New Values
New Values is the third studio album by American musician Iggy Pop and his first record since the Stooges' Funhouse and post-Stooges Kill City not to have any involvement from David Bowie. It was released in April 1979 by record label Arista.
New Values | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album by | ||||
Released | April 1979 | |||
Recorded | 1978 | |||
Studio | Paramount (Hollywood, California) | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 39:26 | |||
Label | Arista | |||
Producer | James Williamson | |||
Iggy Pop chronology | ||||
|
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] |
Blender | [3] |
Chicago Tribune | [4] |
Christgau's Record Guide | B+[5] |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [6] |
Spin Alternative Record Guide | 7/10[7] |
Tom Hull | B[8] |
Uncut | [9] |
New Values has been well received by critics. Writing in NME at the time of the album's release, Paul Morley wrote that New Values "conclusively endorses Osterberg as thinker and Iggy as performer, and the relationship is positive and proud."[10]
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".[11]
Legacy
David Bowie later covered "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.[12]
"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) | Pop, Williamson, Thurston | 2:40 |
14. | "Pretty Flamingo" (b-side to "Five Foot One[13]) | Pop | 2:53 |
Use in media
"The Endless Sea" is featured in the soundtrack of the 1986 film "Dogs in Space"
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 (Anna and Mary) – backing vocals on "Don't Look Down" and "Angel"
- 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
- Deming, Mark. "New Values – Iggy Pop". AllMusic. Retrieved December 20, 2014.
- Brigaudiot, Gui; Pinsard, Tibo; Karantonis, Yannis. "James Williamson". iggy-pop.com. Archived from the original on March 5, 2012. Retrieved December 20, 2014.
- Smith, RJ (September 2004). "Iggy Pop: New Values". Blender. No. 29. Archived from the original on June 30, 2006. Retrieved November 25, 2020.
- Kot, Greg (July 22, 1990). "Pop On Pop: Iggy Rates His Own Music (And So Do We)". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved November 25, 2020.
- Christgau, Robert (1981). "Iggy Pop: New Values". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor and Fields. ISBN 0-89919-026-X. Retrieved December 20, 2014.
- Coleman, Mark; Kemp, Rob (2004). "Iggy Pop". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 645–46. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
- Rubin, Mike (1995). "Stooges". In Weisbard, Eric; Marks, Craig (eds.). Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. pp. 378–79. ISBN 0-679-75574-8.
- Hull, Tom (n.d.). "Rock (1970s)". tomhull.com. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
- "Iggy Pop: New Values". Uncut. No. 41. October 2000. p. 96.
- Morley, Paul (April 28, 1979). "Iggy Pop: New Values (Arista)". NME. Retrieved December 20, 2014 – via Rock's Backpages.
- Robinson, Charlotte (February 5, 2003). "The Weird Trilogy: Iggy Pop's Arista Recordings". PopMatters. Retrieved December 20, 2014.
- Wright, Mic (April 16, 2012). "Number 13 Baby: Frank Black's Favourite Albums Revealed". The Quietus. p. 8. Retrieved December 20, 2014.
- "https://www.discogs.com/Iggy-Pop-Five-Foot-One-Pretty-Flamingo/release/1776828
External links
- New Values at Discogs (list of releases)