What do you think of 'Party'

Of course, it includes one of his best, and probably his most personal track, 'Bang Bang', along with 'Pumpin' for Jill', and the cover of One for my Baby (not on original album). But it includes his worst track, 'Happy Man', with hilariously unnecessary brass by The Uptown Horns!

It's below average, it's his worst, even by Iggy standards, but It doesn't beat the badness known as 'The Weirdness', which also had a few good tracks ('The Weirdness', 'Passing Cloud', 'ATM').

are you kidding? "party" is AWESOME... rock n' roll party is a fuckin' ANTHEM... "where you gonna go tonight?" it should've been in the "best of" album, fo' sho'

"eggs on a plate", the "sea of love" cover... full of classics, deserves waaay more love

I always thought Party was horrendous - It's Iggy pretending to be commercially-viable Iggy. To be honest, the only Iggy solo I can listen to is New Values, and a little bit of Soldier. The Soldier demos are better than the actual album, though, because Steve New's (Stella Nova) guitar is still audible.

I thought it was horrendous too, at the time.
I thought it was the end - from new Values through Soldier and then this??!
What happened to The Stoooooooges??!


Of course now I really love it.

'I'm going to get a beer, but I will return my dear.'



In its own way it sounds as deranged as Zombie Birdhouse, although there's also some great great hooks.
Happy Man is so awful, you just have to laugh. I love it.

Party does include "Houston Is Hot Tonight" which seems to have entirely different (and much better) production values from everything else on that album. I love "Houston", a great dark busy mix of grinding guitars and the best use of brass on the album.
Much of Party isn't actually that bad, the title track, "Pumpin' For Jill" the whizzbang nonsense of "Time Won't Let Me" - all good fun. Just don't take this record too seriously.
"Happy Man" is really dreadful though...
Cheers,
R

adams66 wrote:

Just don't take this record too seriously.

What I've always said. Keep an open mind, and take it as a comedy-album.(Metallic Ko is funnier though)

It's a quality wise big let-down from Lust and Idiot, but still think it has more enjoyment than the albums in between and after. Lyrics is mostly very poor, production seem unstable, still it has something extra witch I think is very enjoyable.
Think it's the general mood on the album, switching between the dark and and the up-lifting.

Pleasure is what it is. Silly, but fun.
Rock And Roll Party is a stand-out. One of Iggy's best, and a such a good mood-lifter before a party.
Eggs On Plate has a great guitar riff on it, and a very catchy melody.
Sincerity is a sillier and funnier version of Pleasure
Houston is Hot, a slowly driving, moody song. Feels a little like a not-so-serious version Stones' "Miss You"(New York is hot tonight?), only with a guitar riff in the front of the sound. Got a dark, sweaty dancing floor feel to it.
Pumpin' For Jill - Very catchy song, if you ignore the silly lyrics.
Happy Man - No matter with witch rose-tinted glasses you see this song it's pure crap. Competes with "African Man" for worst every Iggy song.
Bang Bang is such a moody and extremely catchy song.
Sea Of Love is a beautiful ballad, very well sung. A little too slow and cute though.
Time Won't Let Me is all about light-hearted silly fun. In the same mould as Pleasure and Sincerity.

ChuckN wrote:

... Got a dark, sweaty dancing floor feel to it.

That's a good feeling! You sold me.

I'd like to hear Iggy do 'Happy Man' with what's left of the Stooges. He and JW could work up a little routine.








I really hope there's some new material soon.

woody wrote:

I'd like to hear Iggy do 'Happy Man' with what's left of the Stooges. He and JW could work up a little routine.
I really hope there's some new material soon.

Ha ha! That would be hilarious! Probably really awful, but hilarious nonetheless. They could do some little dance steps, kind of like the Shadows used to do, Iggy in the middle flanked by Watt and Williamson...
We are really desperate for new material aren't we??!!

Yeah. It's making me cranky.

woody wrote:

Yeah. It's making me cranky.

And afterwards, he decides to sing African Man along by Eat or be Eaten! That would leave me in tears!

I think I'd draw the line at African Man.

edit - although it might make a fun dance number if it was played as an instrumental.

The only good thing about being an iggy fan in those days was the albums hit the cutout bin about a week after they were released. Even so, I was so embarassed by the cover, I hid it in the middle of a couple of other 99 cent specials.

popmansam wrote:

The only good thing about being an iggy fan in those days was the albums hit the cutout bin about a week after they were released. Even so, I was so embarassed by the cover, I hid it in the middle of a couple of other 99 cent specials.

Well for a young fan with only a goodwill and a pawn shop to supply his vinyl addiction (where the goodwill has little to nothing (mainly orchestra and christmas records)), there is NO and I mean NO Iggy and The Stooges records in sight. I understand the Stooges' records being harder to find, but If I were you, I'd appreciate even finding an Iggy record, no matter how bad. Fans of Iggy that mainly listen to vinyl don't have it all very well...

very good album in any case,
r'n'r party is iggy's one of best ever..

ps
it's on my stereo car usually

i <3 Iggy's "happy man"

Ron Trashton wrote:

i <3 Iggy's "happy man"

Really? Well actually I'm glad someone likes it.
Just proves that we're all different, and that's a good thing.

ChuckN wrote:

adams66 wrote:

Just don't take this record too seriously.

What I've always said. Keep an open mind, and take it as a comedy-album.(Metallic Ko is funnier though)

It's a quality wise big let-down from Lust and Idiot, but still think it has more enjoyment than the albums in between and after. Lyrics is mostly very poor, production seem unstable, still it has something extra witch I think is very enjoyable.
Think it's the general mood on the album, switching between the dark and and the up-lifting.

Pleasure is what it is. Silly, but fun.
Rock And Roll Party is a stand-out. One of Iggy's best, and a such a good mood-lifter before a party.
Eggs On Plate has a great guitar riff on it, and a very catchy melody.
Sincerity is a sillier and funnier version of Pleasure
Houston is Hot, a slowly driving, moody song. Feels a little like a not-so-serious version Stones' "Miss You"(New York is hot tonight?), only with a guitar riff in the front of the sound. Got a dark, sweaty dancing floor feel to it.
Pumpin' For Jill - Very catchy song, if you ignore the silly lyrics.
Happy Man - No matter with witch rose-tinted glasses you see this song it's pure crap. Competes with "African Man" for worst every Iggy song.
Bang Bang is such a moody and extremely catchy song.
Sea Of Love is a beautiful ballad, very well sung. A little too slow and cute though.
Time Won't Let Me is all about light-hearted silly fun. In the same mould as Pleasure and Sincerity.

The above is a good summation, one I pretty much agree with.

I think some of the tracks worked live well too.

Yep Pumpin' for Jill is great but for some of the lyrics and Houston is Hot was damn good live.

Probably the best way to enjoy it, when I get time, is to do my own comp of the best tracks from New Values (great album, but even that has a couple of weak tracks), Soldier and this one, with a 'live side' or two thrown in (Iggy was great live from 1979-81 at times...he's been great live, period, but 79-81 he could be quite manic at times, *and* threw in a lot of unreleased tracks that didn't make these albums...some of them really good too...Joe and Billy, Puppet World, Flesh and Blood, Brakes On, the cover of I'm Alright, the live One for the Road (the studio version doesn't make it so much for me)....

As a postscript I'd say if anyone has doubts about the Party era material - and up to a point, that's understandable - I'd say check out the 19 June 1981 Torino gig...the audience went crazy for that one, and not that surprisingly, Iggy and his band were on fine form (and yes it did include quite a few numbers from 'Party')...