Iggy Pop: Skull Ring Out now Iggy Pop’s first recording in years, unashamedly superb, being packed with the original beauty of rock. Greenday helped out, and though the opening three songs don’t showcase their input, the vitriol I was ready to berate them with turned to amazement. Opener ‘Little Electric Chair’ reeks of ‘White Light / White Heat’, and I’m too young to remember who sounded like this first, Iggy or Bowie, but Skull Ring is like a tour through all that was, and is, good in rock. The end result? Fucking good. Skull Ring keeps its momentum for sixteen tracks as well, which is no mean feat. There’s a definite nod towards the White Stripes et al, which is to be expected in the current climate but the haunting semi-camp vocals of Iggy Pop remind you that he did all this before the ice age and still knows where the sweet spot is. Age certainly comes before beauty in the production of this first rate rock album.ARCHIVE: 0th Week MT2003
