Beat 'Em Up

This article is about The Iggy Pop album. For the game genre, see Beat 'em up.
Beat 'Em Up
Studio album by Iggy Pop
Released June 18, 2001
Recorded Hit Factory Criteria Studios, Miami, Florida
Genre Hard rock,[1] punk rock
Length 72:27
Label Virgin
Producer Iggy Pop
Iggy Pop chronology

Avenue B
(1999)		 Beat 'Em Up
(2001)		 Skull Ring
(2003)

Beat 'Em Up, recorded at Hit Factory Criteria studios in Miami Beach, Florida, is the first Iggy Pop album in which The Trolls were credited. The Trolls were: Iggy Pop, Whitey Kirst, Pete Marshall, Alex Kirst, Lloyd 'Mooseman' Roberts.

Background

Beat 'Em Up was the first self-produced album by Iggy Pop. Art Collins, Pop's manager, said on the work: "I'm not saying this is another Raw Power, but if Raw Power is a true Iggy album, then this is another true Iggy album". He added there would be some "ranting on the album, some humor, some rock on it."[2]

Release

The album was released on June 18, 2001, and included as an unmentioned bonus the song acknowledged as "Sterility" on tour playlists,[3] featured right after "VIP". "Sterility" was a rhythmic rant, but not in the aggro-core vein of "Mask", "L.O.S.T", "Howl", or the title track. "Sterility" is about those who do disdain the current landscape of American popular music, and culture, and exemplifies Iggy Pop's ability to contemporize country music, blues and soul. Iggy asks "Where is the soul?" in "Mask", which is complemented in "Sterility" which answers that there isn't a home for the soul, or soul, in contemporary American culture or musics.

Reception and aftermath

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [4]
Pitchfork Media (2.5/10)[5]

"Mask" was included on the compilation A Million in Prizes: The Anthology. The murder by drive-by shooting of bassist Lloyd 'Mooseman' Roberts, a former member of Ice-T's Body Count and a member of The Trolls at the time of his death, postponed plans to tour, though "Mask" was performed to great effect on the Late Show with David Letterman, cementing Iggy's place as a rock favorite for people who disdain the current landscape of American popular music, regardless of genre, and the eventual Spring and Fall Beat 'Em Up tours were well received.

Track listing

All songs composed by Iggy Pop and Whitey Kirst, except where indicated.

  1. "Mask" (Iggy Pop, Lloyd "Mooseman" Roberts, Alex Kirst, Whitey Kirst) - 2:53
  2. "L.O.S.T." - 3:24
  3. "Howl" - 5:05
  4. "Football" - 3:52
  5. "Savior" - 4:37
  6. "Beat 'Em Up" - 4:26
  7. "Talking Snake" - 4:28
  8. "Jerk" - 3:44
  9. "Death is Certain" - 4:38
  10. "Go for the Throat" (Pop, Mooseman, Kirst, Kirst) - 3:56
  11. "Weasels" - 2:59
  12. "Drink New Blood" - 4:33
  13. "It's All Shit" - 4:57
  14. "Ugliness" - 5:37
  15. "V.I.P." (Pop, Mooseman, Kirst, Kirst) (includes bonus track "Sterility") - 13:11

B-sides and alternate versions

Personnel

The Trolls

References

  1. ↑ http://www.allmusic.com/album/beat-em-up-mw0000005388
  2. ↑ Iggy Pop: Beat Em Up Tour 2001
  3. ↑ Iggy Pop: Beat Em Up Tour 2001
  4. ↑ Allmusic review
  5. ↑ Pitchfork Media review