IGGY POP

INSTINCT

  1/  Cold Metal                                 (Osterberg)                   3.26
  2/  High On You                                (Osterberg)                   4.48
  3/  Strong Girl                                (Osterberg,Jones)             5.03
  4/  Tom Tom                                    (Osterberg)                   3.16
  5/  Easy Rider                                 (Osterberg,Jones)             4.53
  6/  Power & Freedom                            (Osterberg,Jones)             3.52
  7/  Lowdown                                    (Osterberg)                   4.29
  8/  Instinct                                   (Osterberg)                   4.12
  9/  Tuff Baby                                  (Osterberg)                   4.25
  10/ Squarehead                                 (Osterberg,Jones)             5.06

          Recorded at Sorcerer Sound, New York City 
          Vocals recorded at B.C. Studio, Brooklyn, New York
          Engineer at Sorcerer Sound: Robert Musso
          Assistant at Sorcerer Sound: Shawna Stone
          Engineer at B.C.: Martin Bisi
          Mixed at Platinum Island and Power Station
          Mix engineer at Platinum Island: Robert Musso
          Assistant at Platinum Island: Oz Fritz
          Mix engineer at Power Station: Jason Corsaro
          Assistant at Power Station: Don Rodenbach
          Produced by Bill Laswell
          Technician: Artie Smith
          Mastered by Howie Weinberg

Iggy Pop: vocals; Steve Jones: guitars; Seamus Beaghen: keyboards; Leigh Fox: bass; Paul Garisto: drums; Jeff Bova: keyboard programming; Nicky Skopelitis: CMI programming.

          1988 - A&M Records (USA), SP 5198 (Vinyl)
          1988 - A&M Records (UK), AMA 5198 (Vinyl)
          1988 - A&M Records (Canada), CD 5198/DX 3152 (CD)
          1988 - A&M Records (US), CD 5198 (CD)
          2013 - Music On Vinyl (Netherlands), MOVLP737 (Vinyl)

Note: Bill Laswell does not play on this album.

REVIEWS :

"Cold Metal," the first song on Instinct, opens with a solid blast of hard rock guitar, and after the overly slick pop of Blah Blah Blah and the arty miscalculations of Zombie Birdhouse, many Iggy Pop fans breathed a sigh of relief at the thought that Iggy was ready to sing some hard and fast rock & roll again. But as Steve Jones' turgid neo-metal guitar riffs begin to sink in (it's hard to believe these leads are being played by the guy who founded the Sex Pistols), it soon becomes obvious that while Iggy is trying to rock out on Instinct, his band is not doing an especially good job of it, sounding only marginally more enthusiastic than a typical second-tier arena rock outfit. And while Bill Laswell might have seemed like an inspired choice as producer after helming solid and idiosyncratic rock albums for Motörhead and Public Image Ltd., he doesn't draw much of interest from the musicians, and his sound has the dull, pre-fab sheen of any number of standard-issue hard rock albums. And though Iggy's in strong voice here, he appears to still be working his way through the formulaic lyrical mind set of Blah Blah Blah — Iggy doesn't seem to have much to say, and few interesting ways of saying it. While the first and last cuts on Instinct are enjoyable, most of what's in between is surprisingly faceless hard rock; it's a competent, well-crafted album, but the most dangerous man in rock & roll ought to be able to come up with a bit more than that.

2 stars out of 5

Mark Deming (courtesy of the All Music Guide website)