), and overdubs plus a final mix by Tony Visconti took place at Hansa Studio 1 in Berlin. Bowie’s frequent collaborators Carlos Alomar, George Murray, and Dennis Davis were among the musicians enlisted. While Bowie is generally understood to have written the music and Pop the lyrics to the album, there were exceptions to that unspoken rule. The Idiot was released in March 1977, yielding the instant classics “Sister Midnight,” “Nightclubbing,” “Funtime,” and “China Girl” – the latter of which Bowie would re-record for Let’s Dance in 1983. (He would also rework “Sister Midnight” as “Red Money” for 1979’s Lodger, the concluding album of his Berlin Trilogy.) Following a concert tour in support of The Idiot, Bowie and Pop regrouped to record the album that would become Lust for Life. It was reportedly written, recorded, and mixed within a fast and furious eight-day period; sessions took place at Hansa Studio by the Wall in Berlin, and musicians included the returning Carlos Alomar, Ricky Gardiner, and brothers Hunt and Tony Sales. Bowie himself played keyboards and contributed backing vocals. Lust for Life, named for the Bowie/Pop-penned title track propelled by Hunt Sales’ Motown-inspired rhythm, was released in August 1977 and reached the top 30 of the U.K. Albums Chart and became Pop’s most successful album to date. Bowie later re-recorded its “Tonight” as a duet with Tina Turner for his 1984 album of the same name.  (Years later, Bowie and the Sales brothers would form three-quarters of the band Tin Machine.) The Bowie Years continues with a remastered version of Iggy’s 1978 concert album TV Eye Live which was drawn from March 1977 shows in Cleveland and Chicago, and an October show from Kansas City. Bowie played keyboards on the March dates. The box set continues with a disc of 10 rarities – including single edits, alternate mixes, and an interview with Iggy – and three discs of live concerts. The first is a March 7, 1977 gig at London’s Rainbow Theatre. Then the set presents the March 21 and 28 shows at Cleveland’s Agora Theatre and Chicago’s Mantra Studios, respectively. (The Chicago show has also been identified as having been recorded at the Aragon Ballroom.) Iggy played both Stooges classics and his fresh material at these concerts. Universal promises that these recordings have been mastered from “the best possible sources.”





Tracklist:

CD 1: The Idiot (RCA APL1-2275, 1977)
1.Sister Midnight
2.Nightclubbing
3.Funtime
4.Baby
5.China Girl
6.Dum Dum Boys
7.Tiny Girls
8.Mass Production

CD 2: Lust for Life (RCA AFL1-2488. 1977)
1.Lust for Life
2.Sixteen
3.Some Weird Sin
4.The Passenger
5.Tonight
6.Success
7.Turn Blue
8.Neighbourhood Threat
9.Fall in Love with Me

CD 3: T.V. Eye 1977 Live (RCA AFL1-2796, 1978)
1.V. Eye
2.Funtime
3.Sixteen
4.I Got A Right
5.Lust for Life
6.Dirt
7.Nightclubbing
8.I Wanna Be Your Dog

CD 4: Demos and Rarities
1.Sister Midnight – Mono Single Edit (RCA promo single JH-10989, 1977)
2.Sister Midnight – Single Edit (RCA single PB-10989, 1977)
3.China Girl – Single Edit (RCA U.K. single PB-9093, 1977)
4.Dum Dum Boys – Alt Mix
5.Baby – Alt Mix
6.China Girl – Alt Mix
7.Tiny Girls – Alt Mix
8.I Got A Right – Single Version (RCA U.K. single PB-9213, 1978)
9.Lust for Life – Edit (possibly RCA Netherlands single PB-9166, 1977)
10.Interview with Iggy about Recording the Idiot

CD 5: Rainbow Theatre – Finsbury Park, London, 7 March 1977
1.Raw Power
2.TV Eye
3.Dirt
4.1969
5.Turn Blue
6.Funtime
7.Gimme Danger
8.No Fun
9.Sister Midnight
10.I Need Somebody
11.Search and Destroy
12.I Wanna Be Your Dog
13.Tonight
14.Some Weird Sin
15.China Girl

CD 6: Agora Theatre – Cleveland, 21 March 1977
1.Raw Power
2.TV Eye
3.Dirt
4.1969
5.Turn Blue
6.Funtime
7.Gimme Danger
8.No Fun
9.Sister Midnight
10.I Need Somebody
11.Search and Destroy
12.I Wanna Be Your Dog
13.China Girl

CD 7: Mantra Studios – Chicago, 28 March 1977
1.Raw Power
2.TV Eye
3.Dirt
4.Turn Blue
5.Funtime
6.Gimme Danger
7.No Fun
8.Sister Midnight
9.I Need Somebody
10.Search and Destroy
11.I Wanna Be Your Dog
12.China Girl


Media Report:
Genre: rock
Format: FLAC
Format/Info: Free Lossless Audio Codec, 16-bit PCM
Bit rate mode: Variable
Channel(s): 2 channels
Sampling rate: 44.1 KHz
Bit depth: 16 bits