Staff Reviews

Iggy Pop and James Williamson - Kill City (remastered)

Review by Tom Perry

The mythos that surrounds the recording of Kill City may give it a little more interest and flavour for fans, but unless you're a die hard, this is one reissue that you can probably afford to miss.»

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restored - remixed - remastered. originally released on bomp in 1977, 'kill city' captures iggy pop in a rare moment of vulnerability and few can argue that in terms of the quality of material and the strength of iggy's voice, this is an overlooked achievement. the vinyl has been out of print for a couple of years and this new pressing is on clear green vinyl and includes an inner sleeve. 'kill city' helped bridge iggy pop's musical career from the drug-fueled and blazing rock of the stooges ('raw power', etc.) to his artier (but just as influential and passionate) david bowie-produced solo albums ('the idiot' and 'lust for life'). after the stooges broke up for good in 1974, iggy (who was depressed, suicidal, and addicted to hard drugs) checked himself into a mental hospital to straighten out. when he emerged sober, iggy hooked up with ex-stooges guitarist james williamson and began collaborating on demos. the duo tried to land a record contract on the strength of the compositions, but failed to do so. although it's not as jaw-dropping as the releases listed above, 'kill city' certainly has its moments. and surprisingly, the songs sound more like laid-back stones rockers than what the duo was known for at the time (which was barely containable near-heavy metal). there are a couple of stooges leftovers ('johanna' and 'i got nothin') which lack the bite of the originals, but make up for it in iggy's heartfelt vocals. the title track opens the album, with the lyrics painting a picture of a desperate and dangerous metropolis, and musically is the closest to the classic stooges sound. iggy and james' admiration of jagger and richards shows on the tracks 'sell your love,' 'lucky monkeys,' and the instrumental 'night theme.' also, synthesizers and keyboards are featured on 'master charge,' signaling the new direction iggy would soon embark on. also included are informative liner notes which do a good job of showing where iggy's head was at during his mid-'70s, refocusing period. an interesting release, worthy of belonging in any stooges / iggy fan's collection.
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