Free (Iggy Pop album)

Free is the eighteenth studio album by American rock singer Iggy Pop, released by Caroline International and Loma Vista Recordings on September 6, 2019.[2] It features contributions from Noveller and Leron Thomas, and the title track was released along with the album announcement.[3] A music video for the album's second single, "James Bond", was released on August 14, 2019.[4]

Free
Studio album by
Iggy Pop
ReleasedSeptember 6, 2019 (2019-09-06)
Genre
Length33:44
Label
Iggy Pop chronology
Teatime Dub Encounters
(2018)		 Free
(2019)
Singles from Free
  1. "Free"
    Released: July 18, 2019
  2. "James Bond"
    Released: August 14, 2019
  3. "Sonali"
    Released: August 28, 2019
  4. "Loves Missing"
    Released: October 12, 2019

Background and recording

The album has been described as "reflect[ing]" the exhaustion of post-tour life" as well as "uniquely somber and contemplative" by Iggy Pop, who also called it "an album in which other artists speak for me, but I lend my voice".[5] He went on to say that after touring in support of Post Pop Depression, he felt "drained" and wanted to be "free", so the album "just kind of happened to me, and I let it happen".[6] In an interview with Exclaim!, he elaborated: "I wanted to wiggle out of the frame of rock instrumentation that I'd gotten encased in over time. There's nothing wrong with it, but it wasn't what I felt at this time. I was interested in working with some fine musicians who broke out of the normal time and space."[7]

Pop first learned of Sarah Lipstate, who records under the name Noveller, and Thomas while hosting his BBC Radio 6 Music show; he contacted them to express his appreciation, which eventually led to collaborations.[7] In 2016, Pop invited Lipstate to open for him during the Post Pop Depression tour.[8] Of Thomas, Pop said, "little by little, his stuff was knocking me out, and I really wanted to sing [on] his songs."[7]

The track "We Are the People" features lyrics written by Lou Reed in 1970 but first published posthumously in 2018. The words "totally resonated" with Pop: "Like, 'wham', like 'pow'. It was the first poem in a book of lyrics and when I saw it, I thought, 'My God, this is the country today as I understand it, or at least one legitimate portrayal of the country today. It really spoke to me."[9]

"Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night" is a reading of the poem of the same name by Dylan Thomas. Pop had previously done a recording of the poem at the request of an advertising agency, who wanted it for a commercial; Pop provided a reading, but initially didn't think much of it. By the time of the recording of Free, Pop had grown to like it and decided to rerecord the poem and have Lipstate and Thomas improvise around it.[10]

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic73/100[11]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[12]
Consequence of SoundB-[13]
Chicago Tribune[14]
Exclaim!8/10[15]
The Independent[16]
NME[17]
The Observer[18]
Pitchfork6.7/10[19]
Rolling Stone[20]

Free received generally positive reviews from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from critics, the album received an average score of 73, which indicates "generally favorable reviews", based on 18 reviews.[11]

Production
  • Iggy Pop – vocals
  • Leron Thomas – trumpet (all tracks except 10), keyboards (tracks 2, 7 and 8)
  • Noveller – guitar "guitarscape" (tracks 1, 9 and 10)
  • Kenny Ruby – bass (tracks 3, 5, 6), piano (track 3), synthetizer (tracks 5 and 6)
  • Tibo Brandalise – drums (tracks 3, 5 and 6)
  • Grégoire Fauque – guitar (tracks 5 and 6)
  • Aaron Nevezie – guitar, bass (tracks 2 and 7), keyboards (track 7)
  • Chris Berry – drums (track 2)
  • Thomas Glass – drums (track 4)
  • Robin Sherman – bass (track 4)
  • Ari Teitel – guitar (track 4)
  • Faith Vern – vocals (track 4)
  • Florian Pellissier – keyboards (track 6)
  • Rangeard Mickael – mix and mastering

Track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Free"
1:48
2."Loves Missing"
  • Pop
  • Thomas
4:19
3."Sonali"
  • Ruby Sylvain
  • Thomas
3:30
4."James Bond"Thomas4:31
5."Dirty Sanchez"Thomas4:21
6."Glow in the Dark"Thomas3:57
7."Page"Thomas4:08
8."We Are the People"
3:13
9."Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night"
1:48
10."The Dawn"
  • Pop
  • Noveller
  • Thomas
2:09
Total length:33:44

Charts
Chart (2019) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[21] 91
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[22] 10
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[23] 7
Czech Albums (ČNS IFPI)[24] 52
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[25] 47
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[26] 41
French Albums (SNEP)[27] 18
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[28] 13
Italian Albums (FIMI)[29] 42
Polish Albums (ZPAV)[30] 17
Scottish Albums (OCC)[31] 9
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[32] 31
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[33] 10
UK Albums (OCC)[34] 26
US Top Alternative Albums (Billboard)[35] 10
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[36] 11
US Top Tastemaker Albums (Billboard)[37] 8
US Vinyl Albums (Billboard)[38] 20
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References
  1. Blistein, Jon (18 July 2019). "Iggy Pop Previews New Album With Meditative Title-Track 'Free'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
  2. Monroe, Jazz (July 18, 2019). "Iggy Pop Announces New Album Free". Pitchfork. Retrieved July 18, 2019.
  3. Murray, Robin (July 18, 2019). "Iggy Pop Announces New Album 'Free'". Clash. Retrieved July 18, 2019.
  4. Grow, Kory (August 14, 2010). "See Iggy Pop Emulate 007 in Suave 'James Bond' Video". Rolling Stone. Retrieved May 18, 2019.
  5. "Iggy Pop announces new album 'Free'". DIY. July 18, 2019. Retrieved July 18, 2019.
  6. Richards, Will (July 18, 2019). "Iggy Pop announces new record 'Free', 'an album in which other artists speak for me'". NME. Retrieved July 18, 2019.
  7. Khanna, Vish (September 12, 2019). "Iggy Pop Breaks 'Free'". Exclaim!. Retrieved September 19, 2019.
  8. Maine, Sammy (August 29, 2019). "SARAH LIPSTATE AKA NOVELLER BRINGS HER MOODY SOUNDSCAPES TO IGGY POP'S NEW ALBUM". Guitar. Retrieved September 19, 2019.
  9. Geoghegan, Ken (September 6, 2019). "Iggy Pop: 'I've finally got the voice I was supposed to have'". Retrieved September 8, 2019.
  10. Petrusich, Amanda (August 29, 2019). "The Survival of Iggy Pop". The New Yorker. Retrieved September 19, 2019.
  11. "Free by Iggy Pop Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved September 13, 2019.
  12. Deming, Mark. "Free – Iggy Pop". AllMusic. Retrieved September 13, 2019.
  13. Bray, Ryan (September 5, 2019). "Iggy Pop - Free". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved September 13, 2019.
  14. Kot, Greg (September 6, 2019). "Review: Iggy Pop takes another detour on 'Free'". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved September 13, 2019.
  15. Khanna, Vish (September 6, 2019). "Iggy Pop Free". Exclaim!. Retrieved September 13, 2019.
  16. "Album reviews: MUNA – Saves the World, Iggy Pop – Free and Chrissie Hynde – Valve Bone Woe". The Independent. September 5, 2019. Retrieved September 13, 2019.
  17. Smith, Thomas (September 5, 2019). "Iggy Pop – 'Free' review". NME. Retrieved September 13, 2019.
  18. Mongredien, Phil (September 8, 2019). "Iggy Pop: Free review – enjoyably quixotic". The Guardian. Retrieved September 13, 2019.
  19. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas (September 12, 2019). "Iggy Pop: Free Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved September 14, 2019.
  20. Grow, Kory (September 6, 2019). "Review: Iggy Pop's New Album 'Free'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved September 13, 2019.
  21. "ARIA Chart Watch #542". auspOp. September 14, 2019. Retrieved September 14, 2019.
  22. "Ultratop.be – Iggy Pop – Free" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved September 13, 2019.
  23. "Ultratop.be – Iggy Pop – Free" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved September 13, 2019.
  24. "Czech Albums – Top 100". ČNS IFPI. Note: On the chart page, select 201937 on the field besides the word "Zobrazit", and then click over the word to retrieve the correct chart data. Retrieved September 17, 2019.
  25. "Dutchcharts.nl – Iggy Pop – Free" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved September 13, 2019.
  26. "Iggy Pop: Free" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved September 15, 2019.
  27. "Le Top de la semaine : Top Albums Fusionnes – SNEP (Week 37, 2019)" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved September 16, 2019.
  28. "Offiziellecharts.de – Iggy Pop – Free" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved September 13, 2019.
  29. "Album – Classifica settimanale WK 37 (dal 06.09.2019 al 12.09.2019)" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved September 14, 2019.
  30. "Oficjalna lista sprzedaży :: OLiS - Official Retail Sales Chart". OLiS. Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved September 19, 2019.
  31. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 14, 2019.
  32. "Top 100 Albumes – Semana 37: del 6.9.2019 al 12.9.2019" (in Spanish). Productores de Música de España. Retrieved September 18, 2019.
  33. "Swisscharts.com – Iggy Pop – Free". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 18, 2019.
  34. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 14, 2019.
  35. "Iggy Pop Chart History (Top Alternative Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 21 September 2019.
  36. "Iggy Pop Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 21 September 2019.
  37. "Iggy Pop Chart History (Top Tastemaker Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 21 September 2019.
  38. "Iggy Pop Chart History (Vinyl Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 21 September 2019.
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