Iggy Pop Early Solo Albums Coming to Vinyl

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The first three solo albums by Iggy Pop—The Idiot, Lust for Life and TV Eye Live—will be released in new limited-edition colored-vinyl editions on June 2. All three titles feature their complete original cover art and will be available from UMe in standard black vinyl editions and also bundled together in a limited-edition-of-500 custom tote bag featuring the cover art of The Idiot on one side and Lust for Life on the other.

The albums, originally released between 1977 and 1978, marked Pop’s rebirth as a solo artist after the dissolution of his band the Stooges. They also marked a collaboration between Iggy and longtime admirer David Bowie, who produced, co-wrote and played on The Idiot and Lust for Life, and plays keyboards on TV Eye Live.

The three albums, according to a press release, “form a trilogy that remains a cornerstone of Iggy Pop’s album catalog. On The Idiot, such standout tunes as ‘Nightclubbing,’ ‘Funtime,’ ‘Dum Dum Boys’ and the original version of ‘China Girl’ (later an ’80s hit for Bowie) introduced listeners to a more cerebral, introspective Iggy, often substituting an understated sense of unease for the Stooges’ raw aural assault.”

Iggy’s “smiling face on the front cover of Lust for Life,” the release says, “signals the album’s more upbeat vibe than its predecessor, with such numbers as ‘The Passenger,’ ‘Success,’ ‘Tonight’ and the anthemic title track embodying the album’s swaggering essence and Iggy’s reenergized creative vision.”

Finally, it says, “In contrast with the focused studio craft of The Idiot and Lust for Life, TV Eye Live—drawn from four different 1977 U.S. shows with two different bands, one featuring Bowie on keyboards—captures the controlled chaos of Iggy’s raw live performances, with memorable versions of ‘Lust For Life,’ ‘Sixteen’ and ‘Nightclubbing,’ along with the Stooges standards ‘I Wanna Be Your Dog,’ ‘I Got a Right’ and ‘TV Eye.’”