*** Iggy Pop

KING BISCUIT FLOUR HOUR PRESENTS IGGY POP

(King Biscuit Flour Hour)

Anyone who's seen Pop perform in the '90s is probably familiar with the rather amusing sight of the now 50-year-old and pumped-up godfather of punk having to goad on his young, no-name backing band, in a largely hopeless attempt to get them to play harder, tougher, meaner. That's not the case on this high-quality live recording, which was taped for a King Biscuit Flour Hour radio broadcast at the now defunct Channel in Boston back on July 19, 1988. Coming off two solid discs that paired him with former Sex Pistol guitarslinger Steve Jones ('86's Blah Blah Blah and '88's Instinct), Pop had recruited a touring band with an instinctive feel for the raw power of his music -- Hanoi Rocks guitarist Andy McCoy, UK Subs bassist Alvin Gibbs, Psychedelic Furs drummer Paul Garristo, and Madness keyboardist Seamus Beaghen. "Let's do it, do it!", Iggy commands at the start of a furious 70-minute, 17-song set featuring his usual high-octane mix of Stooges "hits" ("Search And Destroy," "1969," "I Wanna Be Your Dog") and solo material ("Instinct," "Winners and Losers," "Cold Metal"). And that's all the urging these guys require. Although by no means essential, the King Biscuit recording is an ass-kicking reminder of some of the extraordinary things this particular five-foot-one-man can do with the right supporting cast.

-- Matt Ashare