Favourites : Kill City : Iggy Pop and James Williamson (Side One)

Way back in the 70's Iggy Pop and the various different versions of The Stooges were about as far from mainstream as you could get. If you had told me then that Iggy would appear on a American TV Talent show 40 years later I would have laughed (and not cringed as I did when I saw him on American Idol).

I remember being the only one at school who had The Idiot and Lust for Life, his late 70's gems recorded with Bowie and Raw Power took about a year to find (thanks Silvios). I did not pick up copies of The Stooges and Funhouse until my first year at Uni when they were (re?)released in NZ.




Kill City was an album recorded between his Stooges output and the two Bowie collaborations. Originally planned as a Stooges album it ended up being filtered down to an Iggy Pop and James Williamson album that was lost in legal disputes. That is until Iggy checked out of a rehab centre in 78 and stole back his tapes.  I picked up the Radar Records version when it was released in 1979.

It is never afforded the status that the albums either side of it.  I suspect part of the reason for that is that it is a much more conventional rock album and Iggy is definitely wearing his Stones' (and James Williamson's) influences on his sleeve.  However I actually think that side one is as good if not better than any side on those albums.    I seldom flip the record over though.

The track listing for side one goes Kill City, Sell Your Love, Beyond The Law, I Got Nothin', Johanna and Night Theme.  The title track covers the same bases as The Eagle's Hotel Califoirnia and Gram's Sin City by portraying LA's dark side - while The Eagles just make it seem like some sort of holiday camp where the worst thing is having to listen to The Eagles (and that is after all pretty bad) Iggy nails it and this is is just the antidote you need to 70's California Rock.

Well I live here in kill city where the debris meets the sea

I live here in kill city where the debris meets the sea

It's a playground to the rich, but it's a loaded gun to me

Above all these 6 songs are just great great rock'n'roll.  Having just played it  this morning I will be humming it all day and not be able to get the expression "I have you baby -  Coz you're the one I love" out of my mind.