New Values

Released by Arista in April 1979, New Values is Iggy’s third solo album and the first that he made without David Bowie although, as reviewers acknowledged, his growth as a songwriter under Bowie’s tutelage is much in evidence.

Iggy’s principal collaborators this time were both former members of The Stooges, guitarist James Williamson and multi-instrumentalist Scott Thurston, and the album landed at a time when he was being widely feted as the father of punk rock.

The singles ‘I’m Bored’ and ‘Five Foot One’ were well chosen, classic Iggy material and ably supported by tunes like ‘Don’t Look Down’, which was covered by Bowie five years later, the synthassisted title track and minimalist musings like ‘How Do Ya Fix a Broken Part’ and ‘Tell Me A Story’.

As Paul Morley noted in the NME: “What we have here is James Osterberg in control…. New Values conclusively endorses Osterberg as thinker and Iggy as performer, and the relationship is positive and proud.”