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15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
The legend of the Iguana, August 11, 2005
After 35 years, Iggy Pop gets a double disc anthology. While far from essential (I mean the man has what, over a gazillion albums?), it is a great starting point for anyone who wonders what the real thing sounds like when it comes to rock.
The first disc confirms this. With some blisteringly remastered Stooges cuts (can't wait for those re-issues!), songs like "Search and Destroy" or "I'm Sick Of You" show exactly what John Lydon and Malcolm MacLaren were hunching over when dreaming up the Sex Pistols. There is a terrifying amount of energy that blasts from those first ten songs, and you can hear the inspiration for everyone from the Ramones to Billy Idol, not to mention eventual cohort David Bowie, who nurtured Iggy through such classic songs as "China Girl," "Nightclubbing" and "Lust For Life."
The second disc is still great, but much spottier. The Arista tenure gets represented by a mere 3 songs, and the quality runs all over the map. A&M obviously saw Iggy as a star, and then tried packaging him. It did pop out some memorable songs, like "Real Wild Child" and "Cry For Love," but somewhat neutered his impact. Almost to prove he could mainstream it with the best of them, an almost unrecognizable Iggy recorded a hit single with B-52's Kate Piersen ("Candy" the sole Top 40 record of his career) for his stunning and consistent Virgin album "Brick By Brick."
The two new live tracks are defiantly worth the price of admission, and the remaining tracks are the best from each of his remaining albums. It also contains the meditative "Look Away," one of Iggy's few ballad moments. Getting the title track from "Skull Ring" is a nice touch, completing the circle by reuniting Iggy with the Ashton Brothers (and if you don't have that album, it's worth the bucks). "A Million In Prizes" is a long overdue honoring of Iggy's input and influence.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
He's a real wild child., September 19, 2005
Many other bands get the credit for the invent of punk (Ramones), and others for the invent of glam (Bowie), but you've got to give it to Iggy and the Stooges as well. Every time I see a kid with a Ramones shirt on, I wonder what the chances are that they've ever heard the "Fun House" album. Anyway, this is a great collection for those who needed more Iggy than what was on "Nude & Rude". One thing I often wonder, is why not just a Stooges collection? Or looking at "A Million In Prizes", why not all of disc one Stooges, and disc two just Iggy? No big deal though. A quarter of this collection is Stooges tracks. More would be nice, and I'd prefer the studio versions of "TV Eye" and "Loose" also. Iggy wise, most of the good stuff is here, and this includes everything that was on his last collection and then some. Despite minor complaints, this is an excellent and lengthy anthology at 38 tracks, and a good purchase for anybody with a "Lust For Life".
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Disc One -- Indispensable; Disc Two--Dullsville, November 9, 2006
"A Million in Prizes," like other two-disc compilations by acts like The Fall, Devo and The Damned, features an essential first disc with Iggy Pop at the peak of his powers (with the Stooges, James Williamson and David Bowie). Featuring remastered versions of the Stooges best songs plus the remixed songs from "Raw Power," this stuff is blood-curdling, head-banging rock n' roll of the highest caliber. Topping it off are newly cleaned up versions of Iggy's pre-hardcore classics "I Got a Right," "Gimme Some Skin" and "I'm Sick of You." This material is followed by the best songs from his first and best two solo albums, "The Idiot" and "Lust for Life." Once again an improvement over "Nude and Rude," the previous official Iggy best-of, this disc features "Success," a wonderful, unheralded cut from the latter album. Then ... there's disc two. It starts off solidly with a holdover from "Lust for Life," "Some Weird Sin," and the best cut off his underrated "New Values" album, "I'm Bored." Even "I Need More" is listenable, as Iggy's voice is still thunderous and convincing. After that, however, Iggy's records fall victim to bad 80s production and a seeming complacency on his part. "Real Wild Child (Wild One)" represents Iggy at his most commercial ... something akin to David Bowie's "Let's Dance" album, only much less satisfying. Despite the dropoff in quality, Iggy's energy and commitment to musicmaking is praiseworthy, making "A Million in Prizes" an essential part of any respectable music fan's collection.
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by Iggy Pop 
