Iggy Pop - Brick by Brick

zany and knowing world of pop

Iggy Pop is a pretty (street) smart cookie and he's got the spirit of rock n' roll in him. On the cd pamphlet it says that Iggy played some guitar on this album, yet I wonder how often he was handling any of the instruments. It's almost like I hope he wasn't playing guitar too much because with the lyrics he writes and the way he sings, I have an easy and enjoyable time viewing him as an interesting and thinking performing singer. And the instruments could be getting in the way of his singing and performing.

Plus, I've seen pictures of him from when he was a young performer and he's got his back twisted to be almost parallel with his legs and his head is practically touching the ground. It's a very animalistic, free spirited stance and any concern about which strings to pick on a guitar could damage his interests in such bizarre, intriguing ways of staging his act.

And his act I would desperately love to see, and a lot of listens to Brick by Brick whips that opinion into concrete shape.

This cd may be too cleanly produced, a bit too slick, for die-hard fans of the Stooges. You can hear all the instruments very succintly without having to strain your ears, which is about opposite of the almost too raw sound of Raw Power (which is really good, but strong chances are that if you're listening to Brick by Brick then you've heard Raw Power before).

Iggy's singing comes across in a way in which it's no wonder the guy who's singing goes by a name like 'Iggy,' kind of unusual but very interesting and impressive.

Brick by Brick includes some really funny stuff. The most overt example is track 11, a funny tune about girls in which the heavy metal and comicly dark sound goes perfectly well with the subject he's going over. It's like, whoever wrote a song like this, with these types of lyrics going with this type of instrumentation, has got to know what's going on in the world.

Iggy's knowing-ness keeps up when he sings about having it all as like being in jail in Undefeated. Later, somewhere else, he mentions the only ones truly alive on earth are kids. There are numerous other insights that are sung in such fun ways that you don't feel like someone is hitting you over the head with important social messages but is instead inspiring you to think in the midst of having such a good time listening to such spirited, fun music.

With all that said, there are some songs on here that fans of the Stooges may find as a bit wimpy, but that notion should be set aside anytime you have Iggy singing to them. His voice, style and the overall way he comes across, even if he was singing a song to the soundtrack of the Little Mermaid, is always far from wimpy.

Also, there really aren't any songs on this cd that stand out tremendously as potential hit-makers, and that could be one reason why it's easy to think of all these tunes compiling so well together to make a great overall album. The songs, each distinctive, compliment each other really well and the production is really strong, and as implied earlier, perhaps too strong for fans of the performing singer who brought such raucous, silly, sloppy and unforgettable determination to the studio earlier in his career.
March 15, 2006

Boring

I couldn't get through the whole CD because it was deathly boring. Stupid lyrics, uninspired playing, lack of originality. Some of it sounded like he was trying to imitate Lou Reed, but the imitation was poor. Every song sounded like something you've heard a million times before on one of those classic rock stations that is still reliving the 1970s. I did like the song "Candy", which briefly broke up the monotony. January 26, 2006

A different kind of Iggy

Some people might bash this cd due to it's calmer nature and such but I personally enjoyed this album. While this is by no means Raw Power or Fun house, this is still a pretty good album. Iggy shows of his talents as a song writer here as evidenced by such songs as mainstreet eyes and home and a few others. While this is by no means his best stuff it is enjoyable and has a few classic Iggy songs like Candy and Home, also my baby likes to rock and roll is a nice song that is similar to Iggy's roots. Featuring guest apperances by Kate peirson and slash this is a very enjoyable album that I would suggest getting AFTER you have explored some of Iggy's other stuff don't just get this after listening to The stooges or you will be dissapointed. All in all a good album and reccomended. September 27, 2005

Somehow Overlooked...

Next to "Lust For Life" and "The Idiot," I rate this, obviously, the 3rd Iggy masterpiece. Of course, art is highly subjective, but this recording kicks booty. The songs are well written, raw, melodious, and the guitars RIP on almost every track. If you appreciate GREAT rock, you must do yourself a favor and get this cd! If your an Iggy fan and have not heard it, or a new Ig junkie, what are you waiting for? August 5, 2005

Iggy, still trying to find his Home

I think most will agree that Iggy is at his best when being himself and not trying to conform to popular music and become successful in the commercial sense. I think deep down though, despite being revered for being the opposite, I think he wanted to be popular in the MTV scene (ie "the mainstream"). "Party" & "Blah Blah Blah" are probably the other obvious ones, but this was Iggy's last attempt to put out an album that will make him more commercially popular, though a kind of belated attempt. All the stops were pulled out, the big guest stars, etc. In the end it is pretty good, but as usual Iggy doesn't get the credit he deserves from the mainstream. "Candy" was (and is) so popular that the people who he was trying to win over now laugh him off as a one-hit wonder. After this one, I think the next album was American Caesar, which was just, as i see it anyway, him realising that being successful isn't always about financial success. Actually in track 2 here, he says "You and I are not huge mainstream stars/But unlike them we're really what we are". Iggy is no fake. His struggle to try and understand what the point of all this is, is the same as a lot of us. This isn't the wild Iggy that tore up the music world and left it in shreds with The Stooges, this is a grown up Iggy. Both are great Iggy's though.

This album isn't as cheesy as Blah Blah Blah, and it's much more honest. It gets a bit harder & looser as it goes and the climax is definitely track 12 and 13 (My Baby Wants... featuring Slash on guitar and then Brick by Brick). The subject (of the album) is basically just commenting how messed up society is, and dealing with it. He leaves us with hope though, with the 2nd last track (Brick by Brick). I think it was appropriate that the album was named after that one.

It's also much more consistent, approaching the consistency of The Idiot or Lust for Life. Other albums, even the great ones like New Values, have a few turkeys, but this has none, which is surprising considering there are a lot of tracks compared to his other albums. It's very well written, it flows very well and the social commentary is sharp and on the money (and still relevent).

This is very good. I think with Iggy there's always more going on than meets the eye. Maybe I am way off the mark in my review, but this is just what I got out of the album. February 22, 2004

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