Circus Magazine (May 12, 1977) Iggy Pop – The Idiot Album Review

A printed review from Circus Magazine dated May 12 1977, written by Wesley Strick, covering Iggy Pop’s album The Idiot (RCA Victor). The piece situates the record within Iggy’s post‑Stooges career and his collaboration with David Bowie, describing its dark, mechanised tone and morbid atmosphere. The review’s sharp prose captures the critical fascination with Iggy’s reinvention and the eerie minimalism of his new sound.

Writer: Wesley Strick

Publication: Circus Magazine (US)

Date: May 12 1977

Length: 1 column review

The review opens with a reference to Ray Manzarek’s 1974 invitation for Iggy Pop to front The Doors, noting that the partnership never materialised but that The Idiot feels like the album Jim Morrison might have made had he lived. Strick describes Iggy’s cadaverous vocals on “Sister Midnight” and his detached phrasing on “We learn dances, brand new dances / Like the nuclear bomb.” The review draws comparisons to Lou Reed’s Berlin and Bobby Pickett’s Monster Mash, emphasising the record’s death‑rattle vibrato and its sense of automated decay.

“The Idiot sounds like the album Jim Morrison might make today — having been stone dead six years.”

PUBLICATION

Publication: Circus Magazine (US)

Date: May 12 1977

Country: United States

Section / Pages: Album Review Column

Title: The Idiot — Iggy Pop (RCA Victor)

THE STORY BEHIND IT

The Idiot marked Iggy Pop’s creative rebirth after years of chaos, produced in collaboration with David Bowie during their Berlin sessions. The album’s industrial textures and bleak themes represented a departure from the raw energy of The Stooges, introducing a new aesthetic of controlled alienation. Wesley Strick’s review captures the critical reaction to this shift — a mixture of fascination and unease at Iggy’s mechanised persona and his haunting vocal delivery. The piece stands as a snapshot of how the rock press interpreted the emerging Berlin sound of the late 1970s.

FEATURE HIGHLIGHTS

Event: Album review for Iggy Pop’s The Idiot

Era: 1977 – Post‑Stooges and Berlin period

Tone: Analytical and macabre

Photography: Text‑only layout with bold header

Audience: US rock magazine readers and Iggy Pop fans

WHAT THE CLIPPING SHOWS

Event: Circus Magazine review of Iggy Pop’s The Idiot

Era: 1977

Tone: Dark and critical

Photography: Text‑only column layout

Audience: US music press readers and rock archivists

CONTEXT AND NOTES

The review appeared shortly after the release of The Idiot in March 1977, a record that would influence post‑punk and industrial music for years to come. Circus Magazine’s coverage reflects the period’s interest in artistic reinvention and the intersection of rock and avant‑garde production. Strick’s writing captures the album’s bleak humour and its echoes of Lou Reed and Jim Morrison, framing Iggy Pop as a survivor of rock’s decadent era now reborn in the shadow of Berlin.

“You’re shocked at Ig’s cadaverous overtones on ‘Sister Midnight,’ the opening cut.”

COPYRIGHT NOTICE

All magazine scans, photographs, and original text excerpts remain the property of their respective copyright holders. This Chronicle entry is a transformative, non‑commercial archival summary created for historical documentation and educational reference. No ownership of the original material is claimed or implied.

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