Rob’s Album Of The Week: Iggy Pop’s Free

There’s a lot of things that can be said about Iggy Pop. He’s the “Godfather Of Punk” from his time as the lead singer The Stooges, he was a drugged out madman back in those days and he was also very much ahead of his time during the ’60s and ’70s. It’s a bold statement to say that he’s the most influential musician alive today, but it could very well be true. Lately he’s come from being the rambunctious wildman of yore to making his music into living, breathing art. His 18th album, Free, that came out on September 6 via Loma Vista Recordings is his latest installment that has him venturing towards jazzy tones and structures.

The main element that sticks out in the album is Leron Thomas’ sax playing. He adds triumphant doses of rhythm to make each song extraordinary in their own way. His presence alone makes Free very different than Pop’s previous release Post Pop Depression that came out in 2016. There’s still that art rock vibe but this time around the music is more expansive. Noveller, which is the solo project of the Brooklyn-based guitarist Sarah Lipstate, also lends an avant-garde tone to the entire record.

Only a few musicians can become artistic chameleons from decade to decade while maintaining their own identity. David Bowie did it, Tom Waits has done it and The Rolling Stones kind of do it. To be more contemporary, you can say that Alison…