Customer Reviews

Preliminaires

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

If you are expecting Skull Ring or The Stooges, don't buy this. And don't bitch about it either. If that's what you want to hear, just put those albums on and be happy there's so much of it. It's about time the world was treated to more of the "other side" of Iggy Pop... the part where he can write intelligent lyrics and back it up with strong musical content, albeit not hard rock.

Preliminaires was written, and in some cases, sung for the French, where Iggy has his biggest following. Pre-release hype claimed it be Iggy's first jazz album. Well, yes, there's Euro jazz here, but there's also plenty of rock and lots of acoustic work too. And perhaps most importantly, some of the most unusual lyrics ever recorded: premeditated, yet sounding completely spontaneous as the finished product.

No, this is not The Stooges or Skull Ring... this is utterly different material for Iggy Pop, closer to Avenue B than anything else, but still completely unique. Listen to the samples to get an idea. It will give you the gist, but remember, those are 30 second excerpts that do not give you the complete picture. Listening to the complete tracks in complete album form leaves you wanting for more in the future and wondering why a project as great as this was not done sooner.

It's very short; clocking in at 36 minutes with flimsy packaging. This is reflected in how inexpensive it is. But that does not deminish the overall impact of this most different of Iggy Pop releases, something I hope there will be more of in the future. Highly recommended to those who can appreciate ALL the talent that Iggy Pop has... this man is no one-trick-dog.

For the first time since 1999's Avenue B. We see the mellow jazzy soul of Iggy Pop.

First off, for the record, I don't understand why critics universally put down Avenue B as a failure. I'm an Iggy fanatic, and even though Ave B is his least Iggy-like album, I personally loved it. He hooked with Medinski, Martin & Wood, and a bunch of other real musicians, and showed his senstive side. He didn't mention his [...] getting stuck deep inside anything even once. Everyone hated it, but I thought it was the best thing he's done since the 70s.

That is until Préliminaires came along. This album may even surpass the great Avenue B. But I have to listen a few more times to be certain.

Iggy employs some diverse ingedients on this album.

"King of the Dogs" is backed by some suprisingly authentic dixieland jazz. Satchmo shares a writing credit.

Iggy also tries his hand at bossanova and applies his trademark croon to Antonio Carlos Jobim's timeless chestnut "How Insensitive."

And just like Ave B had a searing cover of "Shaking All Over" for the rockers, Préliminaires includes "It's Nice To Be Dead" as it's sole asskicker.

I love the blues number "He's Dead She's Alive." The production is as rustic as some dusty old Blind Lemon Jefferson recording from the Mississippi delta. The acoustic guitar is so shrill and so raw--like my speakers somehow transformed into a shanty of rusty corregated iron. I don't know how that would actually sound, but imagine it would be real creaky.

The rest of the cuts are a bouillabaisse of French pop chanson old and new. Aromatic notes of Edith Piaf mingle with musty Air with an icy broth recalling both The Idiot and 80s Leonard Cohen. Mwah! C'est magnifique! It's a superb dish!

If there can be anything negative to say about this record, it would be about it's short length. It's only 36 minutes and two songs are performed twice in two different arrangments. But like they say, it ain't the size of your oar but the motion in the ocean. I think albums these days are too long anyway. In the vinyl era, albums were only 35-40 minutes and that was perfect. Besides, gourmet French cusine is always served in neat small portions with no filler. Brief is good. I don't need no forty hour Sandinista.

In conclusion, Préliminaires is Iggy's classiest, most mature record to date. He should explore this side of his music further. A man in his 60s can continue to be a howling shirtless wildman for only so long. This is the sound of Iggy finally growing old gracefully. Et ça sonne bien.

This record sounds nothing like anything Iggy has ever done before, yet it is amazing. I bought it because I have never heard an Iggy record that I haven't liked, and this simply blew me away. The record really shows how dynamic Iggy can be, breaking away from his classic and trailblazing punk sound. This record has a lot of a smooth jazz sound to it, with Iggy softly and poetically singing about different subjects. Yes, the hardcore, "I want to hear classic Iggy again, and again, on every record, while he's stabbing himself with a broken beer bottle" fans will probably strongly reject this album. However, to those people who can actually appreciate other forms of music, and a musician's ability to transcend into different genres or music (and do it well), this album will be hailed as some of Iggy's greatest work. A definite buy.

I purchased the collectors edition of this album Preliminaires (from Amazon.FR) after hearing the interview and reviews on All Things Considered. If you don't know what "All Things Considered" is, then you probably won't like this album. If you think Green Day or Alkaline Trio are actually punk, then you probably won't like any Iggy Pop albums.

Iggy Pop is all grown up, but not sold out. He didn't make one of those stupid cover albums of tired standards, trying to be the next Tony Bennett and failing miserably like Brian Ferry and Rod Stewart. (ick!)

No, the concept of this album is not only creative, but cohesive, it is grounded in the roots of someone who is dark, twisted, and sees things from other points of view. There is nothing sappy, sacrine, or silly about this record.

If you have an open mind, and enjoy a diverse collection of music, this album, or the collectors edition, are a must-have.

This isn't a jazz, blues, chanteuse, or roots album, but it combines elements of all those in an excellent collection of originals and covers, even one in French! Overall, the effort is brilliant in both ideas and execution.

You will hear more than electric guitar, drums and bass. I'm not sure what to call mixture of genres, but you can clearly see the attitude and energy of Iggy throughout the whole album.

It is beautiful, sad, full of life. Some songs are upbeat, others are pensive and thoughtful. I hear tinges of Tom Waits, Lenoard Cohen, and Nick Cave.

From the opening number, "Les Feuilles Mortes", sung in French with a slight cabaret feel to "She's a Business" which evokes clear influences of Tom Waits mixed with the beats and energy of the likes of "Nightclubbing".

In the middle of the album, "Nice To Be Dead" brings back the old Iggy we have come to known and love all these years. This track rocks as good as anything from the early years.

"A Machine for Loving" is like a flip-side to "I Want to be your Dog"-telling the story from a dog's point of view. It's sad and intense.

Basically, this album is an adventure, well worth the listen. If you are musically diverse, you will like this. If you wanted to hear more songs that sound just like "Raw Power" and "Nightclubbing", I encourage you to check it out, but understand you may be disappointed.

Iggy Pop new CD is possible his best. Like Leaonard Cohen, Tom Waits et al these old buggers just keep getting better. The French quarter sound and the use of the New Orleans Funeral Band add to the mood and highlight of Pop's now very gruff voice. Check out the King of the Dogs interactive video on You Tube while your at it.

Believe or not this is a jazzy one, deep, in some ways remind me Tom Waits. Good for Iggy, he can do anything...

I'm a late convert to Iggy Pop (a listener for only the past two years or so), so his music with the Stooges is relatively new to me. I bought Preliminaires because I love his more mature voice (shown to splendid effect on this CD's 'Autumn Leaves'); a bonus was discovering the sense of humor with which he regards himself (the lyrics of 'I Want to Go to the Beach,' for instance). Other attractions: the Dixieland flavor of 'King of the Dogs'; bass chord progressions -- and additional humor -- of 'She's a Business' (a darned fine 'driving song'). On the other hand, the emphasis on death gets a little old ('Spanish Coast' especially). Still, Iggy has certainly earned the right to have some fun while expressing himself musically in a very different way. I really enjoy listening to this album!

Okay this album is more interesting than great but for some reason I keep playing it over and over. It is sort of a cross between a Tom Waits cd and a Leonard Cohen cd. At least it has the pretensions of being like those great artists. Something is missing here and I am not certain what it is. Perhaps it is a certain sort of soul that those artists have that is not revealed here I can not say for sure. But regardless of whether it reaches that sort of height I keep playing it and enjoying it which is why I would recommend it and why I finally broke down and gave it four stars. This album is interesting and fun. It has the Gainsburg/Piaf style, Louis Armstrong horns, acoustic blues, and a playful love throughout of these and other sounds. Not since Tom Waits's 'Rain Dogs' cd have I heard as much eccleticism. It may not be as brilliant as that one but if you already own that one and you don't have this one...you might want to put your money down. As I think I said...

I keep playing it.

"Preliminaires",a blues/bossa nova/jazz album from Iggy Pop, the Godfather of Punk himself, may be the MOST interesting 2009 album. Iggy has made a concept album--based on the filming of a cult novel by a virtually unknown French author titled "Possibility of an Island." For a man who's famous for smearing his chest with peanut butter and rolling in broken glass, it's quite a leap. Iggy has gone from being PUNK ROCK to torch singing. With his earthy,world-weary voice,he sounds like the love child of Serge Gainsbourg and Leonard Cohen.

"Preliminaires" has some fascinating cuts. Iggy covers "Autumn Leaves" (the Nat King Cole song that was the theme for the Joan Crawford/Cliff Robertson cult movie),as well as a bossa nova song "How Insensitive." In keeping with his famous "I wanna be your dog",he sings about life from a canine perspective. On a couple of cuts,like "He's dead/She's alive",he lets his wild PUNK ROCK side out, but mostly his singing is nouvelle chanson. One can imagine him crooning in a smoke-filled Parisian club. His versatility shows. Unlike other nouvelle chanson singers such as Madeleine Peyroux, Iggy definitely does NOT cure insomnia.

"Preliminaires" is a delightful change of pace for jazz lovers (considering Diana Krall's recent-literal-sleeper) It's change you can believe in,and listen to. Considering the Iggy Pop biopic "The Passenger" that may or may not be released this year (it's been TALKED ABOUT for FOUR YEARS),this song is good for waiting. It's a preliminary indeed. It would make fun waiting room/call holding music. Iggy still PUNK ROCKS!

When you stop and think about it, Iggy and his various crews probably invented three quarters of the music formats we now listen to. I met the man, briefly, once, and we spoke of history. He is that amazing Zen character who can put into simple words the most complex thoughts.

I cannot praise this CD too highly. The lyrics are witty, incisive, and utterly without pretense. The music is exceptionally well written and recorded. (Iggy's blues guitar playing is exemplary.) His singing on this is reminiscent of Blah Blah Blah, which I thought was the most under-rated CD ever. I've read comparisons with Sinatra, and I think that's more about interpretation than technique.Both possessed/possess a great baritone. Yes, Iggy does indeed have technique.

The world-weary gravity of his voice propels a variety of genres here, though they all do fall within the realm of caberet jazz and the blues, which are more closely related than one might think. When you think of Iggy, you don't normally think "pretty," but these are often pretty compositions, albeit in dark tones rather than our usual commercial pastels.

I've given this CD to my punk rock friends, and they all love it, even though it is totally out of their genre. Ultimately, it's about the sincerity and quality of the work. If you like music in any manner, this is a CD for you. As with all great art, it transcends.

Oh yeah. There are dogs involved. So go buy Procol Harum's The Well's On Fire for another great dog song.

I don't know. I just love songs with dogs involved. Ar ooooo! Every dog must have its day.

Iggy has his here. Good work, dog.