Iggy Pop - The Idiot

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NME.COM feature on Iggy Pop - The Idiot album including album review, artwork, tracks, listen now, tour dates, discography and more.

Release date: 29 June 1992

Tracklisting click track to read more

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Iggy Pop - The Idiot: Wikipedia Album Entry

Iggy's solo debut following the end of the Stooges, THE IDIOT is often overlooked in favour of his second epistle, LUST FOR LIFE. Great album though the latter may be, THE IDIOT served to remind rock's better-informed fans that one of its most original talents was still alive and kicking. Produced by Bowie, IDIOT contains two compositions, "Funtime" and "China Girl" that he later recorded himself. Another highlight is the electronics-driven "Nightclubbing" (a certifiable post-punk classic) and the meandering "Dum Dum Boys" (a precursor to "The Passenger"). An album that proved Iggy did not need to be flanked by guitars to retain his edge and menace.

Recorded at Chateau D'Herouville and Hansa Studios, Berlin, Germany.

Personnel includes: Iggy Pop (vocals); David Bowie (keyboards).

Mojo (Publisher) (12/01, p.155) - "...The first truly successful Pop-Bowie collaboration...tracks like 'Nightclubbing' and 'Dum Dum Boys' saw Iggy attempting to mix James Brown and Kraftwerk - with a large degree of success."
NME (Magazine) (9/18/93, p.19) - Ranked #28 among The Greatest Albums Of The '70s.

The Idiot is the debut solo album by American rock singer Iggy Pop. It was the first of two LPs released in 1977 which Pop wrote and recorded in collaboration with David Bowie. Although issued after Low, the opening installment of Bowie's so-called Berlin Trilogy, the pair began writing and recording songs for The Idiot in mid-1976, before Bowie started work on his own album. As such, The Idiot has been claimed as heralding the unofficial beginning of Bowie's 'Berlin' period, being compared particularly to Low and "Heroes" in its electronic effects, treated instrument sounds, and introspective atmosphere. A departure from the hard rock of his former band The Stooges, the album is regarded by critics as one of Pop’s best works, but is not generally considered representative of his output. Its title was inspired by Dostoevsky's novel The Idiot, three of the participants in the recording – Bowie, Pop and Tony Visconti – being familiar with the book.

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