The whole Iggy / Bowie / Berlin thing completely passed me by in the 1970s and it wasn't until much later (possibly when Lust For Life was used in Trainspotting) that I really took any notice of Mr Pop.
Famously, a massive departure from his previous work with the Stooges the co-writing, playing and production of David Bowie shine through the whole of this album.
And listening to it now, I'm finding it something of a mixed bag. There's some fine songs - Sister Midnight has Iggy's trademark deep growl sounding sinister over some fine guitar from Carlos Alomar, and the dark side continues with the more electronic Nightclubbing, later covered by Grace Jones. Similarly, China Girl (a hit for Bowie a few years later with Nile Rodgers producing) still sounding good, if a little more busy than its more successful cousin, and the longer, more narrative based Dum Dum Boys certain appeal.
However, Funtime and Baby feel ordinary by comparison, and while Tiny Girls is graced by a lovely Bowie sax solo, it doesn't gel once Iggy arrives. Mass Production too, starts with a promising futuristic mintro, but slides once Iggy starts to sing.
There's enough great songs here for it to get a spin now and again, but I'm not sure I'd refer to it as Iggy's 'classic' album.
3* - as often happens, there's some great stuff, but much that doesn't delight these ears.
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