Heroin Hates You

Album Review

Iggy Pop has been the subject of many live CDs, all of varying quality. Many have been lo-fi audience recordings, while others are soundboard recordings. Heroin Hates You falls under the latter category. Taped live at the Stardust Ballroom in Los Angeles, toward the end of 1979, it was remastered and released on CD in 1997, with the sound quality being consistent for the most part. The show itself is your typical Iggy Pop show — inspired, out-of-control, and confrontational, with a 'punk all-star band' to back him up (which included original Sex Pistol Glen Matlock on bass and Damned guitarist Brian James). The best songs turn out to be the more well-known ones, such as "New Values," "T.V. Eye," "China Girl," "No Fun," and "I Wanna Be Your Dog," among others. And most of the newer material (at the time) is just as strong, "One for My Baby" and "5 Foot 1," which helps create the perfect balance between the well known and the lesser known. Although T.V. Eye (1977 Live) is probably the best live document of Iggy Pop, Heroin Hates You is one of the more interesting.