''Every Loser'' is the nineteenth 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, actor and radio broadcaster. He was the vocalist and lyricist of proto-punk band the Stooges, who were formed in 1 ...
, released on January 6, 2023, by Gold Tooth and
Atlantic Records
Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over the course of its first two decades, starting from the release of its first recor ...
. Produced by
Andrew Watt, the album features a core backing band of
Chad Smith
Chad Smith (born October 25, 1961) is an American musician who is the drummer of the rock band the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Smith has played with the Chili Peppers since 1988, appearing on ten of the band's studio albums and becoming the band's lo ...
as drummer and multi-instrumentalists
Josh Klinghoffer
Josh Adam Klinghoffer (born October 3, 1979) is an American musician best known for being the guitarist for the rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers from 2009 to 2019, with whom he recorded two studio albums, '' I'm with You'' (2011) and '' The Geta ...
and
Andrew Watt.
The album features guest contributions from
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction was an American Rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1985. The band's best known line-up consisted of lead vocalist Perry Farrell, bassist Eric Avery, drummer Stephen Perkins and guitarist Dave Navarro. Jane's Addicti ...
members
Dave Navarro
David Michael Navarro (born June 7, 1967) is an American guitarist. He is best known as a member of the rock band Jane's Addiction, with whom he has recorded four studio albums. Between 1993 and 1998, Navarro was the guitarist of Red Hot Chili ...
,
Eric Avery
Eric Adam Avery (born April 25, 1965) is an American musician. He is best known as the founding bass guitarist and co-songwriter of the alternative rock band Jane's Addiction, with whom he has recorded two studio albums. From 2005 to 2022, Avery ...
and
Chris Chaney
Christopher A. Chaney (born June 14, 1970) is an American musician. He is best known as the former bassist of the alternative rock band Jane's Addiction, with whom he recorded two studio albums. He is the touring bassist for AC/DC, replacing lo ...
, alongside appearances from
Guns N' Roses
Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1985 as a merger of local bands L.A. Guns and Hollywood Rose. When they signed to Geffen Records in 1986, the band's "classic" line-up consisted of vocalist Axl R ...
bassist
Duff McKagan
Michael Andrew "Duff" McKagan (born February 5, 1964) is an American musician. He was the bassist of hard rock band Guns N' Roses for twelve years, with whom he achieved worldwide success in the late 1980s and early 1990s. McKagan rejoined the b ...
,
Pearl Jam
Pearl Jam is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1990. One of the key bands in the grunge, grunge movement of the early 1990s, Pearl Jam has outsold and outlasted many of its contemporaries from the early 1990s, ...
guitarist
Stone Gossard
Stone Carpenter Gossard (born July 20, 1966) is an American musician and songwriter who serves as the rhythm guitarist for the rock band Pearl Jam. Along with Jeff Ament, Mike McCready, and Eddie Vedder, he is one of the founding members of the ...
, and drummers
Taylor Hawkins
Oliver Taylor Hawkins (February 17, 1972 – March 25, 2022) was an American musician who was the drummer and a vocalist of the rock band Foo Fighters, sharing vocals with Dave Grohl. He joined the band in 1997, and remained the band's drummer ...
and
Travis Barker
Travis Landon Barker (born November 14, 1975) is an American musician, songwriter, and music producer who is the drummer for the rock band Blink-182. He has collaborated with hip hop artists, is a member of the rap rock group Transplants ...
.
Background
On October 28, 2022, Pop shared the first single "Frenzy" with contributions from
Duff McKagan
Michael Andrew "Duff" McKagan (born February 5, 1964) is an American musician. He was the bassist of hard rock band Guns N' Roses for twelve years, with whom he achieved worldwide success in the late 1980s and early 1990s. McKagan rejoined the b ...
and
Chad Smith
Chad Smith (born October 25, 1961) is an American musician who is the drummer of the rock band the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Smith has played with the Chili Peppers since 1988, appearing on ten of the band's studio albums and becoming the band's lo ...
. The song was described as "raw" and "energetic". The singer announced the album along with release details on his social media accounts on November 10, 2022. Upon announcing the album, Pop called the collaboration with Watt and Gold Tooth as "old-fashioned". The intention of the album is to "beat the shit out of" the listener.
Critical reception
''Every Loser'' received generally positive reviews from critics. At
Metacritic
Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...
, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from critics, the album received an average score of 79, which indicates "generally favorable reviews", based on seven reviews.
Stuart Berman of ''
Pitchfork
A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials.
The term is also applie ...
'' wrote, "For ''Every Loser'',
roducerWatt doesn’t try to turn Iggy Pop into something he’s not but rather gives him the space to be every Iggy Pop he wants to be. Over the course of its 11 tracks, we’re treated to a parade of iconic Iggy archetypes: the profane punk, the seedy underworld Sinatra, the Euro-bound futurist, the lovable curmudgeon, and (via the Warhol-inspired comedic interlude “The News for Andy”) the world's coolest infomercial pitchman. Watt effectively approaches the album as an Iggy jukebox musical — a shiny, over-the-top, but briskly entertaining celebration of its subject — while surrounding him with a supporting cast of acolytes eager to do their hero proud."
Promotion
To promote the album, Pop announced that his backing band would be called The Losers and would consist of Chad Smith, Duff McKagan, Josh Klinghoffer, and Andrew Watt.
They performed the song "Frenzy" on ''
Jimmy Kimmel Live!
''Jimmy Kimmel Live!'', sometimes shortened to ''JKL'', is an American late-night talk show, created and hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, and broadcast on ABC. The nightly hour-long show tapes and is based out of the Hollywood Masonic Temple in Hollywo ...
'' on January 9, 2023.
Track listing
Personnel
Musicians
*
Iggy Pop
James Newell Osterberg Jr. (born April 21, 1947), known professionally as Iggy Pop, is an American singer, musician, songwriter, actor and radio broadcaster. He was the vocalist and lyricist of proto-punk band the Stooges, who were formed in 1 ...
– lead vocals (all tracks), background vocals (tracks 2, 3)
*
Andrew Watt – guitar (all tracks), background vocals (1–3, 5, 9, 11), bass guitar (2, 5, 6, 8), keyboards (2, 3, 8, 9, 11), piano (4, 5, 8, 9, 11),
sequenced
In genetics and biochemistry, sequencing means to determine the primary structure (sometimes incorrectly called the primary sequence) of an unbranched biopolymer. Sequencing results in a symbolic linear depiction known as a sequence which succi ...
drums (6), percussion (11)
*
Duff McKagan
Michael Andrew "Duff" McKagan (born February 5, 1964) is an American musician. He was the bassist of hard rock band Guns N' Roses for twelve years, with whom he achieved worldwide success in the late 1980s and early 1990s. McKagan rejoined the b ...
– bass guitar (1, 3, 4)
*
Chad Smith
Chad Smith (born October 25, 1961) is an American musician who is the drummer of the rock band the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Smith has played with the Chili Peppers since 1988, appearing on ten of the band's studio albums and becoming the band's lo ...
– drums (1–6, 8), percussion (2–5, 8)
*
Josh Klinghoffer
Josh Adam Klinghoffer (born October 3, 1979) is an American musician best known for being the guitarist for the rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers from 2009 to 2019, with whom he recorded two studio albums, '' I'm with You'' (2011) and '' The Geta ...
– guitar (2, 9, 10), keyboards (2, 8, 10), piano (2, 3, 6, 7), organ (3, 5), bass guitar (7), synthesizer (9)
*
Travis Barker
Travis Landon Barker (born November 14, 1975) is an American musician, songwriter, and music producer who is the drummer for the rock band Blink-182. He has collaborated with hip hop artists, is a member of the rap rock group Transplants ...
– drums (7)
*
Stone Gossard
Stone Carpenter Gossard (born July 20, 1966) is an American musician and songwriter who serves as the rhythm guitarist for the rock band Pearl Jam. Along with Jeff Ament, Mike McCready, and Eddie Vedder, he is one of the founding members of the ...
– guitar (8)
*
Eric Avery
Eric Adam Avery (born April 25, 1965) is an American musician. He is best known as the founding bass guitarist and co-songwriter of the alternative rock band Jane's Addiction, with whom he has recorded two studio albums. From 2005 to 2022, Avery ...
– bass guitar (9)
*
Taylor Hawkins
Oliver Taylor Hawkins (February 17, 1972 – March 25, 2022) was an American musician who was the drummer and a vocalist of the rock band Foo Fighters, sharing vocals with Dave Grohl. He joined the band in 1997, and remained the band's drummer ...
– drums, percussion, piano (9, 11)
*
Chris Chaney
Christopher A. Chaney (born June 14, 1970) is an American musician. He is best known as the former bassist of the alternative rock band Jane's Addiction, with whom he recorded two studio albums. He is the touring bassist for AC/DC, replacing lo ...
– bass guitar (11)
*
Dave Navarro
David Michael Navarro (born June 7, 1967) is an American guitarist. He is best known as a member of the rock band Jane's Addiction, with whom he has recorded four studio albums. Between 1993 and 1998, Navarro was the guitarist of Red Hot Chili ...
– guitar (11)
Technical
* Andrew Watt –
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 stat ...
, executive production
*
Matt Colton
Matt Colton (born 30 March 1975) is an English mastering engineer and member of the mastering group of the Music Producers Guild. He has mastered recordings for artists such as Muse, Coldplay, James Blake, George Michael, Hot Chip, Gary Nu ...
–
mastering
*
Alan Moulder
Alan Moulder (born 11 June 1959) is an English record producer, mixing engineer, and audio engineer.
Early life
Moulder was born on 11 June 1959 in Boston, Lincolnshire. He was educated at Boston Grammar School. He had an interest in music from ...
–
mixing
* Paul LaMalfa –
engineering
Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...
* Marco Sonzini –
engineering
Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...
*
Jimmy Douglass
Jimmy Douglass, also known as "The Senator", is an American recording engineer and record producer. Active since 1970, he has been credited on singles and albums for fellow Virginia-based acts including Missy Elliott and Timbaland.
Career
In ...
– engineering
* Devon Corey – engineering (3–11), additional engineering (1, 2)
* Tom Herbers – mixing assistance
* Finn Howells – mixing assistance
* Caesar Edmunds – mixing assistance (6)
* Jimmy Davis – additional engineering
Visuals
* Andrew Watt – art direction, photography
* David J. Harrigan III – art direction, design
*
Raymond Pettibon
Raymond Pettibon (born Raymond Ginn, June 16, 1957) is an American artist who lives and works in New York City. Pettibon came to prominence in the early 1980s in the southern California punk rock scene, creating posters and album art mainly for g ...
– cover art
*
Mick Rock
Michael David Rock (born Michael Edward Chester Smith; 21 November 1948 – 18 November 2021) was a British photographer. He photographed rock music acts such as Queen, David Bowie, Waylon Jennings, T. Rex, Syd Barrett, Lou Reed, Iggy Pop and ...
– cover photo
* Vincent Guignet – photography
* Spenser Anderson – photography
* Laura Bradley – photography
Charts
References
{{Iggy Pop
2023 albums
Iggy Pop albums
Albums produced by Andrew Watt (record producer)
Atlantic Records albums