''New Values'' is the third studio album by American musician

Iggy Pop James Newell Osterberg Jr. (born April 21, 1947), known professionally as Iggy Pop, is an American singer, musician, songwriter, actor and radio broadcaster. He was the vocalist and lyricist of proto-punk band the Stooges, who were formed in 1 ...

. It was released in April 1979 by 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 The Stooges or Iggy and the Stooges, originally billed as the Psychedelic Stooges, were an American rock band formed in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 1967 by singer Iggy Pop, guitarist Ron Asheton, drummer Scott Asheton, and bassist Dave Alexande ...

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. 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

''New Values'' was well received by critics. Writing in ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

'' at the time of the album's release,

Paul Morley Paul Robert Morley (born 26 March 1957) is a British music journalist. He wrote for the ''New Musical Express'' from 1977 to 1983, and has since written for a wide range of publications and written his own books. He was a co-founder of the reco ...

wrote that ''New Values'' "conclusively endorses Osterberg as thinker and Iggy as performer, and the relationship is positive and proud." ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' considered ''New Values'' to be "bland" compared to the earlier

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...

-produced albums. Charlotte Robinson of ''

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, ...

'' 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".

Legacy

David Bowie later covered "Don't Look Down" on his album ''

Tonight Tonight may refer to: Television * ''Tonight'' (1957 TV programme), a 1957–1965 British current events television programme hosted by Cliff Michelmore that was broadcast on BBC * ''Tonight'' (1975 TV programme), a 1975–1979 British current ...

'' (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. "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 Charlyn Marie "Chan" Marshall ( ; born January 21, 1972), better known by her stage name Cat Power, is an American singer-songwriter. Cat Power was originally the name of her first band, but has become her stage name as a solo artist. Born in ...

on her 2022 album '' Covers''. It was also featured on the soundtrack of the 1986 film ''

Dogs in Space During the 1950s and 1960s the Soviet space program used dogs for sub-orbital and orbital space flights to determine whether human spaceflight was feasible. The Soviet space program typically used female dogs due to their anatomical compa ...

'', starring

Michael Hutchence Michael Kelland John Hutchence (22 January 1960 – 22 November 1997) was an Australian singer and songwriter. He was the co-founder, lead singer and lyricist of the rock band INXS from 1977 until his death in 1997. The band sold over 50 ...

Track listing

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 Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...

, mixing * Paul Henry – sleeve design and art direction * Trevor Rogers – sleeve photography * Graphyk – sleeve graphics

Charts

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1979 albums Iggy Pop albums Arista Records albums Albums produced by James Williamson (musician)