Iggy Pop “Party” released 40 years ago today, June 1st, 1981. Party is Iggy’s fifth solo album and, to quote one reviewer, it’s “a bizarre train wreck of an album.” It didn’t do particularly well, going to just #166 on the US charts. It’s like he was trying to cash in on the new wave…wave of the early 80′s – it doesn’t work. He also apparently promised his label, Arista, a more commercial album (his ‘80 album Soldier also didn’t do very well but at least had the benefit of having David Bowie and Glen Matlock involved on that one). That didn’t work either. He released one single from Party: “Bang Bang” which went to #38 on the US Mainstream rock chart. Also not completely bad is “Pumpin’ for Jill” though the weird keyboard sound after the first verse does not work in what is otherwise a fairly decent straight-forward rock track. Iggy does two covers on Party – “Sea of Love” (originally by Phil Phillips, 1959) and “Time Won’t Let Me” (The Outsiders, 1966). The rest is just plain goofy, like “Happy Man,” “Rock and Roll Party” and “Eggs on Plate.”

Here’s the video for “Bang Bang” – Iggy doing Adam Ant doing Iggy with somewhat creepy girls dressed in bad white 80′s dresses. Total head-scratcher.