The Idiot
Iggy Pop
- LP
- Label
- Virgin
The Idiot is the debut solo album by American rock singer Iggy Pop. It was the first of two LPs released in 1977 which Pop wrote and recorded with David Bowie. As sessions for the album began before the recording of Bowie's Low (1977), The Idiot has been called the unofficial beginning of Bowie's Berlin period.
Described by Pop as "a cross between James Brown and Kraftwerk," The Idiot is musically a departure from the hard rock of his former band the Stooges, and has been compared with Bowie's "Berlin Trilogy" of albums in its electronic sounds and introspective atmosphere. Its title was inspired by Dostoyevsky's novel The Idiot, three of the participants in the recording—Bowie, Pop and Tony Visconti—being familiar with the book.
The album received critical praise upon release and is regarded by critics as one of Pop's best works, but is not generally considered representative of his output. The Idiot has been characterized as a major influence on subsequent post-punk, industrial, and gothic artists.
New 2017 edition for Europe. Black vinyl. Contains download card.