Iggy has a bad case of Old Rock Star-itis. When rockers get old, they

decide to mellow out and get reflective. This is not a bad thing, but the

problem is they want to share it with us! As if we really care!!! Hey, they are as guilty of idealizing their fans as we are of idolizing them.

And if we can get more good music out of their angst, the better for us. However, I do want to insist that I'm not making excuses for Mr. Pop. There's little excuse for this CD. Maybe he wants to be Leonard Cohen

("Miss Argentina"), or Lee Hazlewood ("Motorcycle"), or Don Byron ("I Felt The Luxury") since there's that jazz thing going here, with Medeski, Martin and Wood as the studio musicians. Maybe he secretly wants to be a lounge singer, like comedians secretly want to be Shakespearean actors. Or maybe it's me not being open minded enough to the Ig's new turn. Who knows? I'm just not getting it. Well, not all the tunes are weepers. "Corruption" has got a cool modern backbeat, and a psychedelic rendition of Johnny Kidd & The Pirates' "Shaking All Over" would make the Stooges proud. Iggy, I feel your pain, but can we move on here, please?

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