Joan Wasser has revisited her 2006 debut with a new version of “Save Me” featuring Iggy Pop, recorded during a day off in New Zealand while she was touring as part of his band.
by Paul Cashmere
Joan As Police Woman has marked the 20th anniversary of her debut album Real Life with a new version of “Save Me” featuring Iggy Pop, with the recording taking place in a hotel room beside a pool in Taupō, New Zealand.
The collaboration is part of Real Life Evolution, a ten-track collection that reimagines songs from Joan Wasser’s 2006 debut with a new group of musicians and collaborators. The album is out through UK label Reveal Records, exactly two decades after Real Life introduced Joan As Police Woman as a solo project.
The story behind “Save Me” is particularly unusual. Wasser was already touring with Iggy Pop, playing Wurlitzer organ and providing vocals in his band, when the opportunity emerged to record his contribution.
“My friend’s reaction when I told them who sang this? ‘Iggy Fucking Pop’??” Wasser says. “And yes, I am lucky enough to have been able to record him in a professional studio in New Zealand, a hotel room next to the pool on a day off. Thank goodness for portable recording rigs.”
The recording was made at Studio 222 in Taupō, with additional work taking place at The Owl Music Parlor in Brooklyn. Adam Sachs handled the recording and mixing, while Wasser produced the track. Patrick Dillett mixed the final version at Reservoir Studios and Chris Gehringer mastered it at Sterling Sound.
For Wasser, the choice of Pop was connected to more than their touring relationship. She describes him as “one of the great romantics” and recalls becoming emotional during rehearsal for “The Passenger” after joining his band.
“His voice is simply one of the greatest of all time,” she says. “It holds a commanding masculinity alongside a profound connection to the full range of human experience.”
That quality, Wasser says, was what she heard in “Save Me”, a song she believed could accommodate the raw desperation she associates with Pop’s voice.
The new recording is accompanied by a Real Life Anniversary Sessions performance filmed at The Owl Music Parlor in Brooklyn by Ehud Lazin. Wasser performs with drummer Jeremy Gustin and guitarist Will Graefe, with Sachs recording the session.
“Save Me” is the latest in a series of anniversary performances connected to Real Life Evolution. Earlier sessions have revisited “Feed The Light”, “Eternal Flame”, “Flushed Chest”, “The Ride”, “Anyone”, “Real Life”, “I Defy” and “Christobel”.
The album also features Krystle Warren on “I Defy”. Wasser says Warren’s voice helped the song take on an entirely new character, while Graefe and Gustin contribute to several of the reworked arrangements.
Other musicians involved include Parker Kindred, Thomas Bartlett, Tony Scherr, Oren Bloedow and Danny Blume. Bartlett, in particular, brought a new approach to “Real Life”, retaining the emotional foundation of the original while adding what Wasser describes as a warmer quality through Rhodes bass.
The project also reconnects Wasser with musicians who played important roles around the original album. Tony Scherr, Oren Bloedow and Danny Blume return to the wider musical world of Real Life, now heard through arrangements shaped by two decades of performance and experience.
Since forming Joan As Police Woman in 2004, Wasser has released ten albums of original material, two albums of covers and an anthology. Her work has also included collaborations and performances with artists including Lou Reed, Anohni & The Johnsons, Meshell Ndegeocello, Rufus Wainwright, John Cale, David Byrne, Beck, Laurie Anderson, Damon Albarn and Gorillaz.
Real Life Evolution offers a direct link between that early catalogue and Wasser’s current musical identity. Rather than simply reproducing the 2006 recordings, the project places familiar songs into new arrangements and gives them different voices, textures and instrumental settings.
Joan As Police Woman will continue the Real Life anniversary project with a European tour beginning in November 2026 and continuing into February 2027.
November 5, London, UK, Union Chapel
November 6, London, UK, Union Chapel
November 7, Manchester, UK, RNCM (Royal Northern College of Music)
November 9, Glasgow, UK, Oran Mor
November 11, Brugge, Belgium, Cactus Club
November 12, Amsterdam, Netherlands, Zonnehuis (sold out)
November 13, Hamburg, Germany, Mojo Club
November 15, Aarhus, Denmark, Train
November 16, Copenhagen, Denmark, DR Concert Hall
November 18, Budapest, Hungary, House of Music Hungary
November 22, Berlin, Germany, Haus des Rundfunks & Großer Sendesaal
February 12, Paris, France, Alhambra
February 14, Amsterdam, Netherlands, Zonnehuis
February 16, Bremen, Germany, Kulturzentrum Radio Bremen
February 17, Heidelberg, Germany, Kulturhaus Karlstorbahnhof
February 19, Schorndorf, Germany, Club Manufaktur
February 21, Brighton, UK, Komedia
February 22, Cambridge, UK, Cambridge Junction (J2)
February 23, Norwich, UK, Norwich Arts Centre
February 24, Leeds, UK, Howard Assembly Room
February 26, Bologna, Italy, Estragon Club
February 27, Milan, Italy, Santeria Toscana 31
Real Life Evolution Tracklisting
Anyone (Real Life Evolution Version)
Flushed Chest (Real Life Evolution Version)
The Ride (Real Life Evolution Version)
I Defy feat. Krystle Warren (Real Life Evolution Version)
Feed The Light (Real Life Evolution Version)
Christobel (Real Life Evolution Version)
Save Me feat. Iggy Pop (Real Life Evolution Version)
We Don’t Own It (Real Life Evolution Version)
Eternal Flame (Real Life Evolution Version)
Real Life (Real Life Evolution Version)
Stay updated with your free Noise11.com daily music news email alert. Subscribe to Noise11 Music News here
Be the first to see NOISE11.com’s newest interviews and special features on YouTube. See things first-Subscribe to Noise11 on YouTube
Follow Noise11.com on social media:
Facebook – Comment on the news of the day
