Iggy’s previous album, Post Pop Depression (2016), honestly felt like it would be his last one.
Depressed after the death of his friend David Bowie (whom he made two of his most classic albums with, and who gave him a helping hand several times during difficult times), and feeling the weight of age, he saw nothing but the end of things in front of him. He was looking for his American Valhalla and struggled to find it.
When the prospect of doing a project with Josh Homme (Queens of the Stone Age) came along it not only gave him new life as an artist – there’s no doubt it helped him out of the funk and gave him a new purpose. The album is also incredible. It represents a musical and personal triumph. It might be the album of his career.
It was my hope that the line-up of Post Pop Depression would manage to produce at least one more album. It was that good, that unique… just too good not to continue.
Then again, in all of Iggy’s career, each album has been treated as its own project, and musicians have been replaced and the band reassembled for the next one.
Only for The Idiot (1976) and Lust For Life (1977) has the line-up been the same two albums in a row. Those were the albums Iggy made with David Bowie in Berlin with the Sales brothers (Tony and Hunt) as the rhythm section.
When the Post Pop Depression tours wrapped up, one could be excused for having a bit of worry about the ol’ Igmeister. Would that be it as far as music go? Would he fall into the hole again? He did keep playing the odd show, sometimes even with the Post Pop Depression band (which gave a lot of false hope), but an album did not seem to be on the cards.
It should be mentioned that Iggy has found a lot of joy in becoming a radio DJ for BBC6, being given free reign to play and talk about music for two hours a week 40 times a year. Who wouldn’t want that gig?
Then, out of nowhere, Free was announced and released shortly after.
A new Iggy album. It was more than I had dared hope for. And what a change this was in every sense from the Post Pop Depression project. Which probably is the best way to follow that – by not even trying to.
The difference in approach is made clear from the first track Free. The sound of ocean waves, ambient music coming in, and eventually Iggy’s voice proclaiming “I want to be free.” This matches the front cover as well (Iggy’s silhouette on a beach in twilight), and seem to be a mantra for the whole project. Clearly the ability to take on whatever project he wants is part of that freedom.
That does not mean this is an ambient album. This is a band album, but instead of loud guitars, which Iggy is often associated with, this album is more quiet. Think of songs like The Endless Sea from New Values (1979), and you’re on the right track.
How much of an Iggy album could this possibly be if Iggy just showed up and sang some songs? As it turns out, as much of an Iggy album as any other in his career. He has always collaborated, and done a lot of different styles over the years. This is not a mile away from several of them. Heck, at least one of the songs on here – the best track, incidentally, called Love’s Missing – is a dead ringer for a Post Pop Depression session outtake.
The drums and bass will often find a groove, while the guitars are often used as spice or to perform a counter melody to the vocals without taking more room than anything else in the band. Keyboards add a nice backdrop to most songs, always seeking to expand the soundscape.
As always, Iggy’s voice is the biggest asset. He has never been a technical or pitch-perfect singer, but the emotion in his voice is immense. His delivery is unique. His deep vibrato is to die for.
It makes you wonder why he often seemed to chase the loud and aggressive style for most of his career, because his voice has a power in it that you really only hear in the quieter material. A lot of that has come with maturity, of course. He could not sing like this in the 1970s. The unique vibrato, the control of his deep range, and other flavours have come to him with time and experience.
Iggy’s most telling words about this project are: “This is an album that just kind of happened to me, and I let it happen. This is an album where other artists speak for me, but I lend my voice.”
This is not the album I expected from Iggy, and not the album I was necessarily looking for from him, but it is one that I am very glad he gave.
I’d hate to think of any album as Iggy’s last, but the notion of going out with a strong declaration of freedom really isn’t bad. Not bad at all. Maybe that’s how he found his American Valhalla after all.
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