Iggy Pop - King Of The Dogs [Single]

EMI / Astralwerks

May 12, 2009, 10:35 AM

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The lead ‘single’ from Iggy’s new, and arguably experimental, solo record ‘Préliminaires’ is to be the jazztastic ‘King Of The Dogs’. The album was influenced by the novel ‘The Possibility of an Island’ by French author Michel Houellebecq; my review of it can be found at http://hangout.altsounds.com/reviews...res-album.html.

Radically different from anything on ‘Funhouse’ or indeed his usual comfort range of sleazy blues infused with Detroit garage, this two minute belter of a track relies upon a typical New Orleans jazz orchestration comprised of trumpet, clarinet and trombone (rock and roll, Iggy) which results in a cool, waltzing groove that still strives (and succeeds) in preserving Iggy’s sleazy timbre. Acording to the Popster, ‘King Of The Dogs’ is about a dog named Fox who contemplates “how cool it is to be a dog, and how much it beats human life.” Something that we can all relate to here then...

Despite the track being short, simple and sufficiently sonically rich, I really can’t see it working as a single, which is why I was hesitating about referring to it as one at the start of this review. Yes, King Of The Dogs is for me, a fantastic track that sees an artist who many would be quick to confine to restricted genres break out and make music in the good old fashioned natural way without having to worry about ‘target markets’, but it is difficult to envisage a scenario in which it will receive sufficient airplay to make it a success. Too jazzy for daytime radio and perhaps too ambitious for specialist media outlets, I fear that King of The Dogs will end up getting lost in the mix somewhere. However, this is not a great issue as I feel that the purpose for this release is simply to raise awareness of the record; which is an environment in which, King Of The Dogs is best enjoyed free from expectations along with eleven other ‘misfit’ tracks.

It could be argued that due to the unlikleyness of the track and the sheer courage that Iggy has shown by releasing a jazz single, is this perhaps the most punk thing that he has ever done?

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