Customer Reviews

The Stooges: The Authorized and Illustrated Story

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Let me level with you. I have picked up a number of Stooges books over the years. The Stooges are musical heroes of mine and I guess I'm a bit obsessed with Iggy himself. I saw them in concert about two years ago, and have never seen a concert that compares to that in my life. I've seen a lot of concerts too. I have collected many "lost" Stooges albums and box sets. I have overpaid many times. I am telling you all this so you understand where I am coming from when I review this book. It is by far one of the better books on the Stooges around. The book is littered with pictures of the band with chapters written by fans. In Alice Cooper's forward he explains the first time he saw the Stooges and how they were unlike anything he had ever seen, a band of over the top theatrics and raw power. This is Alice Cooper, a man of over the top theatrics himself, and he is saying the Stooges were over the top. The book also utlizes quotes from the members to enhance the story (similarly to The Beatles anthology). The book is not written in this manner though. In addition, this books spanns the Stooges entire career. Starting in Ann Arbor with pictures of the boys hanging outside the Ashtons' house, and bringing us through today as the Stooges have reunited. Another plus to the book is the equal value placed on all members. I have read different biographies of the band that try to place blame on different memebers of the band for what happened. A lot of these books have been unkind to James Williamson also. Please Kill Me (a great book on punk music by Legs McNeil) quoted the Ashtons' sister as saying "James Williamson was like a dark cloud descending on the band." Did James Williamson play a hand in changing the sound of the band? Yes, but we went from the realms of madness with Funhouse to the raw power of the riff driven Raw Power. Give Williamson some credit for his amazing guitar playing. It's not that the book isn't honest about the troubles and problems in the band, it's that it spreads the blame equally amongst the members (when it's called for). If you've read all this, I appreciate it and I'm sure you know my opinion. If you are a Stooges fan, BUY THIS BOOK.

Straight to the point, there are only three books on the Stooges you NEED: Raw Power, I Need More and this one. If you only want one get this. The photos are great. If you've not heard much on the Stooges saga, that's covered too. I have seen about everything and heard everything since 1972 and this is the real deal. I even picked up a few tidbits and the discography was good too.A few pics were in CREEM but not so huge as they appear here. If you want petulant bickering pick up Grit, Noise + Revolution, if you want scabs and warts, try Wonderland Avenue. If you want a comprehensive look at the most powerful band ever to come out of Michigan (and chock full of rare photos), pick up this one.

This book is surprisingly large; truly a "coffee-table" book. The photographs are excellent beyond measure; many unseen and spanning the entire history of the The Stooges (pre-1968 through 2009). In that regard, nothing better has been published regarding this historic band. The book finishes with an excellent discography, featuring thumbnail images of the releases, which is really quite a nice touch (although track listings would have made it even better). Virtually every release, be it official or semi-bootleg is included; even Russian releases.

The text was a disappointment however. First off, there is very little actual text; mainly double-spaced essays. You can read the entire book in an hour. And there is very little in the way of revealing journalism here, but rather, the type of material you would read as promotional material on the back of an album. Yeah, yeah, I get it... a bad Stooges album is better than anyone else's... blah, blah, blah.

At one point, the author intentionally does not reveal the big "secret" held in Ron Asheton's room that caused the loss of a record contract. Having read what the secret was in another book, it is obvious the writer did not want to offend any of the band members as it reflected badly on the guitarist, but this is not good journalism. The "hip" style of writing also detracts from readability.

Overall, this book has to be highly-recommended for long-time fans and newcomers to The Stooges, if nothing else, for the best compilation of photographs of this band ever published, and again, the discography is also of value. Unfortunately, the actual text remains what it is: cool-guy conversational-style suck-ups, which is quite tedious and sheds little light on the subject at hand. The photographs are far more informative than the text... one picture speaks a 1,000 words.

This is a fantastic book. Very funny at times and goes pretty deep in the stooges story. I learned a lot about my favorite band. I'd highly recommend this book. Also the pictures are stunning. My only complaint is that it is very short. I was hoping this book would take me a long time to read but it ended up being a very quick read.

Fortunately for all fans of this band, there's only TWO books currently in print one need purchase, this one for the complete visual history and Paul Trynka's Open Up And Bleed for all the words to it, and with accuracy. Accept the former for its glorious documentation in assorted eras of technically deficient for stage light cameras and journeymen photography learners, along with spectacular studio sessions here and there plus copious professional results from Matheu, Mick Rock and about four or five others amidst a myriad of fascinating snapshots and other rare or previously unseen offerings from dozens more. Most all the iconic prints are right here in one volume, a real boon to recession budget-strapped fans. SO BUY IT ALREADY. It's thrilling to witness the band persisting to this day and to remind yourself that the vintage Iggy and The Stooges resembled veritable gods: I know, I too photographed them at the Whisky A Gogo, Hollywood, 1973.

ALL RIGHT. IT'S A COOL AND BEATIFUL ILUSTRATED BIOGRAPHY OF ONE OF THE BEST BANDS OF ROCK FOREVER. ALWAYS IT WILL BE IN MY HEART THE MASTERING AND WIZZARDRY OF ELECTRIC GUITAR OF RON ASHTON.