Iggy Pop - Nuggets (1999)

Iggy Pop's various musical style changes throughout his career are detailed in this collection of rare and unreleased tracks. The awesome power of the Stooges is on display as well as Iggy Pop's now dated experiments in new wave. Riddled with cover tunes, the album does not betray Iggy Pop's roots in garage rock. Pulled from live dates throughout the '80s the cover tunes range from "Family Affair" by Sly and the Family Stone to the "Batman Theme." These cover tunes are simply points of interest rather than the powerful rock & roll that Iggy Pop shows himself to be capable of. "Louie Louie" slurs into "Hang on Sloopy." "No Fun" gives the nod to Lou Reed and becomes "Waiting for the Man," but the strongest points of the album are the ad-libbed tracks. "Rock Action" and "Modern Guy" display Iggy Pop's ability to make up lyrics off the top of his head. They appear to be just studio jams that have been brought to the stage with powerful results. In "Rock Action," it sounds as though Iggy Pop was just musing on his former bandmate's self-proclaimed title, creating a song that puts a voice to his demand for action. Only two other tracks on the collection reach the same level as the jam tracks. "I Got a Right and "Gimme Some Skin" are two of the Stooges' greatest songs that never made it onto their studio albums. The heavy rhythms of "Gimme Some Skin" are the Stooges at their best with Iggy Pop again putting voice to his need for action. There are a variety of studio and live tracks with Iggy Pop stealing lines from Shakespeare on "The Winter of My Discontent," then making a serious attempt to croon like a lounge singer that simple doesn't go over well with a restless crowed. Throughout this double album the live tracks show themselves to be merely curiosities, leaving only four very strong tracks to give this collection any significance.