In the throes of a crippling bout with depression, it’s clear what was on Ian Curtis’ mind in his final hours. Musically, it formed the foundation for Joy Division’s cold, caustic creepiness, at times echoing their sound so strikingly it could be mistaken for Unknown Pleasures. Against minimal, mechanical instrumentation, Pop’s delivery is suitably passionless, as he dryly sing/speaks in a deep, unfeeling croak. Set to music written primarily by Bowie during the Station to Station sessions, Pop’s lyrics are often reflective and sentimental-“Dum Dum Boys” pines for his Stooges bandmates, while “Tiny Girls” and “Mass Production” lament stupid love-and when they’re not, they’re bitter and scathingly sarcastic (“Nightclubbing,” “Funtime”). The Idiot presents what is probably Iggy Pop’s darkest release, and rightfully so, given the period of his life during which it was recorded. After a self-imposed exile in a West Coast mental institution, Pop put in a call to David Bowie, as the two had been intending to hook up for years, and a few days later, they’d boarded a plane to Paris, and then to romantic Berlin where they would finish work on The Idiot. It would take four years, several jailings, and countless beatings before he would get back on his feet to launch his solo career. –Rob MitchumĪfter the release of the Stooges’ final album, 1973’s Raw Power, Iggy Pop bottomed out. Unlike so many of his sun-dazed contemporaries, Young had the right kind of eyes to see the high-water mark, and After the Gold Rush is the departure point on his essential decade-long journey away from the fallout of the 1960s. Holed up in his Topanga Canyon home writing a soundtrack for a never-made Dean Stockwell–scripted film, Young invited his friends to join him on alien-abduction ballads, preachy Skynyrd-provoking jams, and lovesick nocturnal country-blues. One of his few efforts that can’t be considered either the product of Crazy Horse feedback Neil or sensitive-hayseed Neil, Gold Rush is also one of Young’s most consistent records. Young, who was just hitting his stride as the decade turned over, kicking off a run of 11 great albums in 10 years with After the Gold Rush. Neil Young: After the Gold Rush (1970)Īfter the gold rush of 1960s California rock, most of its main players spent the ’70s slowly hippie-twirling towards irrelevance and rehab resorts.
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