Kill City, by Iggy Pop and James Williamson

Was he really kickin' his habit? Although KC was cranked out during interludes from the nut house he was thrown into for heroin fixation, Pop's ferocious as ever (possibly fortified by the coke David Bowie is rumored to have snuck in for his pal) on this long-anticipated remaster/mix. But depressed? Hell, yeah. "Lucky Monkeys" is a you-can't-win-for-losin' rant. "Beyond the Law" mirrors the tantrum-ish frustration Pop admired in Jim Morrison. And love is no refuge: wailing saxes and a strutting progression support the love/hate/addiction howls of "Johanna."

We're not talking about the jaw-dropping grit of Stooges classics "Gimme Danger" and "I Wanna Be Your Dog" or the in-your-face shimmer of "The Passenger" or "Lust for Life." But, as wannabe catwalkers are encouraged to do through the NTM franchise, Iggy attained "brand" status decades ago. Rockers jonesing for freshly minted Iggy probably won't hear the similarity between the title track's intro and Elton John's "Saturday Night," or care that "Consolation Prizes" could be a one-off with the Stones. Only historians are likely to be interested in the way "Sell Your Love" holds strands from Pop's musical family tree in both directions (Bowie, Mott the Hoople, Sonic Youth). Fans blasting KC from car stereos are just making it harder for errant texters to focus on traffic signals.

• Album: Kill City (Restored, remixed, remastered, 2010)
• Artist: Iggy Pop and James Williamson
• Label: Alive Records
• Songs: (1) Kill City (2) Sell Your Love (3) Beyond the Law (4) I Got Nothin' (5) Johanna (6) Night Theme (7) Night Theme (Reprise) (8) Consolation Prizes (9) No Sense of Crime (10) Lucky Monkeys (11) Master Charge