Iggy Pop
Lust For Life

THE REVIEW

After the breakup of the Stooges, which occurred in 1974, a dark period began for Iggy Pop, marked by depression and dismay. It was his friend David Bowie, who had experienced a similar period shortly before, who helped him out of this dark tunnel. The two, within a couple of years (the two-year period 76-77), working and collaborating together in Berlin, would give birth to four essential albums, two each: "Low" and "Heroes" for Bowie (which, along with the subsequent "Lodger," are part of the famous "Berlin Trilogy"), and "The Idiot" and "Lust for Life" by Iggy.

While Bowie experimented with cutting-edge music, suspended between the Central European electronic music of Kraftwerk, ambient music, and the then-emerging new wave, Iggy responded in an antithetical manner, with two albums brimming with wild rock'n'roll, which brought him very close to the punk bands that were then riding the wave. "Lust for Life" can be considered one of Iggy Pop's best works. Each of the nine songs that comprise it has become a classic. The musicians accompanying him, the Sales brothers, Hunt and Tony (drums and bass), Carlos Alomar and Ricky Gardiner on guitars, and David Bowie on piano and backing vocals, also contributed to the composition process, writing almost all the music, while Iggy took charge of the lyrics.

The work opens with the title track: on a damned punk drumbeat, the other instruments join in until Iggy's warm and powerful voice arrives, supported by Bowie's effeminate and crazy backing vocals. The lyrics describe a life of excess, with parties with groupies, sex, and plenty of drugs. It’s no coincidence that it was used to open "Trainspotting." The only song entirely written by Iggy is the following track, "Sixteen," a fast and abrasive piece with piercing guitar riffs. "Some Weird Sin" returns to the wild sounds of the title track, with exuberant guitars and handclaps in the background and another very autobiographical lyric. In the fourth position, we find one of Iggy Pop's most famous tracks, "The Passenger," a ballad in which the Iguana invites us to travel with him to see "the sign and hollow sky" and "the city's ripped backsides," on a night journey through the city. Another track that encourages fun is "Tonight," thanks to its carefree keyboards and the warm voice Iggy showcases on this occasion. Iggy becomes irreverent in "Success," where he ridicules the music business by staging a duet between himself and the rest of the band, naturally led by Bowie.

The lyrics of "Turn Blue" were censored (in fact, they do not appear in the booklet) because of the strong content of the text; musically, the track is a long ballad with alternating relaxing moments and sudden pauses, and in which Iggy transitions from a warm and sensual voice to a shrill falsetto. Another genuinely rock song is "Neighbourhood Threat," an intense piece that becomes increasingly fast and powerful, with bitter lyrics focused on marginalization and poverty. It closes with another ballad, "Fall in Love with Me," made bluesy by the organ played by Bowie, in which Iggy imagines an evening in the company of "A bottle of white wine/A cigarette and you."

An album with which one can still have fun and unleash, despite being 30 years old.

RATING = 8.5