Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A True Metal/Punk/Psychedelic/Rock/Jazz/Funk Masterpiece!, October 24, 1998
By A Customer
One of the greatest most influential albums of all time remains The Stooges Fun House. I'll admit, I was skeptical at first. But after listening these 7 songs became an important part of my life. They are so important they have remained Iggy Pop's biggest legend. Although Iggy is incredible, it is the drummer which for me, makes this album a classic. Just listen to that incredible break near the end of "TV Eye" where the drummer goes into that steady off center beat while Iggy repeats the main theme again. Genius! My favorite song however, remains "1970". Nothing takes you back to this era where everything was not Peace, Love, and Happiness. This brings you back to the 1970 of heroin addicts, campus riots, San Franciscan teenage runaways, the death of Jimi Hendrix, and the horror of Altamont. This song says it all in it's music and then Iggy repeats over a fuzz punk guitar, I Feel Alright. Listen to this album and be changed forever!
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13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
He Came To Play, January 6, 2002
This Fun House, like the carnival attractions it's named after, is fun but also scary and creepy and not all that wholesome. Back when I first got ahold of this album, on a French import label (late '70's, when all of the Stooges' stuff was out of print in the USA), I tended to spend most of my time on Side 1 (the first four songs, ending with Dirt.) Side 2 (1970 through LA Blues) were just *so* brutal, but when that certain mood hit, I didn't know of any other music that matched it so well. I've become more accustomed to dissonance since then, I guess. What we have here is an amazingly sharp, dense, harsh and muscular sonic attack that really doesn't sound like music from 30+ years ago, at least not to my ears. I don't listen to a lot of new hard rock but I'd like to hear someone outdo these tracks for sheer power in the same amount of time. The songs never drag, actually the whole album is remarkably well-paced. Down on the Street kicks things off with a menacing prowl, Loose kicks things into high gear, TV Eye hints at the craziness still to come, with Dirt providing a slow-burn, catch-your-breath centerpiece to the album, before the out'n'out cacaphony starts with 1970. Once the sax kicks in toward the latter half of that song, it's like the afterburners have been lit and there's no turning back for the rest of the disc. Words don't do it justice. Lyrically, there is some mystery about what exactly Iggy is trying to say but the message comes through in the various grunts, squeals and howls that he cuts loose, adding another cataclysmic instrument to the potent combo that alas only held together long enough to make two immortal albums (the previous Stooges debut and this one. Raw Power, also a classic, featured a different guitarist and a much different sound, despite the impact it made in solidifying Iggy's legend.) Essential...
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A triumph of the producer's art, April 11, 2003
I could repeat the words of dozens of reviewers and talk about how raw and visceral the performance here sounds. What amazes me about this record, by contrast, is how -good- it sounds.To talk down the musicianship of the Stooges as a point of punk orthodoxy seems beside the point when you listen to this record. The Stooges actually sound good here! The twin lead guitars that dominate the first half of the album do not sound sludgy at all, despite the heavy reliance on fuzztone and good old fashioned psychedelic wah-wah. They bubble and sizzle like a brain on drugs in a skillet; the wah-wah flares and trebles the sound at just the right moment. The rhythm section too is solid, and without it, this record would go nowhere fast. Iggy, likewise, knows exactly what he's doing. Though he seems at one point to be yelping like a mad dog, and at the next groaning like a psychedelic Frankenstein, his delivery is always well timed and right with the band. Given what everyone -says- about the Stooges, I have to wonder whether or not Mr. Gallucci deserves much of the credit here. This is one of the better engineered records of its time, with a sound that cuts like lasers. It is a remarkable performance regardless of who should get the credit.
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by The Stooges 
