Iggy Pop - "Heroin Hates You"

According to my research, opinion among Ig-o-philes is split pretty fiercely over this particular live recording. The sound quality (or strange lack thereof) is obviously a point of contention, and rightly so; the announcer at the beginning tells us it's a live show being recorded/transmitted by KROQ, so it ought to be a soundboard recording. Nonetheless, a strange haze hangs over the proceedings. It's like listening to a concert from just outside a venue with relatively thin walls--which, in this case, happens to be L.A.'s Stardust Ballroom on November 30, 1979.

Another problem is that the CD reissue of this infamous bootleg released by the OPM label (available for purchase at a very reasonable price here) presents an incomplete version of this set. The original vinyl version was spread across 4 LPs, the last side of which included four tracks from a show in Paris on September 23, 1977.

In any case, if you're adventurous of heart/used to listening to live recordings of dubious quality, this is a pretty cool document capturing a really odd band lineup. Behind the Iggster: Glen Matlock, original bassist for the Sex Pistols who got kicked out for being a pretty-boy and just a little too competent at his instrument; Brian James, of the Damned, on guitar; Ivan Kral, who has served as guitarist/keyboard player to not just Iggy but also Patti Smith and John Cale; and lastly, on drums, Klaus Kruger (who I'm pretty sure is only otherwise famous for being a Daredevil villain). In the liner notes, Iggy himself is credited as providing "vocals, flesh."

Good times.

There are some really cool performances here, and in true Iggy fashion, it's all either cathartic rock bombast lacking any subtlty, or restrained musical backdrops perfect for crooning. Witness, of all things, a jazzy, Beat-inspired version of "One For My Baby (And One More For the Road)" (which, I'll grant you, starts as a quiet shuffle but ends with still more unsubtle cathartic rock bombast). There's also a kickass version of the Kinks' "You Really Got Me", and some pretty great between-song banter after "New Values" where Iggy's trying to get some thugs to back off. "You know what, fellas? This stage is fallin' apart... Let's keep going," he says to the band. "I'll tell y'all what, it gets to look a little strange [unintelligible] because there's only these little bits of the stage left." At this point, someone yells something that's now impossible to hear, but it obviously gets Iggy mad. "Oh shut up, you cunt!" he retorts, to applause. "Y'know, my mom and dad taught me not to be nasty, but your cheeks look like a mole or a big fat mouse or sum'n." More applause.

Bon apetit!