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Lust for Life (1977)

Where the lyrics of Lust for Life take you, and where it was really made.

The album got almost no promotion because RCA was busy reissuing Elvis Presley's catalog after his death two weeks earlier, yet it still reached number 28 on the UK Albums Chart.

Key places

Where the album was recorded in West Berlin (1977)

Recording site Hansa Studios — Lust for Life was recorded at Hansa Studio by the Wall in West Berlin from May to June 1977, with production by Bowie, Pop, and engineer Colin Thurston. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Lust for Life: second solo studio album by Iggy Pop
• Released 9 September 1977 through RCA Records
• Second collaboration with David Bowie, after The Idiot, released earlier in March 1977
• Pop's highest-charting UK album until Post Pop Depression (2016)

Background

• Bowie released Low in January 1977; Pop then toured to support The Idiot with Bowie on keyboards
• The tour ended 16 April 1977; Pop and Bowie regrouped in Berlin to record the next solo album
• The Idiot was mostly composed by Bowie; Pop wanted more control over Lust for Life
• Pop composed his own arrangements, including for Sixteen
• Sound: hard rock and proto-punk, closer to his earlier work with the Stooges
• Bowie's arrangements were used for some songs, including the title track

Recording

• Recorded at Hansa Studio by the Wall in West Berlin, May to June 1977
• Production by Bowie, Pop and engineer Colin Thurston
• Band: Pop, Bowie, Ricky Gardiner, Tony Fox and Hunt Sales
• Pop prepared only fragments of lyrics before singing and largely improvised at the microphone
• According to Pop, the entire album was written, recorded and mixed in eight days

Cover

• Cover photo by Andy Kent, who also shot the cover of The Idiot
• Shot in Pop's dressing room during his UK tour

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• James Newell Osterberg Jr., born April 21, 1947 in Muskegon, Michigan, known as Iggy Pop.
• Began as drummer in Ann Arbor high school bands, including the Iguanas and the Prime Movers, where he got the nickname "Iggy".
• Formed the Psychedelic Stooges with Ron Asheton, Scott Asheton and Dave Alexander; he became the lead vocalist, nicknamed "Pop".
• Signed with Elektra Records in 1968, following the Doors.

Members

• Original Stooges lineup: Iggy Pop (vocals), Ron Asheton (guitar), Scott Asheton (drums), Dave Alexander (bass).
• Later lineup included James Williamson (guitar) and Scott Thurston; the band reunited with Mike Watt and Steve Mackay in 2003-2005.

Career

• The Stooges' albums sold poorly, but they became known for confrontational live performances, including self-mutilation and stage-diving.
• Raw Power (1973) became influential on the Sex Pistols, the Smiths and Nirvana.
• Solo debut with David Bowie: The Idiot and Lust for Life (1977), with Bowie producing; "China Girl" was later a hit for Bowie in 1983.
• Only Top 40 US hit "Candy" (1990), a duet with Kate Pierson of the B-52's.
• "Lust for Life" was featured in the film Trainspotting (1996).
• The Stooges were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2010; Pop received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2020.
• Also an actor and voice performer in films and television, and hosts the radio show Iggy Confidential on BBC Radio 6 Music.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Rolling Stone (Billy Altman): a successful album on its own terms, but Pop's new stance was judged too cautious
• The Village Voice (Robert Christgau): rejected the view that Pop's creative power had faded, finding The Idiot and Lust for Life more consistent than the Stooges albums
• ZigZag (Kris Needs): not as consistent as its predecessor, yet one of his favorite albums of 1977
• Sounds (Pete Makowski): called the record excellent and praised the band's performance
• NME (Max Bell): quite good, praised Pop's greater role than on The Idiot, but criticized some tracks

Reappraisal

• AllMusic (Mark Deming): Pop's best solo work, combining the Stooges' aggression with The Idiot's intelligence
• Paul Trynka: Pop's most effervescent, optimistic album, with a bigger contribution from Pop than its predecessor
• Pitchfork (Sasha Geffen), reviewing the 2020 box set The Bowie Years: Pop put more of himself into the record than into The Idiot

Records

• UK Albums Chart: peak 28, Pop's highest UK chart album until 2016
• Netherlands: peak 8
• US Billboard Top LPs & Tape: peak 120
• NME end-of-year list 1977: eighth best album of the year
• Sounds (1986): ranked 21st in its 100 greatest albums of all time
• Mojo (1995): ranked 44th in its 100 greatest albums of all time
• Pitchfork (2004): 64th in its 100 Best Albums of the 1970s
• NME (2013): 217th in its 500 Greatest Albums of All Time
• Included in the 2018 edition of 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• Credited to the pseudonym Bewlay Bros., a name taken from the final track on Bowie's 1971 album Hunky Dory
• For the impromptu Fall in Love with Me, the band swapped instruments: Hunt Sales on bass, Tony Fox on guitar, Gardiner on drums
• The title track was revived in the late 1990s after featuring in the 1996 film Trainspotting, reaching number 26 on the UK chart as a reissued single
• Siouxsie and the Banshees covered The Passenger with brass instruments on their 1987 album Through the Looking Glass
• Bowie covered two Lust for Life tracks, Neighborhood Threat and Tonight, on his 1984 album Tonight

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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