It is tricky to think of another frontman who has continued his relevancy through just a few hits. Iggy Pop has had more than his fair share of duds but his solo run, the early years in particular (and Blah-Blah-Blah for the sickos out there) shine a light on the raw power of his material. The Stooges had done so too, but there is an inevitability to hearing a frontman veer off on his own, to see what can be done elsewhere. In the case of Lust for Life, aided by the production and additional works from David Bowie, Pop is in with a surefire hit. Nobody could have quite predicted it would be this, though, a near-perfect crash of late 1970s excess and a decade-defining album which even now has a punk edge and alternate energy flowing through it.
There are few album openers better than Lust for Life. Its titular song opens with the carnage of steady percussion building to a voice standing on the opposite side of this smiling man on the album cover. Pop may appear delighted on the cover but the rebellious attitude of his opening song – lighter and liberated sounds when compared to The Idiot – is a generational achievement. It has gone on to define the generations after because many of Pop’s best moments have an unaged brilliance. They are still pertinent, fiery observations of the world around him. One of those era-defining songs is enough, but Pop marks two with The Passenger later in this release. Lust for Life manages to haul itself away from the degeneracy of Sweet Sixteen and into the comfier exploits of nights out on the town searching for a moment which will come to define life.
Our lust for living comes from a desire to capture it in moments. Getting to grips with what makes the social bubble grow is an endurance test. How much can the heart handle? Where will your head be when the hangover clears? Some Weird Sin and Tonight go a long way in trying to figure this out. The thing about Pop is you either start listening to him so early in your life you don’t get what he means or you’re too late to the party and find yourself questioning his experiences. Lust for Life is to pursue the vague spots of free-wheeling life. It is the sort of momentum carried by the thick guitar punches of Some Weird Sin, a sound by which The Strokes were surely influenced. Stand at the world’s edge alongside Pop. If you feel comfortable, you have made a valuable ally.
If not, step away from the edge. Pop works with a variation of seediness and swagger. The Passenger may be a recognisable pop riff but elsewhere on Lust for Life is the true sound of this Bowie-produced record. Flashes of his influence are found on Tonight but this is ultimately a Pop-led piece. Bold, brash and feeling for the joys of being on the ropes. It is here, in those blinkered moments of blinded brutality, that we find ourselves understanding what we value above all. What we find pleasant and fulfilling is heard in the background of these Pop numbers. A swing with the times and an ambitious set of songs from Pop make for a generally well-rounded piece where the jagged standouts leave deep wounds. This is Pop at his very best. Paired with The Idiot, and it is a sound which makes for inarguable yet brutal comments on life.
