The Idiot

Definitely enjoyed this one. I liked China Girl the best. It sounds so David Bowie-y which obviously is a plus.

Funny album cover. Songs were fine, nothing amazed me. Voice kinda weird.

cool pop. Had no idea he has been around so long.

A great album. Iggy and Bowie magic

I thought I would like this more. Forgettable to me.

I get the allure of Iggy Pop. The iconoclasm of his whole 'thing' is almost uniformly revered amongst groups of certain musical tastes. Iggy shirtless on stage is everywhere. Musically, though, I never really got onboard. There are gems there. But his music always felt more tied to a time and place that I was not a party to.

meh

A high 3 for me not quite a 4 I did enjoy it more than I thought I would

This was too artsy for my taste. I read on Wikipedia that the music was composed by David Bowie and Iggy Pop wrote the lyrics to fit, and you can kind of tell. I enjoyed it more than I enjoy David Bowie though, because at least this guy doesn't do the weird Bowie vocal theatrics (to be fair, he does his own weird vocal theatrics, but they're less obnoxious to me)

5 he is the best concert I ever attended. It was a brutal fatalistic revelation. However, his music when recorded often lost its intensity, not this one!

Fun

Way to sneak an extra Bowie album onto the list, Dimery!

"I'm a piece of shit, come and hear all about it!" Jim and Dave kick their habits together, excoriating themselves with an album that is as mechanical as it is deeply and disturbingly human. Favourite tracks: Funtime, China Girl, Tiny Girls

Something bothered me. I don't know, I felt like this sounded like a smoker that forgot to cough.

Classic album that I’ve never heard before! Very Bowie influenced but I loved every track.

A possible criticism of David Bowie, if you were really searching for one, is that he was dependent on collaborators and couldn’t achieve what he did alone. He wasn’t, in that sense, a true solo artist. But the truth is that Bowie was the collaborator par excellence – he brought out the best in others, just as they brought out the best in him. In the seventies, at least. In brief flashes in the eighties. Occasionally in the nineties. And again towards the end of his life. I don’t think Iggy Pop is a co-equal partner in this collaboration, and it hardly needs saying that Bowie was responsible for the best work Pop ever did outside the Stooges – possibly including the Stooges. Still, the record itself is nothing without Pop. It is, fundamentally, a Pop record, and he recognises himself completely in the lyrics of Funtime, for example: Last night I was down in the lab / talkin’ to Dracula and his crew. He is a character from a million novelty monster mashes, bashes and graveyard parties – grotesque and goofy. And just as Bowie let Lou Reed play the poison dwarf on Transformer, here he lets Pop be Frankenstein’s monster: the creature Svengalied into revealing greater humanity than his creator. He’s not just an ugly face. Of course, the title captures the dual nature of Pop himself: he sings like an idiot, but he reads Russian novels. 3 I like this album. The sound palette of Low and Heroes - the industrial crudity of the drum sound, the comic pop of the bass, the screech of the guitar and ignorant blurt of wacky sax - I love. The drama and diversity of Iggy’s voice is a worthy substitute for Bowie’s. I might even prefer the version of China Girl here - dark and messy - over the clinically brilliant execution of Bowie’s later hit. The Idiot isn’t quite in the league of its sister albums however. Once you have, charitably, pretended that the 7 minutes of Dum Dum Boys doesn’t exist the album feels rather slight by comparison. 2.5/5

The Black Key vibes? Maybe they were inspired by Iggy Pop.

I liekd it better than some of his work with the Stooges.

China Girl // Dum Dum Boys // 2.5/5

Coming right after Lust for Life, this one dives deeper into the Berlin darkness — more mechanical, more restrained, more Bowie’s experiment than Iggy’s explosion. I can respect its influence, but in practice, it just doesn’t land for me. When the next songs in the queue—actual Bowie or Velvet Underground—feel like the “real” version of what this record was aiming for, that says a lot. Interesting in context, but not something I’ll come back to.

It's fine. Nothing stood out but it served well in the background.

I prefer my Iggy Stooged. This was a lesser version of Iggy and a lesser version of Bowie. Sometimes the combination means that we end up with less.

I think I now understand when Iggy Pop is at his best. It's when quite a lot of the singing, songwriting and producing is done by David Bowie. The best song on this is China Girl, unsurprisingly, as it's a David song that hits you like a fist out of nowhere for it's brilliance. The rest is good, and I'm going to be generous and say that Iggy Pop deserves some credit for that, alongside Dave.

Up my street 3.5

har problem med mycket av ljuddesignen. "grooven" känns ofta stolpiga och påtvingade. det känns som att sångaren bara halvhjärtat sjunger, känslan är på 40-60 %, vilket är så mycket värre än under 25.

Första halvan: experimentellt ass Andra halvan: vibear med en del av det? Mycket ångest, post-punk, rätt nice? Jämnar ut sig till en tvåa :)

Good stuff. Bowie influence is distracting, I do prefer Pop's more unique style in the later works

Mass production tested my patience. 2.

One of the greatest albums. Probably best Iggy album. Will forever be playing this album. "Dum Dum Boys" and "...Mass Production" are deeply satisfying epic songs. I listened on good headphones for this listen I think for the first time ever, and it's actually quite a different experience! Incredibly textured. I'm hearing shit I've never noticed before. There's a lot of detail in this album, a lot of tucked away or low-key touches throughout as well as interesting multi octave multilayering of Iggy's vocals. One of the best.

So we’ve heard Iggy Pop with The Stooges and now solo. On the Stooges album he screamed his way through the lyrics, on this album it’s a monotonous drone. Both are terrible. I was also disappointed with Bowie’s music, thought that would elevate this despite the vocals, but it didn’t get there. Wondering how many more albums of Iggy’s were going to have to endure.

I was familiar with the name Iggy Pop but I had never listened to any of his albums before today. The arrangements kept me interested, despite the solemn overtones, bringing in that big 70’s rock sound with flares of punk throughout. There is almost something sinister about Iggy’s voice on each song that I kind of dig. I imagine Iggy is a true to life badass with an encyclopedia-sized book of stories from being a rock star. As cool as the other side of the pillow.

This is not good. Bowie is far too heavy-handed with production and overall control, cramping Iggy to shirk away from what makes him great. The result is the tepid vocals, which lack all of the melodic runs you want from Bowie and virtually none of the rasp and edge you want from Iggy. It sounds like either a boring Bowie or a toothless Iggy, neither of which works. All of this layered on top of overindulgent instrumentals. Then I discovered that they recorded this in the Paris studio that popped out the classic Bee Gee’s tracks from the Saturday Night Fever album directly after this album. So, to sum up, although I’m glad they ended up Stayin Alive’, I definitely will not be getting out my Boogie Shoes for this airball.

This didn't work. It has the feel for what it appearently was, two drug addicts embarking on a project in an effort to get clean. I really disliked this, I think mostly because I wanted so much more from these two.

Pop, great! Not my favorite album of his, though. It sounds too raw, too dull, and mechanical to me. I miss the unbridled energy I associate with Iggy and the Stooges. But never mind, maybe it's more of a Bowie album, definitely an album of change. 'China Girl' is still great, and I also like 'Sister Midnight.' Again, a great album.

Nice Iggy - - albums places nice since it is basically all song written by his pal DaVid BoWie (for ex: "China Girl"), Consider it a lost Bowie album.

It's got attitude, but it lacks tunes.

Meh

With David Bowie as the producer, this album really feels fresh and different. I don't adore it, but it's pretty good.

Why did he have to name the album after me? 1/5

I wish I liked anything as much as this guy loves shiny leather boots

A big departure from The Stooges! more electronic and moody. Starts with Sister Midnight then Nightclubbing two killer tunes then later get the OG China Girl. Wish the album would have finished on a stronger note

Not what I expected. More cold, mechanical, and Bowie-esque than raw punk. Dark, hypnotic, and surprisingly restrained. A moody detour that grows on you.

Shit, lenge siden sist. Nostalgisk gjenlytt

Nie porwało. Widzę wartość tego albumu, doceniam go, ale mnie osobiście nie wciągnęło mimo wielokrotnych przesłuchań. W najlepszych momentach brzmiało jak inspiracja dla stylu Marilyna Mansona. Długimi fragmentami przypominało mi Bowiego, z którym jestem na bakier.

I saw this album and was like "hey it's a Passenger guy!" maybe it will be decent. But it was amazing and not knowing more of his songs it's an embaressment.

Ponury, fascynujący, niepokojący. Czuć palec Bowiego. Mocne 4

I like this. I've seen Iggy Pop once in Houston, but really never have been a fan, or listened to his music. I say, if I HAD listened to this when It came out, I probably would have been a fan sooner!

I liked it, didn't know about the relationship between Bowie and Iggy!

I'm learning that the vocals of 70's and 80's rock/alternative sour even the best albums for me.

It's alright. A bit abrasive at points, especially China Girl.

Nothing special here but a good sound

Cool

When I get excited my little China girl says “oh baby just you shut your mouth.”

great debut album from iggy pop

po esse aqui é excelente fala sério

bom d+ esse. gostosim, guitarrudo e até meio experimental? mas eh massa d+, só pedrada. dá até pra sentir um leve post-punk em algumas músicas hein ou, china girl eh boa pra caraio hein. como pode

Good album. Strangely, the idiotic part of Iggy's psyche has been hald in check on this album, and it's to the benefit of all.

Interesting, there was bits I liked and bits I didn’t care much for but overall is was pretty good. Interesting back story to the album with David Bowie being involved etc. The version of China Girl is very good.

Hieno Bowie-henkinen Iggylevy. Tää lienee eka. Aika tällainen post-osaston levytys, jossa rähinää ei oo liiaksi. Hieno kyllä! 4/5

Kohtuullinen debyytti, mut ei Iggy koskaan ollut mikään lemppari. 3/5

Bowie doesn’t get enough credit for being a kickass piano player!

Great album, definitely grows on you. I did already have but has been some time since I listened. Seems to be a mostly Bowie creation according to the wiki, and Bowie was on an amazing streak. Iggy's vocals are great too. 4 Heard before? Yes Owned: Yes 19/1001, 19/75 (25%) Will I get? Already have

chli gliich alles und so biz düster, dämpft

2.5 Fine but not for me

7.75/10; 3.5/5 but I'll give it a 3/5 Actually liked this album more than I thought I would- liked Sister Midnight and Dum Dum Boys.

Absolutely bang average. I was expecting a lot more. If the last track (Mass Production) had come any earlier in the album I would have turned it off and given it 1 star. I'll give it 2 stars though, but that is fucking generous!!!

you'd have to be a "The Idiot" to not like this one!

Only an idiot like this one would have his hands flat. idiot

I generally like Iggy Pop okay, but this didn't do much for me. It felt like it just kinda dragged along, almost as if he was bored while performing. Dum Dum Boys was the standout song for me.

You know, prior to this, I never would have guessed that David Bowie would work with Iggy Pop to produce a post-punk album that influence the likes of Joy Division. After listening to it though, it makes sense. It’s a few shades away from being a Bowie album. If Bowie was dark and slightly brooding. Maybe that weird mix of Bowie and post-punk is probably why I thought this was okay. An interesting listen, but nothing that got me going too crazy. Favorite track: China Girl (I hope that pick doesn’t make me a bad person) Other hits: Nightclubbing, Mass Production, Funtime

ok, but not great

Great album to top yourself to

Iggy Pop nahm sein erstes Soloalbum The Idiot 1977 größtenteils in Frankreich und in den Berliner Hansa Studios auf. Die Produktion entstand in enger Zusammenarbeit mit David Bowie, der stark an Komposition, Arrangement und Instrumentierung beteiligt war. Der US-amerikanische Sänger verabschiedete sich hier vom rohen Stooges-Sound und öffnete sich einer kühlen, elektronisch geprägten Klangwelt. Die Stücke bewegen sich zwischen Rock, Post-Punk und experimentellen Einflüssen. Besonders markant sind „Nightclubbing“ mit seinem mechanischen Groove, „China Girl“, das später durch Bowies Version berühmt wurde, und „Dum Dum Boys“, in dem Pop auf seine Vergangenheit mit den Stooges zurückblickt. Mit „Mass Production“ endet das Album in einer ausgedehnten, düster pulsierenden Soundcollage. The Idiot gilt als stilprägendes Werk, das den Weg für Post-Punk, New Wave und Industrial bereitete. Die Platte ist dunkel, reduziert und zugleich ein faszinierendes Dokument der Berliner Bowie-Phase. Insgesamt ein wichtiges, aber nicht leicht zugängliches Album, das bis heute seine Wirkung entfaltet.

Love this era of music, and loved listening to this album. Fantastic stuff.

Tuneless and boring

Like a bit off Iggy

Su cooperación con Bowie se nota en muchas canciones

Berlin in the 70s sounds bleak man

Yea this is the good Iggy Pop. With the help of all the people who worked on this album. This is pretty close to a masterpiece

Lmfao this shit sucks

Some nice guitarwork on the later songs

Fun album but I prefer lust for life

Lots of attitude, full of punk but honestly a bit boring

I thought Iggy Pop was a punk guy. this is weird/ artsy adult contemporary bs. nope.

Mid

🫲🫲🤷‍♂️

This is solid but it undeniably feels like a Bowie album and lacks the edge I want from Iggy Pop. Still three stars.

Was alright

Not a fan. Among other things, I don't care for his voice.

Never quite got Iggy - I thought there were other artists who did it better. This album's OK.

Pretty dull

This guy is a tour de force

Watching Iggy hobble around the stage at age 76 with no shirt, looking like a saddle bag full of live cats (see Wikipedia photo for reference), converting drunk fratboys song by vigorous song, is one of my fondest festival memories. The sleazy sack of wormmeat that is The Idiot only enhances the legend.

Listens: 3 Standout Tracks: China Girl, Mass Production I enjoyed this. It reminded me a lot of (the limited exposure I have to) Velvet Underground and Lou Reed's Transformer (both from the List). I especially liked how discordant the music was on Mass Production. Edit: Retroactively bumping this from a 4 to a 5.

Hat gefallen.

Totalnie nie moj gust, halasliwe i chaotyczne

It was fine

Wtf was that?

Every time I start to like this the next song convinces me that I don't. 3 stars or C.

Decent listen, not really my jam

Like Bowie, but without the memorable melodies.

The album generator gave me back to back Iggy. I suppose it doesn’t register Raw Power from The Stooges as being from the same artist. However, this was a happy accident, since this didn’t sound like the same artist. And, technically, since Bowie was so heavily involved, one could define The Idiot as being a ‘Biggy’ album… Hmm, looks like that name’s already notorious. Either way, it was great to hear the contrast between The Idiot and Raw Power. They’re miles different. I personally think this is a flawless album, so I rated this one higher. Sorry Iggy? Maybe?

Kept returning to this album after having Nightclubbing stuck in my head for the last three weeks

The Good: We are allowed to name call! The Bad: Idiot is so 1973… The Ugly: Pop… he’s just not model material like Bowie is!!! After listening to this I felt a massive urge to go watch Trainspotting… and to listen to Lust For Life… Oddly enough, though at first listen, there were moments where I thought “can we start sounding more interested”, by spin #2 I just got into this odd groove… Idiotic, really… I also don’t believe I will ever be able to listen to Bowie’s “cover” of China Girl the same way. I am going to give this album a 4 1/2* downgraded… however, I shall reserve the right to upgrade this to 5* at some point.

hmm.. don't likey

Interesting back story. I liked this better than the Stooges but less than Lust for Life.

This was such a departure from the Stooges era that I had to do a double take. Clearly Bowie had his hands all over this and I’m surprised it was never billed as an Iggy-Bowie collaboration album. Makes even more sense that Bowie used these sessions to immediately jump in and make his Low album which definitely has the same feel. There was a lot to like about this. Probably not quite as good as Lust for Life, but still deserves good marks.

Liked it. Didn’t love it. Maybe it would grow on me with more listens but not sure I’ll come back. So Bowie was just like “I think I can do china girl better.”? Also, ‘77 was quite the year for Iggy. Props.

Apparently my favorite Iggy is Bowie-Iggy. Interesting that the biggest knock on this album is that it isn’t really an Iggy albums since Bowie did all the instrumentation… and then released Low soon thereafter… and then did his own version of China Girl a few years later. To my dumb ears Nightclubbing sounded like NIN’s Closer (esp the intro) and Manson’s Dope Show mixed into one. Cool stuff. Still like Lust for Life more than this one, but enough here to round up. 3.75/5

It's nice to go back to this Iggy debut from time to time and realize that he has now spent five decades just being true to himself. Side Two has always been something of a snoozefest to me due to its emphasis on experimentation over entertainment, but of course that was Iggy's choice and he stuck with it.

another day, another iggy pop related album .. algorithm please give me something new. anyway i guess i’ll give another three stars to this one

Didn’t hate this but didn’t particularly enjoy it either. Pretty forgettable.

I'm a bit lost for words, so I suppose my review would be that expression he's making on the cover as I gesture at all the other albums I'd rather listen to should you suggest listening to this one.

Iggy playing his hand perfectly to the crowd.

Didn't connect with this album. Couldn't get into his voice and the music didn't keep me interested.

Very groovy.

Meh? Which also kinda looks like the appropriate caption to the album cover.

No way. Not for me at all. I've never heard a singer be so bored making a record. And the tuning and vocal warbling. I'm not saying this album is torture but maybe it could be torture. Very low energy, off brand David Bowie.

Hmm. Definitely a lot of Bowie behind the scenes on this one. Iggy's voice is too removed and distant for my tastes but the instrumentals and structures are interesting. A second run through as with most albums was more enjoyable! Strong 3. NIN sample of "Nightclubbing" at beginning of Closer?

Sister Midnight - 6.5/10 Nightclubbing - 7/10 Fun Time - 7.5/10 Baby - 7/10 China Girl - 7/10 Dum Dum Boys - 7.5 Tiny Girls - 6.75/10 Mass Production - 8/10 72/100

Eh, just cause Bowie helped produce it - doesn't mean I have to like it

I remain convinced that this album is riding a wave of nostalgia. Believe it or not, good musicians can make mediocre or even bad music. Top Tracks: Sister Midnight

Maybe more David Bowie than Iggy Pop, but still excellent

Kinda fun, but distracting and not really my style

WHAT A FUCKING IDIOT

Drugs sound awesome

Passable

"Nightclubbing" was in mijn puberteit al een klassieker die gedraaid werd op de momenten dat we allemaal echt compleet naar de kloten waren (wellicht een beetje uit Trainspotting gejat). De rest van de plaat is ook uitstekend, uiteraard erg Bowie-achtig. 4 sterren, neigend naar 4,5.

An album mostly in collaboration with David Bowie. Iggy's Berlin times.

Pretty good I think, even though David Bowie probably deserves as much credit for that as Iggy.

20/08/2025 Iggy Pop is better than I thought. Spotify listeners: 4.8 million

Not for me. 1/5

I really enjoyed this record. Iggy is doing his Iggy thing (that is, talk-singing in a satisfying blend of Bowie and Cocker), only this time it’s over some supremely cool 70s psych rock and even some early hard rock. There’s nothing too experimental here, just some great rock and a fun soundscape. I’d give this a 4.5, if only because a few songs overstay their welcome by just a hair.

Listened in the truck via YouTube music. Love Iggy and Bowie. Love this record. Never put together the Dum Dum Girls band name connection till this listen.

3/5

Great

Loved this album, but I get the references to it being sooo David Bowie.

Nonsense

Good album - enjoyed it - thought China Girl was an excellent version - just going to research when this album was released and therefore who did it first - Iggy did it first 1977(him and Bowie co-wrote)!

Wants to be Bowie, isn't Bowie

Awesome the whole way through. Loved the Bowie production. Strong 4*

3/10 Albummet var fint, ikke noget jeg ville lytte til igen. Lidt for dystert og voldsomt i sin tone, og synes det manglede noget der fangede en. Jeg spolede over flere sange, men var dog overrasket over sangen “China Girl” som David Bowie muligvis har lavet et “cover” af.

Not the best from Iggy but still very solid, lots of interesting stuff here

This has some amazing songs, primarily Nightclubbing and China Girl. I prefer Pop’s version of China Girl over Bowie’s. Funtime is also a highlight. It’s definitely a departure from his previous stuff. But it kind of falls apart at the end. The last track sort of cokes across as though he was trying to see if he could get away with putting it on there.

Better than lust for life

Sounds a little too much like Bowie, but...

Not normally an Iggy Pop fan, but this was quite listenable to.

The Idiot is a pretty darn good album. Of course with it being an Iggy Pop album, it has all the positives and negatives of all his other albums. The songs here can be pretty enjoyable even if they are pretty weird as Iggy does seem to enjoy experimenting with whatever sounds he can use. The production is also a little weird but considering this was produced by David Bowie, that should be expected. At least the production here is better than that of Raw Power since this album doesn't sound like it was recorded in a dumpster but Iggy's vocals still seem to highlight the rather odd production. While Lust For Life was better at it's best, i feel that this album was a fair bit more consistently good so it gets a 3.5. Best Song: Tiny Girls Worst Song: Mass Production

Not a big fan.

Eh?

I like my songs with lyrics. I think an instrumental song is better with lyrics than with just instrumentals. This album would be a 4 if it was just instrumentals. That is how bad the lyrics and singing is. Also I had to do a double take when listening to mass production because it sounds like those scenes in games where your character is tripping balls and is going to black out.

Not my favorite Iggy Pop album (my preference goes to "Lust for Life", and I usually prefer angry Iggy to stoned, sad Iggy), but I enjoyed it nonetheless. Putting aside Bowie’s influence (or even direct intervention), it’s a mixed bag of really good songs (I love « Nightclubbing » and « Mass Production » are fantastic) and half-hearted efforts (« Funtime »...). Nothing sounds really bad, but nothing sounds extremely original either. I probably don’t know enough about the context to be fair, though. Another « morning album » to slowly wake up without having to think too much.

Amazon only provided the song “Funtime” from this album, so that’s all I heard. I would’ve liked to listen to the whole album though, due to David Bowie’s involvement and influence. Based on what I heard, I will give it 3 stars.

Only WMD dances for me 💣 🧨 🚀 💣🚀💥

(93/100)

Sister Midnight: 4/10, good instrumental Nightclubbing: 4/10 for the guitar solos Funtime: 5/10 (the shoutings tho😭) Baby: 2/10 not impressed China Girl: 7/10 great instrumentation, cheesy lyrics Dum Dum Boys: 8/10 hear me out this one was actually good Tiny Girls: 8/10 Mass Production: 7.8/10 MASS PRODUCTION fr Overall: The production is really good. As i went far, i appreciated it more. Not very known with punk, maybe that's why it was hard to blend with it. Didn't really like the vocals but it's 70s, understandable. The Instrumentation Instrumentation is GREAT, especially guitar solos. 7/10 (first time listening)

I like the little Iggy Pop I have heard, and I love Bowie. I enjoyed this collab, particularly for the goth sound. I haven’t gotten a goth-y album from the generator yet and I think was fun

Now that was a very cool album. I knew that Bowie and Iggie worked on an album but since I’m not huge fan of Bowie’s 70s albums I just never listened to this before. I especially liked Sister Midnight", "Nightclubbing" and "Funtime". Now I really like Bowie’s early 80s stuff so I’m much more a fan of David’s version of China Girl. Definitely will give this some more listening time.

It's Iggy, his music feels more or less the same, but not a bad thing.

Experimentative. Not super interesting, but not bad.

Okay

10/10 holy shit! Iggy Pop consistently blows me away every time I hear an album of his!

I was never interested in Iggy Pop in the past so this is the first album from him I’ve ever heard. My first impression was this is too much David Bowie in this collab! It just sounded like ripping him off and 1 David Bowie is enough for me. The music wasn’t terrible and I did enjoy some of it. But became cacophonous quickly and became too much noise. A good reminder to not do drugs, kids!

David Bowie, but more punk. While I really hate the first part of that, the second part is something I really love. Definitely not on par with his work with The Stooges, but it's generally more interesting than Lust for Life as a whole. Not that I'm personally going to revisit this any time soon as it's a bit too artsy-for-cred-not-sincerity for me, I at least appreciate that Iggy Pop has a diverse palette.

6/10, unique sort of sound, had a deeper voice than I expected, ‘China Girl’ and ‘Mass Production’ were a highlight. Ballads. Layers of loud and sort of eerie instruments.

Not really for me. Overly "British", don't really understand the hype.

It was a fun album, never heard it before. Didn’t realize Bowie was involved until after the fact, but I could definitely heard the Bowie influence on it.

7/10

Jesus, what happened to Iggy?! It’s like a proto version of Gergen records trying to turn artists like Neil young and John Hilary into electrified rockers - Iggy Pop as New Wave star (down to the hairdo!). Didn’t work

First time hearing this and actually way better than I expected. Love the opening two tracks and china girl. You can hear Bowie’s influence all over this.

I can hear the Bowie in the music but Iggy doing his Bowie impersonation was just awful. And honestly not Bowie's best showing on the music side. This was a long 38 minutes. I knew Iggy from the Stooges and he has a famous name but never really listened to his music, I think I will keep it that way. 3.5/10 118/1001

3.5

Mmmm… Nah.

eh, gibt mir nix 2.5/5

Not fantastic

A poor mans Bowie on this album

Good but short

Nothing that stands out to me

Very experimental for his debut album. Inspirational and mainly was due to David Bowie's masterful songwriting and production on it. Really stands out at the time but Pop's second album has more of the hits.

favorites: China Girl, Nightclubbing, tiny girls Meh

A good Iggy Pop album with lots of Bowie influence. More a 3.5 for me, but I'm rounding up

Holy fucking shit this is good. Was not expecting to like this album as much as I did. Fave song: China Girl (oh my god this song in and of itself makes the album a 5 it's so good)

Vocals need some improvement, but the instrumentals were great. Really bad start but ended it strong, surprisingly enjoyed this album. Favourite Song: Mass Production

Started off not great and then just got better. His voice also started to grow on me a bit. 3/5 That weird dying ice cream truck beat and the end of the last song is also awful but sometimes sounds good. idk lmao this shit is all over the place

3/10 - Before my time Not for me, was a struggle to get all the way through. Reminded me of early Bowie, but even less catchy. Guitar riffs are cool, and a lot of it is just noise to me, and Iggy wails a lot #sorrynotsorry Nightclubbing was on the preshow playlist for Reuben's show in Edinburgh so that was nice to hear again

Sounds like they were trying something here and it has not paid off 2*

Felt new wave vibes — but still 2

How can I like all of the ingredients and yet not enjoy this cake at all?

Sounded alright

Iggy's solo work tends to be a mixed bag. I generally prefer the Stooges. Nightclubbing and China Girl are definitely classics. The rest is kinda forgettable. 3/5 #122

2.75

Jim and Dave go to Europe to get clean and record one of the best rock albums. Everything about it is delightful

Average

Always had a soft spot for Iggy Pop. Hence...

It was ok, I didn't enjoy it that much

Dark, guttural, dripping with Bowie's influence, and pretty amazing. Never really listened to Iggy Pop a lot so held no expectations and i have really enjoyed this.

Grating without offering a purpose. Some songs were alright but there was an abrasiveness that only a brit could really appreciate

This is just a Bowie album with a different singer, and it shows. The songs aren’t particularly suited for Iggy’s talents until “China Girl” where he starts to move to multiple registers instead of just mumbling his way through an instrumental. Bowie singing all these would be better, I think. It’s not a bad album but the songs drag on in the way a hangover does. Just a bit longer than you expect and for no good reason, and by the end of it you barely even notice. I do like the last 4 tracks but half an album doesn’t make a great record, especially this short. I’d give it a 2.5 but I can’t so I’ll round up.

Weird album. It's very different from the Stooges/Iggy albums we've had. I think the music really outshines he vocals which I found laughable at some points. I laughed all the way through Tiny Girls. Not for me.

This just wasn't that compelling for me. Iggy Pop comes with a strong reputation, but it seems like vague experimentation. The single bright spot was hearing/discovering China Girl on this album. Looking into it, it was co-written with Bowie. In fact, Bowie recorded a version for Let's Dance to help Iggy Pop financially. I actually really like the version on this album. A bright spot, for sure.

Not what I expected. Loved how experimental it was. Did not love the execution until the last few songs. Ends on a high note.

This might be one of the first albums in a while I genuinely felt on the edge of my seat listening to 5/5

Not for me, didn’t enjoy the pacing or the musicality of any song. Iggy pops voice has always been grating to me

Very glad to see my first Iggy Pop album pop up. Interesting to read the place of drug addiction and Bowie in this album. And a mix between James Brown and Kraftwerk seems pretty spot on! Such a different sound to the little that I know of The Stooges. Can really hear Bowies influence, and some, even writing it off as an Iggy album at all, as a result. There is a kind of goth, futuristic vibe, which feels quite slow and dragging. Led to it feeling a bit ‘meh’ and not really grabbing or exciting me.

I don’t know, maybe if I listened to this more I would eventually like it but I’m not gonna

Wasn’t that good for me.

A réecouter ! Tres bon !

I liked the sound and vibe, but I feel like a deeper analysis would require more attentive listening. It also unlocked my memory that Iggy Pop performed the intro song to the french cartoon Space Goofs.

Never listened to Iggy Pop before except I did see him live once at Gröna Lund. I did not understand the music then and now I believe it is just not my genre. But I can understand that many people like it and it's nicely done but not something I would listen to.

3 - normally really like iggy pop but this was just ok

It was fine but it didn't capture me

Shit, lenge siden sist. Nostalgisk gjenlytt

VERY interesting. I'm listening to it thinking "This song is almost exactly like "Red Money" on Bowie's Lodger album!" And it in fact is. Down to the Carlos Alomar guitar drone. This is a lost Bowie album with pal Iggy Pop on vocals. It's also excruciatingly weird in places, making it all the more excellent. Iggy Pop has a Lou Reed style in places, and often sounds like he just woke up or is about to go to sleep. Glad to hear he finally got his shit together (?). Methinks the list rates him as a little more important than he really is, much like they do with Sonic Youth. But this album was an undiscovered gem of Bowie esoterica that I never knew about!

It ran out of steam slightly towards the end, but I enjoyed this sleazy stomp a lot. I might prefer Iggy Pop’s version of China Girl to Bowie’s.

I love this record. And then I hate the racism of China Girl. And then I sing China Girl in the shower and feel terrible. Iggy Pop (and Bowie) is a damn genius.

Interesante

China Girl was co-wtitten with David Bowie who also recorded this song in 1983. Otherwise low key punk.

#10 The Idiot ~ Iggy Pop Iggy is definitely a bit of an acquired taste with his rough, unrefined vocals and general personality, and The Idiot is not necessarily in his style, being produced by Bowie under mostly his writing, but this is an album that sounds very very good. In it, Iggy swaps out an untamed drug-induced wildness with a more wistful irony, whilst maintaining a growling bite to his vocal delivery, more noted in that excellent rendition of China Girl, which I like more than Bowie's version. And speaking of Bowie, he does an excellent job at crafting the songs of this album. Each song feels like a truly creative process unfurling, and they add real kick to Iggy's vocals, or portray one of his many moods that he reveals throughout the album, from perverted lust in 'Sister Midnight' and 'Funtime' to sardonic mockery in 'Dum Dum Boys' to cold paranoia in 'Mass Production'. The Idiot is a strange album in the Iggy discography, rather it's a blend of Iggy's rawness with Bowie's more reflective eclecticism. And some people will say this is not a Iggy album because of all the Bowie prints on it. That's bullshit. Without Iggy the music would have none of the things that make this album have personality. And this is what this album is. A more personal moment in Iggy's evolution. Verdict: Dostoevsky goes night-clubbing

I did not enjoy that

Just okay...

Sehr Bowie-mässig.

So idiotic but not idiotique

Fine Iggy Pop album. Later night listening than Lust for Life. Better behaved than the Stooges stuff. The original China girl has more punch than Bowie’s.

So Bowie and Iggy decamped to Europe after the LA snowstorm and this was the result....kind of megaton glam that set the Template for Bowie's Low that he recorded afterwards, but released before. The music is stripped and claustrophobic, its cars cruising round Berlin at night driven by men in sunglasses. A bit baggy though - I think it sags in the middle - but great at its best, even though I sort of miss the raw punk energy of The Stooges . I would give it 3 and a half, but that's not an option so I'm going for 3 as I want to set the bar high....

Loved Nightclubbing, Funtime and China Girl and Tiny Girls - although lyrics show their age - but timeless. Pulp, LCD and many others could release Funtime now… hence 3 out of 5

It surely doesn’t sound like a mix between Kraftwerk and James Brown. (That’ would be the sounds of Afrika bambataa maybe?). It sounds like a slower, murkier and heavier David Bowie album. Prefer Iggys other album from 1977, Lust for Life. More straight forward.

First pass I was shocked - this is not the Iggy Pop I know! What the hell is this? Why did he start reading Dostoevsky? Second pass I 'got it.' Bowie. Pop. Uhhh, kraftwerk at home? Three great tastes that taste great together. I suppose this came out around the same time as Low, an album I think I underrated, and it shows. Anyway, great album, with a great closer.

I’m going to give it a 3, but just barely. It was fine, but kind of droney and way more boring than I expected. I got a Stooges album that blew me away, and this album had nowhere near the kind of energy I was expecting. It was kind of like a Lou Reed album. I don’t know. It was fine, I guess.

Too noisy and industrial for me. China Girl, the clear standout song, simply served to remind me of how much better Bowie's version of it is.

Iggy brings the best into this Bowie ladden project. Works better than what I would've expected. I thought my headphones died on the intro to Mass Production https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QdQASuZN8BA

Some annoying pieces, such as Mass Production, and kinda repetitive for the most part. 5/10

I've never listened to Iggy Pop, but I usually love Bowie. This album just didn't quite catch me. Part of it is Iggy's voice. But it felt a lot blunder than other Bowie albums.

I love the feel of this album. Sometimes I think it might be my favorite Iggy Pop.

Ok

A couple of good songs, nothing to get excited about

I enjoyed this one a fair bit. Yet another one I'm not sure I've ever listened to before, but it was very unique and interesting to hear. Quite a bit of that early like rock-into-pop crossover but a good bit of some of the, for lack of a better phrase coming to mind, the like "spooky trippy" kind of sound? Which makes sense seeing it was produced by Bowie.

You can definitely clearly hear the Bowie influence in this album. The instrumentation is really good, and I'm enjoying that a lot, but I don't think it really matches up with Iggy, his voice, and his general style. I think it's honestly pretty close to being a very good album, but it just misses the mark. Like, I liked a lot of little bits, but it never really came together to be a complete album. I was even caught off-guard with some really great moments, like the beginning of "Tiny Girls". Favorite Song(s): China Girl, Tiny Girls

was good, liked the cover of China Girl and dum dum boys - 3

The music on this record is often stripped down and minimal, and to the degree that this album succeeds, it does so largely on the strength of Iggy Pop's personality. "Dum Dum Boys" is the high point of this album, a track in which Pop looks back on his days with The Stooges.

Not my favorite, i liked China Gril and Nightclubbing. Bot overall it felt kinda boring

Meh. I like some of Iggy's other stuff better

Fascinating album. You can feel the smoke, the haze with the production. Still relevant to this day.

Mass production is really a nice track and worth itself 3 stars, album is average

Some Bowie stuff, written by Bowie, sung by Iggy “Lou Reed” Pop during their little redemption trip together. Sure, you can hear the influence it had on bands like Joy Division. But honestly, even “China Girl” sounds much better when Bowie sings it. Most of the tracks are just slow variations on the same little tune. It gets boring. What’s left is the vibe of the time, a haunted sound and a few scraps of genius Bowie was kind enough to toss to his friend.

I guess I am the idiot for listening to this whole thing ..

Definitely better than i thought. Sounds more Bowie than I was expecting. Better than the stooges. Decent

6/4/25. Was surprised this wasn't more of a simple punk sound, but once I realized Bowie was involved it made sense. Good set of songs and the production is top notch.

Good, but no great songs. I didn't realize how tight he and Bowie were, but it's very obvious by this album.

Eh. I love Iggy and the Stooges but maybe his solo work ain't for "mass production". buh dum tss

If you only own one Iggy album this is it. Dave and Ig get off heroin in Berlin and getting clean never sounded so good.

Maybe it's my fault but I was expecting something more... fun? I didn't enjoy much of anything in this album.

fun stuff...more familiar songs than I realized

I liked this one so much I listened to it twice. It wasn't until the second pass that I realized Bowie was so heavily involved with the creation of this album. This is a completely solid album that I will come back to in the future, for sure. 4.5* Standout track: Funtime

Maso

Better than I was expecting, China Girl is Bowie-esque and a standout. Will listen to more Iggy past the singles.

Not fully my thing, but listenable! Very Bowie Influenced.

I understand the stage presence, I'm less sure of the appeal of the recorded music.

Detroit-rocker and art-pop star skip punk and make a jerky, electronic post-punk record that serves intoxicating cabaret, chorus, creepiness and disorientation. Another one I’ve had for a while, but had never really put mind and ears to.

In which Iggy and Bowie conjure post-punk from The Stooges' original while "punk" itself was barely starting. Utter genius, naturally. "The Dum Dum Boys" is my highlight but there's not a bad track on here.

Reviews on the site and in IRL publications indicate that this album is a love it or hate it piece. I loved it. Iggy Pop and Bowie? Yes please.

#590. Certainly not his best work. 2/5: boring

Weird album that I don't know really worked for me, even after knowing that David Bowie had a role in making this. Landed at 2.5 stars and I usually I round up, but in this case I think this skews closer to a 2.

I listened to this early last week, but am only getting around to reviewing now. Based on what I remember this is easily a 4 / 5. Released in the same calendar year as the other album on this list, and also produced by Bowie, this one has a certain looseness and experimental nature about it that I love. Opener Sister Midnight doesn't really go anywhere -- just mood setting. Nightclubbing has a dilapidated quality to the synths that feel similar to some of those used by LCD Soundsystem's James Murphy. I really enjoy this song. Funtime is another standout to me that feels well ahead of its time. Did not realize that Iggy Pop was the first to record China Girl and that Bowie later put his own glitzier spin on it. Certainly has a different, almost more conflicted air about it here Love the degenerating, lopsided feel to Mass Production to end the album. For some reason I always find myself drawn to music that feels like it is trying to tear itself apart. This is a 4 and a high one at that.

I had medium-low expectations going into this and those expectations were met perfectly.

That was certainly an album. Didn't know that China Girl was originally by Iggy Pop and David Bowie writing it together. Mass production at the end was the best song with its really ominous background tones the whole time

Pretty wild album so far I'm digging it. Crazy interpretation of China Girl. Dum Dum Boys sounds like Jim Morrison.

Drugs are bad kids!

It's funny, the top review for this album as of May '25 says this sounds like the type of music playing in a scungy record shop. If I walk into a record store and this is playing I know I'm in the right place. Lol. Perspective. The Bowie influence is undeniably awesome. Solid album. I listened at least 4 times. Dig it.

Iggy. Bowie's bff for a while. Iggy used to scare me when I was young, in my 14yr old mind he was 'gross' and a 'druggie'. Then, about 7-8 yrs ago, I had a translation job where I had to translate a very long interview with Pop for a book on Bowie and him in Berlin etc and in Japan, now I love him. Super lovely and now if you listen to BBC6 music you can hear his weekly show.

Iggy! His energy is infectious. It's raw, wild, and I love the cavernous sound.

The sound of exploration. The sound of transition. The sound of recovery (there was an attempt). Side one seems to exist out of space and time. The mix of Bowie's extra controlled experiments and Iggy's primal sensibility somehow works. And works well. Side two gets a little dirgy. But a tip of the hat to all parties - this definitely launched some ships in the coming years.

I haven't listened to this in ages, it kinda sounds like crap haha, but it was proof of how we felt back when it came out, despondent, aimless, hopeless... I love it

Iggy and Bowie make a great combo

I thought I would like this more than I actually did...

Mijn favoriete plaat uit het hoofdstuk Berlijn in de carrière van Bowie en Iggy (en Brian Eno natuurlijk). Niet perse omdat het een plaat is die veel replay-value heeft, maar wel omdat het die kille, minimalistische, spaarzame vibe van de Berlin underground het best weet te vertalen naar een 'pop' album. Iggy is een instrument van Bowie geworden in dit werk, en dat pakt fantastisch uit. Het is allemaal veel subtieler en sensueler dan zijn werk met The Stooges en ander materiaal uit de 70s, maar op de goeie momenten horen we toch die losbandige punker in hem. Die uithaal in 'China Girl' is iconisch. 'Nightclubbing' is met zijn drones, onheilspellende toeters en trage hypnotiserende ritme de ultieme Berlin-song, en 'Dum Dum Boys' is de hidden gem op dit album. Tuurlijk is het soms ook echt unlistenable, zoals tijdens fases in de afsluiter. Maar dat is dan ook wel weer de magie van dit koppel, die gek genoeg lieten horen dat avant garde en pop vrij dicht bij elkaar kon liggen. 7,5/10 Highlights: Nightclubbing China Girl Dum Dum Boys

Ik moet zeggen dat ik het toch wel een lastige luisterbeurt vond. Iggy klinkt soms alsof hij op The Idiot al die 80 jarige punkrocker was. Het klinkt alsof Iggy het zwaar had, en dat was natuurlijk ook zo. Tegelijkertijd is er soms een vleugje magie. Of dat de bijdrage van Bowie is kan ik niet altijd de vinger op leggen (dikke kans van wel natuurlijk). Ik vind het dus een verwarrend album. Het klinkt mechanisch en obscuur en ik blijf dan ook met een raar gevoel achter. 6,5/10 Highlights Sister Midnight China Girl

Good stuff it you're into it. Definitely worth a little time to listen to.

Drained me of my energy for the day. If something from this popped up on the radio, i would turn the channel. As hard choosing the best song as it was the worst. Best: Worst: Funtime

The production is great, but it doesn’t really grip me. It's atmospheric with a cold landscape, and it naturally feels like an extension of Bowie's Berlin era projects. China Girl really sticks out. Best song: China Girl Worst song: Baby Cover check: Iggy trying to cosplay as artsy Bowie gone wrong, it just looks like he's on crack

Damn…

Decent enough.

something not to go back to but glad to have listened

No huge opinion on this one - sort of like a grimier Velvet Underground. Not bad.

Big fan of Iggy's work with the Stooges. Solo stuff is not bad. This is ostensibly a Bowie record with Iggy on vocals. Fun fact: Greg Shimonek is the biggest Iggy fan I know which means something although I'm not sure what

This was surprisingly wacky on face value but makes a lot of sense when you find out Bowie was a major contributor and it’s probably generous that only Iggy makes it onto the main artist credits. I didn’t dislike the weird mixture of iggy’s vocals and the synthy, Bowie-esque (and actually Bowie in some cases) backing but it didn’t leave me wanting more. Thought the final track pushed a bit too far on the weird factor.

Pretty great - much better than I expected

Fell asleep to this and it did make a nice ear worm. Will have to listen to when I’m awake. His frantic vocals, the energy he exudes through the speakers.

2.5 stars

Burbles along in the style of an Iggy Pop record. Not the worst, not the greatest.

Iggy Pop - the Berlin years. Yeah, this is essentially a Bowie album, but Pop takes the sound to a place that Bowie couldn't reach. 4/5

Jangly and gothic, a little bit of The Cure, a little punk, a lot of groaning sweetly, I went to refer to the "China stylings" of a song and then saw it was titled "China Girl," so it's all making sense to me now.

Not very good. It's the musical equivalent of eating unseasoned vegetables. Yeah, it's probably good for me, but can I get some salt or something?

I can't figure out how anyone could possibly enjoy this record, and yet it's somehow regarded as a masterpiece? Mid tempo slop with musical ideas that couldn't sustain themselves for 30 seconds, let alone the 7 and 8 and a half minute runtimes on some of these songs. Iggy Pop doing his worst David Bowie impression (and while it shouldn't be a shock, it was surprising to me that Bowie was involved on this record), sounding like he's phoning it in the whole time. 90% of this record the music refuses to do anything fun or interesting, with absolutely no drive to it. China Girl and Tiny Girls are the only tracks that have any meat on the bones, and even then they're tepid. This album is the musical equivalent of spoiled milk. It's incredibly off putting, like it was left out in the sun too long and now it's starting to get that stomach churning curdled smell. It's hilarious reading the professional reviews of this album because they're perfectly describing the album yet somehow arriving at the conclusion that it's good? "A necrophiliac's delight!" "[He] doesn't sound alive ... he sounds automated." "Iggy's got the tainted charisma of a dead poet." "A very strange, morbid, obscure and unsettling [album]" Like, my man. Just because it has a good backstory (Iggy and Bowie trying to kick a drug habit) and Bowie is involved doesn't mean you have to like it. You're allowed to say a Bowie project is shit. Be free, rid yourself of this awful album, and you'll never have to listen to it again, lol! Suffice to say. I felt like an Idiot listening to this album. Edit: So finally went back and listened to this again. I stand by pretty much everything on here. But I will be bumping up the score to a 2* because China Girl and Tiny Girls are more solid than I gave them credit for.

Hadde æ skjønt at David Bowie va involvert helt av mæsjøl? Definitivt nei. Burde æ skjønt det? Sannsynligvis ja. Eneste albumet så langt æ har hørt på to ganger med vilje.

Stand out solo debut from Iggy..that version of China Girl was awesome. I loved the overall vibe

Couple of good songs, didn’t like the album that much

Iggy Pop is someone I've always heard of, but could never place anything he's done to his name. Didn't recognize any of the songs on this album, but I really enjoyed them all. Apparently Bowie helped produce this one, and I can certainly hear that influence here. The B-Side kind of lost me a bit though. "China Girl" will be making it to my 1001 best of playlist. ~ 4 stars

This was odd album. I didn't care much for it. The last track was weirdly cool, though.

Not what i expected, I suspect largely due to the influence of David Bowie. Overall a pretty listenable album and I will give in on this being on the list as it was a transition for Iggy Pop.

I imagine this would have been epic to see live on stage, but the album itself feels a little dull to me. Just not my cup of tea.