Let's not understate the awesomeness of this package, which is a leap forward from its So we're talking 1982-89 - that'd be tours around the "Zombie Birdhouse", "Instinct" and "Blah Blah Blah" albums - and whatever you think of Iggy's recordings back then, there's no denying the ferocity of his live shows.
We're talking six CDs here PLUS a DVD. And if you're quick enough, there's a mail order bonus 1983 Australian show that's a scorcher. So as usual, Easy Action ain't doing things by halves.
If you're leery about anything connected with "Blah Blah Blah" you're not alone. It's too Bowie-fied for most thinking people's liking but hindsight shows that cleaning up his act and putting on a presentable face was a necessary step if Ig was to survive at a reasonable level. The good news is there's a '86 Detroit homecoming show that does rock regally, especially on the five Stooges tunes. It spans two discs and if the band's too professional at times (and the drum programing that seeps in fleetingly is horrible), Iggy's in fine form.
But onto the "Zombie Birdhouse Tour" disc, taken from a mighty 1986 at NYC's relatively intimate Ritz. "Little Boxes" is the little-heard rarity that opens it, and in case you're wondering it's a stream-of-consciousness rap that isn't essential. The balance of the show concentrates on the then-new album and it trades off some of the studio album's eclecticism for manic energy. "Zombie" was a grower with a certain off-the-wall charm and fine-boned production but its songs are immediately arresting when rolled out live. There's also a muscular "Sixteen" that works a treat with the prominent keys and even a rarely-played "Your Pretty Face Is Going To Hell" to take us out. Sound is only a B+ with some clipping but it's certainly listenable.
"The Breaking Point Tour" that took Ig and Crew around the world in '83 had its stellar moments but many of the Australian shows weren't among them. The show chosen is from California in February before the band headed overseas and the sound is excellent. The pacing at the start of the set is off the mark however, with the ribald introductory vamp of "My Name Is Iggy Pop And I Am Here In Your Town" running into the dirgey "Mass Production" and then "Nightclubbing." The latter's a great version of its icey, Euro-cool self with some cutting guitar from Rob Duprey and Frank Infante running through, but this was the place for something more uptempo.
The stuff that follows more than makes up for the sluggish opening with a fantastic "Endless Sea" barreling into "I'm a Conservative" and the primal funk of "Street Crazies". "Loose" is butchered at machine gun pace, much the same way the band did it on the Aussie tour leg, but a truck-like "Run Like a Villain" and a ragged but righteous "I Want More" make amends. A hot show that's worth repeated listens.
"Playing With Cars 'n' Pistols" is the title of the "odds and sods" disc that's built around the Ric Ocasek demos of '83, an early take of "Repo Man" and the Steve Jones demo's from '85. While "Repo Man" isn't much different from its final inestimable form and all of the above have been released elsewhere, they're matched with an unheard demo of "Cry For Love", a trio of fiery and sonically excellent live UK tracks and four razor sharp live songs from a 1988 Manhattan gig with Jones guesting.
Which segues into Disc Six, the LA warm-up show for the "Instinct" tour. There's the odd clam evident (this was straight off the back of rehearsals) but the band are largely on song for what was a showcase gig. It's much superior to the long-avaialble "Live at The Channel" radio show that Revenge have traded off for years, and the only downer is that the encores (again with Jones) weren't included. Andy McCoy's alternately flashy and solid guitarwork is shown off to advantage here.
I have a soft spot for "Instinct" tour shows as they wound up with a run through Australia, by which time the band was one of Ig's best solo units. The surprise that is the mail-order bonus disc, "Speed Kills - Adelaide '83", shows them in manic form. Iggy was playing some long sets on this tour but for this show the audience got 24 songs. The reason they fit on an 80-minute disc is that they're slammed into each other with scarcely enough time in-between to say: "Thank you motherfuckers, you've been a great audience".
And the choice of songs is inspired, with a generous sprinkling of lesser-heard gems like "Johanna" "Scene of the Crime" and "Penetration" rubbing up against (and dry-humping life into) "Instinct" offerings that thankfully lost their dull metallic studio polish and grew wings when exposed to artificial stage light. The sound quality is only OK, but more than made up for by the brutally intense performance.
The DVD has the same line-up running through half-a-dozen songs (three from "Instinct", the balance from Stooges days) in London's Pinewood Studios with only a few more manners. The accompanying interview is a corker - intelligent questions matched by an engaged and thoughtful Iggy. Just how professional the new James Osterberg had become is borne out by the US TV interview that's appended, and his effortless bridge from an inane question about his hair colouring into the business at hand is impressive. There's also some outtake footage for the "Shades" filmclip.
Co-compilers Carlton Sandercock and Graham Ling have done the hard research yards and come up with the good stuff. If all this isn't enough, there's the usual well-researched and honest Kris Needs booklet notes to bring you up to speed, if you missed something along the way.
