New Values

New Values
Studio album by
Iggy Pop
ReleasedApril 27, 1979[1]
Recorded1978
StudioParamount (Hollywood, California)
Genre
Length39:26
LabelArista
ProducerJames Williamson
Iggy Pop chronology
TV Eye Live 1977
(1978) 		New Values
(1979) 		Soldier
(1980)
Singles from New Values
  1. "I'm Bored"
    Released: 1979
  2. "Five Foot One"
    Released: 1979

New Values is the third studio album by American musician Iggy Pop. It was released in April 1979 by record label Arista.

Background

New Values was Pop's first record for Arista and the first collaboration by Pop and James Williamson since Kill City. The album also reunited Pop and Williamson with multi-instrumentalist Scott Thurston, who had played live piano for The Stooges on Metallic K.O. and Kill City.

Recording and release

Although guitar was played by Williamson on "Don't Look Down", Scott Thurston played guitar on all other tracks, with Williamson concentrating on production.[3] Likewise, although one of the songs was written by Pop and Williamson, five tracks were collaborations between Pop and Thurston.

New Values was released in 1979 by record label Arista. Although well-received critically, the album was not a commercial success, only reaching number 180 in the US Billboard 200 chart.

Videos were made for "I'm Bored" and "Five Foot One".

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Blender[4]
Chicago Tribune[5]
Christgau's Record GuideB+[6]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[7]
Tom HullB[8]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[9]
Spin Alternative Record Guide7/10[10]
Uncut[11]

New Values was well received by critics. Writing in NME at the time of the album's release, Paul Morley wrote that New Values "conclusively endorses Osterberg as thinker and Iggy as performer, and the relationship is positive and proud."[12] The New York Times considered New Values to be "bland" compared to the earlier David Bowie-produced albums.[13]

Charlotte Robinson of PopMatters wrote that the album's "delicate balancing act of tough with tender, rebellion with contentment, sincerity with humor, cocksure wailing with nuanced balladeering ... makes the album a winner".[14]

Legacy

David Bowie later covered "Don't Look Down" on his album Tonight (1984) and used it for the opening and closing titles of his short film Jazzin' for Blue Jean.

Pixies frontman Frank Black cited New Values as one of his favorite albums.[15]

"The Endless Sea" was covered by the Australian psychedelic rock band the Church on their 1999 covers album A Box of Birds and Cat Power on her 2022 album Covers. It was also featured on the soundtrack of the 1986 film Dogs in Space, starring Michael Hutchence.[16]

Track listing

Side A
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Tell Me a Story"Iggy Pop2:50
2."New Values"Pop, Scott Thurston2:39
3."Girls"Pop3:00
4."I'm Bored"Pop2:47
5."Don't Look Down"Pop, James Williamson3:39
6."The Endless Sea"Pop4:50
Side B
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Five Foot One"Pop4:29
2."How Do Ya Fix a Broken Part"Pop2:55
3."Angel"Pop, Thurston3:44
4."Curiosity"Pop, Thurston2:29
5."African Man"Pop, Thurston3:35
6."Billy Is a Runaway"Pop, Thurston2:31
2000 remastered edition bonus tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
13."Chains" (previously unreleased)Pop, Williamson, Thurston2:40
14."Pretty Flamingo" (B-side to "Five Foot One)Pop2:53

Personnel

  • Iggy Pop – vocals
  • Scott Thurston – guitars, harp, keyboards, synthesizer, vocals, horn arrangement
  • Klaus Krüger – drums
  • Jackie Clark – bass
  • John Harden – horns
  • David Brock – strings, string arrangement
  • Earl Shackelford – backing vocals
  • The Alfono Sisters (Anna and Mary) – backing vocals on "Don't Look Down" and "Angel"
  • James Williamson – guitar, horn and string arrangement, production, mixing

Technical

  • Lloyd Malan – production assistance
  • Peter Haden – engineering, mixing
  • Paul Henry – sleeve design and art direction
  • Trevor Rogers – sleeve photography
  • Graphyk – sleeve graphics

Charts

Chart performance for New Values
Chart (1979) Peak
position
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)[17] 36
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[18] 18
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[19] 37
UK Albums (OCC)[20] 60
US Billboard 200[21] 180

References

  1. ^ "Music Week" (PDF). p. 46.
  2. ^ a b Deming, Mark. "New Values – Iggy Pop". AllMusic. Archived from the original on February 23, 2015. Retrieved December 20, 2014.
  3. ^ Brigaudiot, Gui; Pinsard, Tibo; Karantonis, Yannis. "James Williamson". iggy-pop.com. Archived from the original on March 5, 2012. Retrieved December 20, 2014.
  4. ^ Smith, RJ (September 2004). "Iggy Pop: New Values". Blender. No. 29. Archived from the original on June 30, 2006. Retrieved November 25, 2020.
  5. ^ Kot, Greg (July 22, 1990). "Pop On Pop: Iggy Rates His Own Music (And So Do We)". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on August 9, 2020. Retrieved November 25, 2020.
  6. ^ Christgau, Robert (1981). "Iggy Pop: New Values". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor and Fields. ISBN 0-89919-026-X. Archived from the original on February 5, 2018. Retrieved December 20, 2014.
  7. ^ Larkin, Colin (2011). "Iggy Pop". The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th concise ed.). London: Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-0-85712-595-8.
  8. ^ Hull, Tom (n.d.). "Rock (1970s)". tomhull.com. Archived from the original on July 31, 2020. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
  9. ^ Coleman, Mark; Kemp, Rob (2004). "Iggy Pop". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). New York City: Simon & Schuster. pp. 645–46. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  10. ^ Rubin, Mike (1995). "Stooges". In Weisbard, Eric; Marks, Craig (eds.). Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. pp. 378–79. ISBN 0-679-75574-8.
  11. ^ "Iggy Pop: New Values". Uncut. No. 41. October 2000. p. 96.
  12. ^ Morley, Paul (April 28, 1979). "Iggy Pop: New Values (Arista)". NME. Archived from the original on December 20, 2014. Retrieved December 20, 2014 – via Rock's Backpages.
  13. ^ Rockwell, John (14 September 1979). "The Pop Life". The New York Times. p. C11.
  14. ^ Robinson, Charlotte (February 5, 2003). "The Weird Trilogy: Iggy Pop's Arista Recordings". PopMatters. Archived from the original on December 21, 2014. Retrieved December 20, 2014.
  15. ^ Wright, Mic (April 16, 2012). "Number 13 Baby: Frank Black's Favourite Albums Revealed". The Quietus. p. 8. Retrieved December 20, 2014.
  16. ^ Viglione, Joe. "Original Soundtrack: Dogs in Space". Allmusic. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
  17. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 236. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  18. ^ "Charts.nz – Iggy Pop – New Values". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 17, 2021.
  19. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Iggy Pop – New Values". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 17, 2021.
  20. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 17, 2021.
  21. ^ "Iggy Pop Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved November 17, 2021.