''New Values'' is the third studio album by American musician Iggy Pop. It was released in July 1979 by record label Arista.

Background

''New Values'' was Pop's first record for Arista and the first collaboration by Pop and James Williamson since ''

Kill City ''Kill City'' is a studio album by American musicians Iggy Pop and James Williamson (musician), James Williamson, both formerly of the rock band The Stooges (band), the Stooges. It was recorded as a demo in 1975 but released in altered form in No ...

''. The album also reunited Pop and Williamson with multi-instrumentalist

Scott Thurston Scott Troy Thurston (born January 10, 1952) is an American guitarist, keyboardist, songwriter, and session musician. He was a member of the Stooges, and of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, in which he sang harmony vocals and played guitar, bass, ...

, who had played live piano for

The Stooges The Stooges, originally billed as the Psychedelic Stooges, also known as Iggy and the Stooges, was an American rock band formed in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 1967 by singer Iggy Pop, guitarist Ron Asheton, drummer Scott Asheton, and bassist Da ...

on '' Metallic K.O.'' and ''Kill City''.

Recording and release

Although guitar was played by Williamson on "Don't Look Down", Scott Thurston played guitar on all other tracks, with Williamson concentrating on production. Likewise, although one of the songs was written by Pop and Williamson, five tracks were collaborations between Pop and Thurston. ''New Values'' was released in July 1979 by record label Arista. Although well-received critically, the album was not a commercial success, only reaching number 180 in the US ''Billboard'' 200 chart. Videos were made for "I'm Bored" and "Five Foot One".

Critical reception

''New Values'' was well received by critics. Writing in ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'' at the time of the album's release,

Paul Morley Paul Robert Morley is an English music journalist. He wrote for the ''New Musical Express'' from 1977 to 1983 and has since written for a wide range of publications as well as writing his own books. He was a co-founder of the record label ZTT Re ...

wrote that ''New Values'' "conclusively endorses Osterberg as thinker and Iggy as performer, and the relationship is positive and proud." Charlotte Robinson of ''

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...

'' wrote that the album's "delicate balancing act of tough with tender, rebellion with contentment, sincerity with humor, cocksure wailing with nuanced balladeering ... makes the album a winner".

Legacy

David Bowie later covered "Don't Look Down" on his album ''

Tonight Tonight may refer to: Television * ''Tonight'' (1957 TV programme), a 1957–1965 British current events television programme hosted by Cliff Michelmore that was broadcast on BBC * ''Tonight'' (1975 TV programme), a 1975–1979 British current ...

'' (1984) and used it for the opening and closing titles of his short film ''

Jazzin' for Blue Jean ''Jazzin' for Blue Jean'' is a 21-minute short film featuring David Bowie and directed by Julien Temple. It was created to promote Bowie's single " Blue Jean" in 1984 and released as a video single. The film won the 1985 Grammy Award for " Best ...

''.

Pixies A pixie (also pisky, pixy, pixi, pizkie, and piskie in Cornwall and Devon, and pigsie or puggsy in the New Forest) is a mythical creature of British folklore. Pixies are considered to be particularly concentrated in the high moorland areas aro ...

frontman

Frank Black Charles Michael Kittridge Thompson IV (born April 6, 1965) is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He is best known as the frontman of the alternative rock band Pixies, with whom he performs under the stage name Black Francis. F ...

cited ''New Values'' as one of his favorite albums. "The Endless Sea" was covered by the Australian psychedelic rock band The Church on their 1999 covers album ''

A Box of Birds ''A Box of Birds'' is the twelfth album by the Australian psychedelic rock band The Church, released in September 1999. It consists of cover versions of tracks by artists who were influential on the group's music. The album was released after ...

'' and Cat Power on her 2022 album '' Covers''. It was also featured on the soundtrack of the 1986 film ''

Dogs in Space During the 1950s and 1960s the Soviet space program used dogs for sub-orbital and orbital space flights to determine whether human spaceflight was feasible. In this period, the Soviet Union launched missions with passenger slots for at l ...

'', starring

Michael Hutchence Michael Kelland John Hutchence (22 January 1960 – 22 November 1997) was an Australian musician, singer-songwriter and actor. Hutchence co-founded the rock band INXS, which sold over 75 million records worldwide and was inducted into th ...

. "Five Foot One" is played by Iggy in the Tales from the Crypt Season 4, Episode 8 episode entitled "For Cryin' Out Loud" during the charity rainforest concert.

Track listing

Personnel

* Iggy Pop – vocals *

– guitars, harp, keyboards, synthesizer, vocals, horn arrangement * Klaus Krüger – drums * Jackie Clark – bass * John Harden – horns * David Brock – strings, string arrangement * Earl Shackelford – backing vocals * The Alfono Sisters (Anna and Mary) – backing vocals on "Don't Look Down" and "Angel" * James Williamson – guitar, horn and string arrangement,

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stati ...

, mixing Technical * Lloyd Malan – production assistance * Peter Haden –

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad range of more speciali ...

, mixing * Paul Henry – sleeve design and art direction * Trevor Rogers – sleeve photography * Graphyk – sleeve graphics

Charts

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1979 albums Iggy Pop albums Arista Records albums Albums produced by James Williamson (musician)