''Soldier'' is the fourth studio album by American rock singer

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 February 1980 by record label Arista.

Recording

For the album Iggy collaborated with ex-

Sex Pistols The Sex Pistols are an English punk rock band formed in London in 1975. Although their initial career lasted just two and a half years, they became culturally influential in popular music. The band initiated the punk movement in the United Ki ...

bassist

Glen Matlock Glen Matlock (born 27 August 1956) is an English musician, best known for being the bass guitarist in the original line-up of the punk rock band the Sex Pistols. He is credited as a songwriter on 10 of the 12 songs on the Sex Pistols' only offic ...

. Ex-member of

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 ...

James Williamson was originally hired to produce the album, but a conflict between Williamson and

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 ...

(who was assisting as a friend of Pop) over recording techniques led to Williamson walking out on the project. Bowie and

Simple Minds Simple Minds are a Scottish Rock music, rock band formed in Glasgow in 1977, becoming best known internationally for their song "Don't You (Forget About Me)" (1985), which topped the ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' Billboard Hot 100, Hot 100 ...

provide backing vocals on "Play It Safe". There has been some debate over the lack of lead guitar on the final mix, which has been criticized by Glen Matlock. In Pop's biography, Matlock claims that the lead guitar was stripped after Bowie was punched by Steve New for hitting on his girlfriend of that time,

Patti Palladin Patti Palladin is an American singer and musician of the punk rock and post-punk / new wave genres. She is primarily known for her work with Snatch (with Judy Nylon), Johnny Thunders, and the Flying Lizards. Career Palladin was a member of the ...

Release

''Soldier'' was released in February 1980 by record label Arista. The album peaked at number 125 on the

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

charts. Videos were made for the songs "Loco Mosquito", "Knocking 'Em Down (In the City)" and "Dog Food".

Critical reception

''Soldier'' has received a mixed-to-favorable reception from critics. In her retrospective review, 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 "Instead of a punk masterpiece, ..''Soldier'' turned out to be an uneven and sometimes plain silly recording." ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

s David Fricke reviewed the album positively, calling attention to Iggy Pop's successful weathering of his own self-destructive persona. Of the album, Fricke wrote: "Soldier, like all of his albums, is a hard-fought battle in a war that Iggy Pop is determined to win. Call him Ig noble."

Track listing

Alternate track listing

Specific regions and the 1991 Arista CD reissue had the following alternate track order:

Personnel

* Iggy Pop – vocals *

– bass guitar, backing vocals *

Ivan Kral Ivan () is a Slavic male given name, connected with the variant of the Greek name (English: John) from Hebrew meaning 'God is gracious'. It is associated worldwide with Slavic countries. The earliest person known to bear the name was the ...

– guitar, keyboards * Klaus Krüger – drums * Steve New – guitar * Barry Andrews – keyboards with: *

(

Jim Kerr James Kerr (born 9 July 1959) is a Scottish musician and lead singer of the rock band Simple Minds. Commercially successful singles released by Simple Minds include " Don't You (Forget About Me)", " Glittering Prize" (1982), " Someone Somewh ...

and

Derek Forbes Derek Forbes (born 22 June 1956) is a Scottish musician. He is mostly associated with the Scottish band Simple Minds, having joined in time to record their early demos in 1978 and stayed with the band during their rise to mainstream success a ...

) – backing vocals on "Play It Safe" *

, Glen Matlock, Steve New, Ivan Kral, James Williamson – backing vocals on "Play It Safe" * Henry McGroggan – chorus on "Loco Mosquito" Technical * Pat Moran – production * Thom Panunzio – mixing, production on "Low Life" * 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 ...

* Joe Brescio – mastering * Brian Griffin/Rocking Russian – sleeve design

Charts

References

Trynka, P. (2007). Iggy Pop: ''Open Up and Bleed''. New York: Broadway Books.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Soldier (album) 1980 albums Iggy Pop albums Arista Records albums Albums produced by Pat Moran Albums recorded at Rockfield Studios