Search - Iggy Pop :: Beat Em Up

Iggy in a holding-pattern.

feckdangler | Boston, MA | 08/19/2001

(3 out of 5 stars)

"This is definitely a return to a harder-rocking Iggy. Mainly, he's tunelessly ranting over metallic riffing. Not that that's a bad thing. But there's not a lot going on here songwriting-wise--and this guy is capable of writing great songs that also happen to rock out. This is no "Funhouse". It's not awful, but this isn't Iggy at his best."

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Martin Doudoroff | New York, NY USA | 08/03/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Just as on the generally underrated "Avenue B", and probably on pretty much everything else he's ever done in his 30+ year career, Iggy set out to do something fairly specific with this record. He assembled a basic guitar-bass-drums backing band and recorded a packed-CD worth of in-your-face garage rock. In marked contrast to his last couple outings, there is no slick production, and it sounds like the sessions were purely live in the studio. The initial experience of listening to this record is shocking. It's a raw sound, and exactly two emotions are expressed throughout: anger and disgust.The music in this release is purely in service to the project's concept. In the year 2001, one could fairly argue that the music of Beat 'Em Up is somewhat generic. However, the music is varied and does the one thing Iggy requires of it, which is support his message. If your taste runs to shrill garage rock (which mine does, in moderation), you won't have much to complain about with this disc.The predominate lyrical theme of Iggy's career has been personal integrity (and its components). After 30 years of practicing it, I feel Iggy has gotten rather good at working it. Nearly every one of the sixteen tracks on this record addresses that theme, and the cumulative effect is this record's most compelling virtue.Comparisons have been drawn to "Raw Power". If you shuffle the tracks of these two albums, they are surprisingly compatible. Especially in the case of tracks like "Penetration". Of course, the musicians on Beat 'Em Up were children when Raw Power was released, Iggy's voice has changed, and thirty years of rock evolution have influenced the musical palette. While I don't think Beat 'Em Up is as mesmerizing or memorable as the Stooges material, it does benefit significantly from its sense of thematic purpose.I've mentioned "thirty years" at least four times in this review, which begs the question of the relevance and importance of this record. I don't think this record is a "classic" in the sense of rock history. There's no new ground being covered here, in fact it's kind of the latest draft of Iggy's thesis. Iggy certainly isn't fashionable, so Beat 'Em Up will be basically ignored by everyone except Iggy fans. There's no "pop hook" on this record to market it with. As one of his fans in a position to compare the new record to his past work, I think it's one of his best solo releases. These qualifications aside, to my thinking today, personal integrity is an issue that keeps getting more critical every day. Sadly, I have to conclude that not enough people have been listening to Iggy. One note: I do not like the image used for the cover of the CD and on the CD itself. It has zero relevance to the music, and I find it in bad taste. All I can assume is that it was selected to be as in-your-face as music."