Montreux Jazz Festival 2023 – Iggy Pop (Ear Music)

Live is where it’s at for Iggy, Always has been. These days, the tours aren’t as frequent and stage diving is out of the equation, but he remains a peerless live performer at age 77.  But yet another live album?  

The obligatory scene setter: This is a “greatest hits and deep cuts” show on which Ig is backed by a seven-piece band. The three-piece horn section includes Leron Thomas, who featured on the “Free” album, and Corey King, who plays with Mary Bilge.  Sarah Lipstate (aka soundscape guitarist Noveller and also from "Free") is on board with French foil Greg Fauque (handling the lion’s share of the lead breaks), as well as jazz pianist Florian Pellissier.

It's ain’t much good to Jim if it don’t have that swing, and drummer Tibo Brandalise obliges. If you’ll excuse some Australian vernacular that will likely be impenetrable outside these shores, he swings like an outdoor dunny door in a hurricane. French bassist Kenny Ruby lays down finger-picked rhythmic lines while throwing himself around the stage like the ghost of the late James Chance. 

With a horn section that hot, the arrangements give them lots of scope. In other words, they are all over these songs. If that's a problem for you, make your excuses and leave, now. This band is not, and will never be the Stooges. The guitars don’t have the Ron Asheton bluesy squall or the Strait James razor blade cut-through, but the band does the material justice by playing it in their own way. 

As seasoned players, Iggy’s band displays a vice-like grip on dynamics, taking songs down to a rumble at their frontman’s command and bringing them back up to a horns-laced cacophony. 

How it actually sounds to your ears will come down to format. In the words of the MC5, “you must choose, brothers and sisters, you must choose”,  because “Montreux” comes bundled as an audio CD and Blu-ray disc. Being 2025, of course it’s always coming at ya as a digital stream. 

First impressions count;  my initial listen on (lossless) Apple Music had me wondering how in fuck’s name did this end up with a bottom end that sounds like ill-defined mud? My Blu-ray uses an entry level sound bar and while watching the gig, Iggy’s vocal sounded compressed and gated, with the guitars thinner than a heroin chic fashion model’s wrist. 

Thankfully, these issues are addressed in the CD mix which is the best of the lot. And that’s good when you want to annoy your neighbours because Iggy drops more motherfucking fucks in the fucking course of this show than a fucking truckload of tradies at a post-work titty bar drinks session after they’ve racked up in the pub toliet. 

The set list is the usual Iggy Goes To Europe selection i.e. a couple from the then current album (“Frenzy”) with the rest career-spanning highlights. Which is to say nine of the 17 (18 on the Blue-ray) are Stooges tunes. The “deep cuts” are “Endless Sea” and (ho hum) “Mass Production”.  “Dog”, “The Passenger” and “Nightclubbing” (play it spooky”, the boss commands) work best. 

The march of time is apparent watching the Blu-ray with Iggy (understandably) anchored to the middle of the stage for much of the night with a stool behind him for occasional respite. There’s still a sense of irresistible energy in his performance which is something most, if not all, of his peers can’t claim. His one foray into the pit is less a dive than a dignified step down, but proves that you don’t need to break a bone or slice a vein to have commanding stage presence. 

It's for the fanboys and girls, but there's still something here for the unwashed masses to appreciate. 

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