New Values


New Values is the third studio album by Iggy Pop and his first record since The Stooges' Funhouse and post-Stooges Kill City not to have any involvement from David Bowie. It was released in April 1979 by record label Arista.

Background

New Values was Pop's first record for Arista and the first collaboration by Pop and James Williamson since Kill City. The album also reunited Pop and Williamson with multi-instrumentalist Scott Thurston, who had played live piano for The Stooges on Metallic K.O. and Kill City.

Recording and release

Although guitar was played by Williamson on "Don't Look Down", Scott Thurston played guitar on all other tracks, with Williamson concentrating on production. Likewise, although one of the songs was written by Pop and Williamson, five tracks were collaborations between Pop and Thurston.
New Values was released in April 1979 by record label Arista. Although well-received critically, the album was not a commercial success, only reaching number 180 in the Billboard Top 200 album chart.
Videos were made for "I'm Bored" and "Five Foot One".

Critical reception

New Values has been well received by critics. Writing in NME at the time of the album's release, Paul Morley wrote that New Values "conclusively endorses Osterberg as thinker and Iggy as performer, and the relationship is positive and proud."
Charlotte Robinson of PopMatters wrote that the album's "delicate balancing act of tough with tender, rebellion with contentment, sincerity with humor, cocksure wailing with nuanced balladeering... makes the album a winner".

Legacy

David Bowie later covered the New Values track "Don't Look Down" on his album Tonight and used it for the opening and closing titles of his short film Jazzin' for Blue Jean.
Pixies frontman Frank Black cited New Values as one of his favorite albums.
"The Endless Sea" was covered by the Australian psychedelic rock band The Church on their 1999 covers album A Box of Birds.

Track listing

Use in media

"The Endless Sea" is featured in the soundtrack of the 1986 film "Dogs in Space"

Personnel

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