IGGY POP & JAMES WILLIAMSON – KILL CITY (2010 REMIX)

Iggy Pop recorded the vocals on this album (post Stooges, pre-solo) on weekend release from the mental hospital he had booked himself into to escape the addiction and deep depression he had fallen into in 1975. Recorded as demos by guitarist and co-writer Williamson, they didn’t see light of day until 1977, when Iggy released his first solo album, The Idiot, under the production eye of David Bowie. So this 2010 remix is the first time these tapes have had any proper production and the tweaks are well worth the time. Taking a soulful, bluesey approach that is more Stones than Stooges, Williamson and Pop did nothing to attempt to hide Pop’s state of mind; “If I have to die here / First I’m gonna make some noise”. Allowing 70’s sax, piano and acoustic guitars to mix with Williamson’s trademark guitar crunch sits the album clearly in the era, and whilst Kill City is no Raw Power, it is a fascinatingly well preserved time capsule; a peek into a period when Iggy, Bowie and Lou Reed were all looking around and working out who and why they were.

*** 1/2