''Soldier'' is the fourth studio album by American rock singer

Iggy Pop James Newell Osterberg Jr. (born April 21, 1947), known professionally as Iggy Pop, is an American singer, musician, songwriter and actor. Called the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Godfather of Punk", he was the vocalist and lyricist of ...

. It was released in February 1980 by record label

Arista Arista may refer to: Organizations *Arista Networks, a software defined networking company *Arista Records, an American record label, division of Sony Music **Arista Nashville, a record label specializing in country music *Arista (honor society) ...

Recording

For the album Iggy collaborated with ex-

Sex Pistols The Sex Pistols were an English punk rock band formed in London in 1975. Although their initial career lasted just two and a half years, they were one of the most groundbreaking acts in the history of popular music. They were responsible for ...

bassist

Glen Matlock Glen Matlock (born 27 August 1956) is an English musician, best known for being the bass guitarist in the original line-up of the punk rock band the Sex Pistols. He is credited as a songwriter on 10 of the 12 songs on the Sex Pistols' only alb ...

. Ex-member of

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 Dave ...

James Williamson was originally hired to produce the album, but a conflict between Williamson and

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

(who was assisting as a friend of Pop) over recording techniques led to Williamson walking out on the project. Bowie and

Simple Minds Simple Minds are a Scottish rock band formed in Glasgow in 1977. They have released a string of hit singles, becoming best known internationally for "Don't You (Forget About Me)" (1985), which topped the '' Billboard'' Hot 100 in the United St ...

provide backing vocals on "Play It Safe". There has been some debate over the lack of lead guitar on the final mix, which has been criticized by Glen Matlock. In Pop's biography, Matlock claims that the lead guitar was stripped after Bowie was punched by Stella Nova for hitting on her girlfriend of that time,

Patti Palladin Patti Palladin is an American singer and musician of the punk rock and post-punk / new wave genres. She is primarily known for her work with Snatch (with Judy Nylon), Johnny Thunders, and the Flying Lizards. Career Palladin was a member o ...

Release

''Soldier'' was released in February 1980 by record label

. The album peaked at number 125 on the

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

charts. Videos were made for the songs "Loco Mosquito", "Knocking 'Em Down (In the City)" and "Dog Food".

Critical reception

''Soldier'' has received a mixed-to-favorable reception from critics. In her retrospective review, 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 "Instead of a punk masterpiece, ..''Soldier'' turned out to be an uneven and sometimes plain silly recording." Rolling Stone's David Fricke reviewed the album positively, calling attention to Iggy Pop's successful weathering of his own self-destructive persona. Of the album, Fricke wrote: "Soldier, like all of his albums, is a hard-fought battle in a war that Iggy Pop is determined to win. Call him Ig noble."

Track listing

Alternate track listing

Specific regions and the 1991 Arista CD reissue had the following alternate track order:

Personnel

* Iggy Pop – vocals *

– bass guitar, backing vocals *

Ivan Kral Ivan () is a Slavic male given name, connected with the variant of the Greek name (English: John) from Hebrew meaning 'God is gracious'. It is associated worldwide with Slavic countries. The earliest person known to bear the name was Bulgari ...

– guitar, keyboards * Klaus Krüger – drums * Stella Nova – guitar * Barry Andrews – keyboards with: *

( Jim Kerr and Derek Forbes) – backing vocals on "Play It Safe" *

, Patti Palladin, Glen Matlock, Steve New, Ivan Kral, James Williamson – backing vocals on "Play It Safe" * Henry McGroggan – chorus on "Loco Mosquito" Technical * Pat Moran –

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 ...

* Thom Panunzio – mixing, production on "Low Life" * Peter Haden –

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific method, 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 rang ...

* Joe Brescio – mastering * Brian Griffin/Rocking Russian – sleeve design

Charts

References

Trynka, P. (2007). Iggy Pop: ''Open Up and Bleed''. New York: Broadway Books.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Soldier (album) 1980 albums Iggy Pop albums Arista Records albums Albums produced by Pat Moran Albums recorded at Rockfield Studios