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A Million in Prizes: The Anthology The Stooges were awesome. No doubt about it. Then Iggy went solo. And this may sound blasphemous to some, but right there is where I lose interest. After all, there are around a dozen Iggy Pop records floating out there that I've never meticulously sifted through, patiently listening, forgivingly, hoping to find the hidden gems. And I'm sure those hidden gems exist somewhere. But not here. In other words, A Million in Prizes,-- which takes its title from Iggy's post-Stooges hit "Lust for Life -- is a chronologically occurring, two-disc snapshot of Pop throughout the last few decades. But it still has a tendency to leave you wanting more, wishing it was more exhaustive. The first ten tracks all belong to The Stooges before and after the band came to be known as Iggy and the Stooges, which is -- of course -- fucking great. I love those songs, you love those songs, and so do our mothers. Sure, there are some who don't have them yet, but that's no excuse. Bottom line: If you love Iggy Pop, you should already own Funhouse, Raw Power, and The Stooges. In other words, skip the Anthology and get the original recordings. Unless they bring something new to the tables, anthologies as a rule are not really that necessary. That is, unless you find it necessary to own Iggy's version of Bowie's "China Girl" or his underwhelming team-up with Blondie's Debbie Harry on "Well Did You Evah!" (Which you shouldn't, by the way). There are 28 non-Stooges tracks on A Million in Prizes and the only ones that stick out like Iggy's ab muscles are "Lust for Life" and "The Passenger." Which explains why those excellent songs are blasted over the airwaves 24/7. There are some shining moments here, including two live versions of "TV Eye" and "Loose," performed at the Feile Festival in 1993. And while I'd rather preserve my memories of the originals, it's nice to hear Iggy giving those tracks another go nearly 30 years later. But, there's a reason Neil Young once wrote, "It's better to burn out than to fade away." Not that I'd want Iggy Pop to burn out, or even think he's capable of it: Check his work in Jarmusch films like Dead Man and Coffee and Cigarettes for more on that score. But when it comes to music, there's not much else you need from him than those brilliant Stooges albums and, most importantly, his original releases. A Million in Prizes is no million-dollar baby. -- Jeff Pearce | MASHUP: AUGUST MASHUP: JULY
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