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Soldier

 
Album Review: Soldier
 

  • Artist: Iggy Pop
  • Rating: StarStarStar
  • Release Date: 1980
  • Type: Lyrics are included with the album
  • Genre: Rock

Review

In 1980, every punk rocker in Christendom cited Iggy Pop as a key influence, and Soldier was the album where he started asking for some payback. Original Sex Pistols bassist Glen Matlock, Rich Kids' guitarist Steve New, Ivan Kral of the Patti Smith Group, and former XTC keyboardist Barry Andrews all signed on to back Iggy on Soldier, but the result was hardly the full-frontal rock assault one might have hoped for. Reportedly, conflicts between producers James Williamson and David Bowie led to both of them walking out on the project, and Iggy is said to have gotten along so poorly with Steve New that he stripped most of New's lead guitar from the mix (which would explain why keyboards and acoustic guitar dominate the album). While 1979's New Values showed Iggy growing as a lyricist with a number of tough but introspective songs, Soldier sounds goofy by comparison, featuring oddball throwaways like "Dog Food," "Get up and Get Out" (whose lyrics are mostly cribbed from old R&B tunes), and the political "satire" "I'm a Conservative." But Iggy's in great voice throughout, and on the few songs where the band fully catches fire (like "Knocking 'Em Down (In the City)" and "Loco Mosquito"), he leaves little doubt that his powers as a performer were still with him. Buddha reissued the album in 2000 with two non-essential bonus tracks, "Low Life" and "Drop a Hook." ~ Mark Deming, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track TitleComposersPerformersTime
Loco Mosquito Iggy Pop Iggy Pop (3:16)
Ambition Glen Matlock Iggy Pop (3:27)
Knocking 'Em Down (In the City) Iggy Pop Iggy Pop (3:23)
Play It Safe David Bowie, Iggy Pop Iggy Pop (3:05)
Get Up and Get Out Iggy Pop Iggy Pop (2:46)
Mr. Dynamite Iggy Pop, Glen Matlock Iggy Pop (4:24)
Dog Food Iggy Pop Iggy Pop (1:50)
I Need More Iggy Pop, Glen Matlock Iggy Pop (4:05)
Take Care of Me Iggy Pop, Glen Matlock Iggy Pop (3:28)
I'm a Conservative Iggy Pop Iggy Pop (3:58)
I Snub You Iggy Pop, Barry Andrews Iggy Pop (3:13)
Low Life [#] Iggy Pop, Ivan Kral Iggy Pop (2:57)
Drop a Hook [#] Iggy Pop (4:25)

Credits

Iggy Pop (Vocals), Iggy Pop (Main Performer), Iggy Pop (Production Assistant), Barry Andrews (Keyboards), Barry Andrews (Musician), Elliott Federman (Mastering), Dennis Ferrante (Production Assistant), Peter Haden (Engineer), Ivan Kral (Guitar), Ivan Kral (Keyboards), Ivan Kral (Musician), Klaus Kruger (Drums), Klaus Kruger (Musician), Glen Matlock (Guitar), Glen Matlock (Vocals), Glen Matlock (Musician), Steve New (Guitar), Steve New (Musician), Thom Panunzio (Producer), Thom Panunzio (Mixing), Mike Hartry (Digital Transfers), Rob Santos (Reissue Producer), Mathieu Bitton (Reissue Art Director), Mathieu Bitton (Reissue Design), Stephanie Kika (Project Coordinator), Ed Osborne (Project Coordinator), Arlessa Barnes (Project Coordinator), Mandana Eidgah (Product Manager), Jeremy Holiday (Production Coordination), Tom Tierney (Production Assistant), Joanne Feltman (Archivist), Glenn Korman (Production Assistant), Glenn Delgado (Project Coordinator), Felicia Gearhart (Project Coordinator), Laura Gregory (Project Coordinator), Robin Manning (Project Coordinator), Steve Strauss (Production Assistant), Robin Diamond (Project Coordinator), Brooke Nochomson (Project Coordinator), Art Collins (Production Assistant), Karyn Friedland (Project Coordinator), Pat Moran (Producer)
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Wikipedia: Soldier (album)
Top
Soldier
Soldier cover
Studio album by Iggy Pop
Released February 1980
Recorded August 1979 at Rockfield Studios, Wales
Genre Post-punk
Label Arista
Producer Pat Moran
Thom Panunzio on "Low Life"
Professional reviews
Iggy Pop chronology
New Values
(1979)
Soldier
(1980)
Party
(1981)

Soldier is a 1980 (see 1980 in music) album by proto-punk musician Iggy Pop. David Bowie and Simple Minds provide backing vocals on "Play it Safe".

It is the first album on which Iggy collaborated with ex-Sex Pistols bassist Glen Matlock. Videos were made for songs "Loco Mosquito", "Knocking 'Em Down" and "Dog Food". Album peaked at number 125 on Billboard top 200 albums. Ex-Stooge James Williamson and David Bowie were originally intended to produce the album but there was some conflict between them and they walked out of a project.

There has been some debate over the lack of lead guitar on the final mix, which has been criticized by Glen Matlock. In Iggy Pop's biography, Matlock claims that the lead guitar was stripped after David Bowie was punched by Steve New for hitting on his girlfriend.


Track listing

All songs composed by Iggy Pop, except where indicated

  1. "Loco Mosquito" - 3:13
  2. "Ambition" (Glen Matlock) - 3:25
  3. "Knocking 'Em Down (in the City)" - 3:20
  4. "Play it Safe" (David Bowie/Pop) - 3:05
  5. "Get Up and Get Out" - 2:43
  6. "Mr. Dynamite" (Pop/Matlock) - 4:17
  7. "Dog Food" - 1:47
  8. "I Need More" (Pop/Matlock) - 4:02
  9. "Take Care of Me" (Pop/Matlock) - 3:25
  10. "I'm a Conservative" - 3:55
  11. "I Snub You" (Pop/Barry Andrews) - 3:07

CD reissue bonus tracks

  1. "Low Life" (Ivan Kral/Pop) - 2:57
  2. "Drop a Hook" - 5:25

Personnel

Recorded at Rockfield Studios, Wales. Engineered by Peter Haden. Mixed by Thom Panunzio at the Record Plant, New York City. Mastered by Joe Brescio, at Record Plant Studios, New York City.


 
 

 

Copyrights:

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 GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Soldier (album)" Read more