Iggy Pop has went too long without a comprehensive discography, especially considering the sheer weight of eir contributions to the state of current music. EMI has found this fact to be particularly fitting and really have hit a home-run with this disc. Now, there is nothing wrong with the collection of tracks – all the hits are there, whether it be “Raw Power”, “Lust For Life”, “Real Wild Child” or even the newer tracks “Mask” and “Skull Ring” .
Hell, even the incorporation of a few live tracks (TV Eye, Loose) makes this worthwhile, even to those completes who have every piece of Iggy memorabilia and music. The layout of the disc is intelligent as well, following some general idea of chronology and not just sticking the hits too closely together (which was a problem with the 2-disc Ramones set). To be honest, there aren’t the glaring omissions that are too prevalent on greatest hits compilation, even though Iggy’s career has spanned thirty-five or so years. Perhaps this is due to the fact that this second disc is present, and many of the “Greatest Hits” discs are confined to one disc. What I feel to be the most useful thing about “A Million In Prizes” is the sheer number of non-“hit” tracks present on the disc.
Individuals that might like “Lust For Life” after hearing it on the Carnival Cruise commercial can put on the disc and be inculcated into the entirety of the Pop world. With the chronology largely intact, one can hear the evolution of the Iggy Pop sound, with a little bit of weakness towards the most current track (the Sum 41-aided track “Skull Ring” feels a little bit too plastic to come from the mind that created “Raw Power”) throughout the years. The only thing that I could conceivably think of to make this compilation any stronger would have been a third disc compiling some video footage of the always-entertaining Iggy. While not all the performances included chickens or peanut butter, this inclusion would make the choice to buy this compilation ever the stronger. This album is essential for newbies that are trying to get into the music of Iggy Pop and it is a smart buy for the completists who do not already have copies of the two live tracks contained within. Not necessarily as strong as the aforementioned Ramones compilation, but still miles beyond anything that the majority of bands could cull together.
Top Tracks: TV Eye (Live), Lust For Life
Rating: 6.9/10
Iggy Pop – A Million In Prizes: The Anthology / 2005 EMI / 37 Tracks / http://www.iggypop.com / http://www.emi.com / Reviewed 03 July 2005