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Skull Ring

 
Album Review: Skull Ring

  • Artist: Iggy Pop
  • Rating: StarStarStarStar
  • Release Date: November 04, 2003
  • Type: Contains explicit content, Lyrics are included with the album, Enhanced CD-ROM
  • Genre: Rock

Review

One of the key rules of rock & roll is there are some artists you can never count out -- no matter how many lame records they may make, no matter how misguided their career direction might seem, they always hold the promise that they'll jump back in the loop and deliver the goods again. Iggy Pop delivered a solid one-two punch (for the first time in a while) with Brick by Brick and American Caesar in 1990 and 1993, but after ten years and three major duds in a row (the uninspired Naughty Little Doggie and the strikingly faulty Avenue B and Beat 'Em Up), you just had to wonder if maybe the World's Forgotten Boy had finally lost the magic touch for good. Of course, Iggy's career had always offered plenty of opportunities for such thinking, and just as he had in the past, Iggy came back to shut down the disbelievers with a solid slice of prime rock & roll called Skull Ring. The big news is that, on four cuts, Skull Ring marks Pop's first studio collaboration with the Stooges since Raw Power in 1973, and thankfully Ron Asheton's gloriously primal guitar riffs sound as brilliant as ever, and mix with Iggy's bestial wail like gin and tonic; if "Little Electric Chair" and "Skull Ring" don't quite pick up where Fun House left off, they make it clear the monster that is the Stooges can still shake the Earth when they have a notion. If the rest of Skull Ring doesn't quite reach the same level of solar plexus impact as the Stooges cuts, Iggy flies high enough on the rock juice that this set blasts like an M-80 from start to finish; Iggy's road band, the Trolls, redeem themselves after their cringe-worthy debut on Beat 'Em Up, electro-punk diva Peaches proves she's just libidinous enough to keep up with Iggy (and they goad one another into truly glorious rudeness), Green Day back the godfather of punk with spunk, enthusiasm, and lots of energy, and even Sum 41 give as good as they get (which is a lot more than you might expect from them). Skull Ring doesn't always capture Iggy at his best as a lyricist, but here what he says isn't half as important as how he says it, and he hasn't sounded this right -- and had music this potent backing him up -- in a decade, and the result is a big, sweaty, high-octane rock & roll session from a guy who practically defined the form. Like I said, you can't ever count Iggy out, and Skull Ring demonstrates why. ~ Mark Deming, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track TitleComposersPerformersTime
Little Electric Chair Iggy Pop, Ron Asheton, Scott Asheton Iggy Pop, The Stooges (4:40)
Perverts in the Sun (Lyrics) Iggy Pop, Peter Marshall, Alex Kirst, Whitey Kirst Iggy Pop (3:18)
Skull Ring Iggy Pop, Ron Asheton, Scott Asheton Iggy Pop, The Stooges (3:51)
Superbabe (Lyrics) Iggy Pop, Peter Marshall, Alex Kirst, Whitey Kirst Iggy Pop (4:09)
Loser Iggy Pop, Ron Asheton, Scott Asheton Iggy Pop, The Stooges (2:41)
Private Hell (Lyrics) Iggy Pop, Billie Joe Armstrong Iggy Pop, Green Day (2:50)
Little Know It All (Lyrics) Iggy Pop, Greig Nori, Deryck Whibley Iggy Pop, Sum 41 (3:33)
Whatever (Lyrics) Iggy Pop, Peter Marshall, Alex Kirst, Whitey Kirst Iggy Pop (3:16)
Dead Rock Star Iggy Pop, Ron Asheton, Scott Asheton Iggy Pop, The Stooges (4:39)
Rock Show (Lyrics) Iggy Pop, Merrill Nisker Iggy Pop, Peaches (2:08)
Here Comes the Summer Iggy Pop, Peter Marshall, Alex Kirst, Whitey Kirst Iggy Pop (4:53)
Motor Inn Iggy Pop, Mudita Ostrin Nisker Iggy Pop, Peaches (4:11)
Inferiority Complex (Lyrics) Iggy Pop, Peter Marshall, Alex Kirst, Whitey Kirst Iggy Pop (4:13)
Supermarket (Lyrics) Iggy Pop, Billie Joe Armstrong Iggy Pop, Green Day (3:01)
Til Wrong Feels Right Iggy Pop Iggy Pop (3:13)
Blood on Your Cool Iggy Pop, Peter Marshall, Alex Kirst, Whitey Kirst Iggy Pop (7:02)

Credits

Chris Carroll (Mixing), Peter Marshall (Group Member), Sean Smith (Art Direction), Mike Dirnt (Group Member), Zach Blackstone (Assistant), Tre Cool (Drums), Steve Jocz (Drums), Alex Kirst (Group Member), Deryck Whibley (Guitar), Reto Peter (Assistant Engineer), Mark Mann (Photography), Peter Marshall (Bass), Deryck Whibley (Vocals), Cone McCaslin (Group Member), Taylor Savvy (Group Member), Sum 41 (Group), Cone McCaslin (Bass), Deryck Whibley (Group Member), Billie Joe Armstrong (Group Member), Randy Staub (Mixing), Chris Carroll (Engineer), Michael "Elvis" Baskette (Engineer), Ron Asheton (Bass), Don Pyle (Pre-Production), Steve Jocz (Group Member), Alex Kirst (Drums), Chris Dugan (Engineer), Billie Joe Armstrong (Guitar), Mike Joyce (Design), Mike Dirnt (Bass), Steve Robillard (Assistant Engineer), Whitey Kirst (Group Member), Dave Baksh (Guitar), Henry McGroggan (Tour Manager), Chris Dugan (Mixing), Scott Asheton (Group Member), Jos Grain (Roadie), Taylor Savvy (Lap Steel Guitar), Whitey Kirst (Guitar), Greig Nori (Producer), Steven Rhodes (Assistant), Scott Asheton (Drums), Billie Joe Armstrong (Vocals (Background)), John Ewing, Jr. (Engineer), Dave Baksh (Group Member), Iggy Pop (Vocals), Ron Asheton (Group Member), Ron Asheton (Guitar), The Stooges (Group), Tre Cool (Group Member)
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Wikipedia: Skull Ring
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Skull Ring
Studio album by Iggy Pop
Released November 4, 2003
Genre Punk rock
Label Virgin
Producer Iggy Pop, Greig Nori on "Little Know It All"
Professional reviews
Iggy Pop chronology
Beat 'Em Up
(2001)
Skull Ring
(2003)
A Million in Prizes: The Anthology
(2005)

Skull Ring is a 2003 album by Iggy Pop with backing collaborations by bands including The Stooges, The Trolls, Green Day, Sum 41, and Peaches.

The performers on most of the tracks on the album are The Trolls, Iggy's backing band from the Beat 'Em Up era, although members of his original band The Stooges also appear on some of the tracks.

One single, "Little Know It All," was released from the album and featured Sum 41. A music video for the song received significant airplay.[citation needed]

Track listing

  1. "Little Electric Chair" (featuring The Stooges) - 4:40
  2. "Perverts in the Sun" (featuring The Trolls) - 3:18
  3. "Skull Ring" (featuring The Stooges) - 3:51
  4. "Superbabe" (featuring The Trolls) - 4:09
  5. "Loser" (featuring The Stooges) - 2:41
  6. "Private Hell" (featuring Green Day) - 2:50
  7. "Little Know It All" (featuring Sum 41) - 3:33
  8. "Whatever" (featuring The Trolls) - 3:16
  9. "Dead Rock Star" (featuring The Stooges) - 4:39
  10. "Rock Show" (featuring Peaches) - 2:08
  11. "Here Comes the Summer" (featuring The Trolls) - 4:53
  12. "Motor Inn" (featuring Peaches) - 4:11
  13. "Inferiority Complex" (featuring The Trolls) - 4:13
  14. "Supermarket" (featuring Green Day) - 3:01
  15. "'Til Wrong Feels Right" - 3:13
  16. "Blood on Your Cool" (featuring The Trolls) - 7:02
  17. "Nervous Exhaustion" (hidden track featuring The Trolls)

B-Sides And Alternate Versions

  • "Motor Inn (Felix Da Housecat's High Octane Mix)" - 6:12
  • "Motor Inn (Felix Da Housecat's High Octane Mix Instrumental)" - 6:12
  • "Jose The Arab" (featuring The Trolls; Released On "Skull Ring" EP) - 2:56
  • "Ready To Run" (featuring The Trolls; Released On "Skull Ring" EP) - 3:02

Personnel

  • Iggy Pop - lead vocals
  • Whitey Kirst - guitar on tracks 2, 4, 8, 11, 13, 16, 17
  • Pete Marshall - bass on tracks 2, 4, 8, 11, 13, 16, 17
  • Alex Kirst - drums, percussion on tracks 2, 4, 8, 11, 13, 16, 17
  • Ron Asheton - guitar, bass on tracks 1, 3, 5, 9, 15
  • Scott Asheton - drums, percussion on tracks 1, 3, 5, 9, 15
  • Billie Joe Armstrong - guitar, backing vocals on tracks 6, 14
  • Mike Dirnt - bass on tracks 6, 14
  • Tré Cool - drums, percussion on tracks 6, 14
  • Deryck Whibley - rhythm guitar, vocals on track 7
  • Dave Baksh - lead guitar on track 7
  • Cone McCaslin - bass on track 7
  • Steve Jocz - drums, percussion on track 7
  • Peaches - vocals, electronics, samples on tracks 10, 12
  • Steve Keeping - additional drums on tracks 10, 12

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Album Review. Copyright © 2009 All Media Guide, LLC. Content provided by All Music Guide ®, a trademark of All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Skull Ring" Read more