REVIEW: Various, We Will Fall - The Iggy Pop Tribute (Royalty)
- Bill Holmes
Many Americans measure time by how many years it's been since a life-changing moment like the Kennedy assassination (that's 34 years and counting, for you math-deficient readers). For the more musically inclined, chew on this - Raw Power turns twenty-five next year! As a companion to the recently remastered classic, Royalty Records has assembled a twenty-track, seventy three minute tour through Iggy Pop's career, the third such collection I've seen but easily the most high profile. Reading the artists and track listing on the back cover would be enough inspiration for even a fringe fan to grab the disc, but the contents may surprise you. A couple of the brightest moments come from the most unlikely artists.
Nada Surf always struck me as a one-hit MTV band, but their great version of "Sick Of You" is reminiscent of Love It To Death era Alice Cooper! Sugar Ray, another band-of-the-moment, torches "Cold Metal" so thoroughly that not even the insipid turntable scratching during the solo can take it down. Pansy Division shows that they have balls after all with a great rip on "Loose". The Lunachicks make "Passenger" an aural treat all over again, and Extra Fancy's shuffle version of "Sell Your Love" is one of the two or three best cuts on the record.
Some artists do exactly what you'd expect. Joey Ramone (backed by the Misfits) turns in a Ramones-cum-Bo-Diddley version of "1969", and Joan Jett barks out a typical snarly-grrrl cover of "Real Wild Child". The Red Hot Chili Peppers do a credible version of "Search And Destroy", but it's licensed from seven years ago, not newly recorded. If they were going to rob the vaults, I would have much preferred the Dictators' classic flame-thrower interpretation, but perhaps the producers were afraid that Handsome Dick would use the opportunity to punch out Jayne County. You also get what you expect from bands like The Misfits, 7 Year Bitch and Bush Tetras, but Lenny Kaye's heroin take on "We Will Fall" was a surprise.
Not everyone shines, however. While it's a given that Ig and the boys sometimes tried to squeeze four pounds of notes out of a three pound bag, they at least did it with personality. If the music was sometimes simplistic, they more made up for it with energy. Here an almost-unrecognizable Superdrag drones their way through "1970". Blondie, here reformed as a four piece under the pseudonym Adolph's Dog, schmooze their way through "Ordinary Bummer" (what a waste of a Clem Burke sighting!). NY Loose sounds like processed cheese, and Blanks 77 are just...well....blank.
With tribute projects you take your chances, and the percentages are good on this one. Song selections are scattered throughout the Stooges/Pop canon, although some classics like "I Wanna Be Your Dog" and "Raw Power" were not included (then again, would YOU want to try those?). Amazingly, I've seen this compilation for sale at some music stores that have traditionally been too nervous to stock actual Iggy product! The times, they are a changin'.....
