American Caesar (album)

Last updated
American Caesar
American Caesar (album) cover.jpg
Studio album by
ReleasedSeptember 1993
RecordedOctober 1992–February 1993
StudioKingsway Studio, New Orleans and Bearsville Studios, New York, United States
Genre
Length71:32
Label Virgin
Producer Malcolm Burn
Iggy Pop chronology
Brick by Brick
(1990)
American Caesar
(1993)
Naughty Little Doggie
(1996)

American Caesar is the tenth studio album by American rock singer Iggy Pop, released in September 1993 on Virgin Records.

Contents

Production

After the success of Brick by Brick , Pop opted to continue with that album's lyrical themes while toughening up the musical foundation. The album is often considered one of his stronger 1990s albums.[ citation needed ]

Videos were made for "Wild America" and "Beside You", and the album has a cover of the 1960s standard "Louie Louie" (made famous by The Kingsmen) for which Pop wrote his own set of politically fueled lyrics.

Release

The first single from the album, "Wild America", reached number 25 on Modern Rock Tracks on October 16, 1993, spending a total of three weeks in the charts. [3]


"Wild America" was featured in the 2006 video game Saints Row.

Musical style

In allusion to the sound of American Caesar, Stephen Thomas Erlewine proclaimed the record a "grungy detour". [2]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [4]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [5]
The Independent (favourable) [6]
Rolling Stone Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [7]
(The New) Rolling Stone Album Guide Star full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [8]

In a retrospective review, Mark Demming of AllMusic called the album "an overlooked masterpiece." [4]

Track listing

All tracks composed by Iggy Pop, except where noted.

  1. "Character" (Pop, Eric Schermerhorn) – 1:07
  2. "Wild America" (Pop, Schermerhorn) – 5:52
  3. "Mixin' the Colors" – 4:49
  4. "Jealousy" – 6:04
  5. "Hate" – 6:56
  6. "It's Our Love" – 4:09
  7. "Plastic & Concrete" – 2:55
  8. "Fuckin' Alone" (Pop, Eric Schermerhorn) – 4:56
  9. "Highway Song" – 3:44
  10. "Beside You" (Steve Jones, Pop) – 4:29
  11. "Sickness" – 3:15
  12. "Boogie Boy" – 4:53
  13. "Perforation Problems" – 3:15
  14. "Social Life" – 4:12
  15. "Louie Louie" (Richard Berry) – 3:47
  16. "Caesar" (Pop, Eric Schermerhorn) – 7:09
  17. "Girls of N.Y." – 4:15

B-sides and alternate versions

Personnel

Technical

Charts

Chart performance for American Caesar
Chart (1993)Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA) [9] 29
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria) [10] 35
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [11] 81
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [12] 64
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ) [13] 39
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan) [14] 2
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) [15] 35
UK Albums (OCC) [16] 43

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References

  1. American Caesar at AllMusic
  2. 1 2 Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Avenue B Iggy Pop | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic . Retrieved 7 April 2017.
  3. "Iggy Pop - Wild America". Billboard.
  4. 1 2 Demming, Mark. "Iggy Pop: American Caesar". allmusic.com. AllMusic.
  5. Larkin, Colin (2011). "Iggy Pop". The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th concise ed.). London: Omnibus Press. ISBN   978-0-85712-595-8.
  6. Gill, Andy (September 16, 1993). "ALBUMS / Return of the vox Pop: Andy Gill on Iggy Pop and the week's new releases". newsbank.com. The Independent. p. 31.
  7. Kemp, Mark (July 17, 1997). "American Caesar review". Rolling Stone .
  8. Coleman, Mark; Kemp, Rob (2004). "Iggy Pop". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). New York City: Simon & Schuster. pp.  645–646. ISBN   0-7432-0169-8.
  9. "Australiancharts.com – Iggy Pop – American Caesar". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 17, 2021.
  10. "Austriancharts.at – Iggy Pop – American Caesar" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 17, 2021.
  11. "Dutchcharts.nl – Iggy Pop – American Caesar" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 17, 2021.
  12. "Offiziellecharts.de – Iggy Pop – American Caesar" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved November 17, 2021.
  13. "Charts.nz – Iggy Pop – American Caesar". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 17, 2021.
  14. "Swedishcharts.com – Iggy Pop – American Caesar". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 17, 2021.
  15. "Swisscharts.com – Iggy Pop – American Caesar". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 17, 2021.
  16. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 17, 2021.