Customer Reviews

Stooges

5 star:		(47)
4 star:		(20)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

This album still thrills me, lo these many years later. When Iggy barks at Ron Asheton to "tell 'em how I feel!" with the heavy emphasis on the "I", Asheton reels off into one of my favorite guitar solos of all time: desperate, fuzzed-out and wah-wah heavy, spiraling and spinning until you KNOW how Iggy feels!This stuff sounds utterly spontaneous, almost as if they made it up on the spot, which is probably not far from the truth. I saw these guys right after Fun House came out, and they were the loudest, most intense dada-like band imaginable. Sonic Youth later stole their act. If you like your rock and roll primal, this one is it. Ron Asheston steals the show from the Ig.

There is a good reason why this is a bit of a mish mash compared to Fun House and Raw Power. It would probably be pretty fair to say that this album was pretty much rushed together, and after reading some stuff here and there you may discover that the initial version of the album had a few less songs, and those there were significantly longer than they ended up here. Has anyone noticed that when the songs end on this album, the song is kind of still going, they just fade out? (even in a couple songs just as a solo is starting)? Ron Asheton has said, for example, that Ann, in it's initial version, was over 8 minutes long, and here it has been cut to less than 3. I really hope those tapes still exist and we'll get to hear them some day. Anyway, the record company didn't like it (usual reasons, not commerical enough), so according to Ron, Real Cool Time, Not Right and Little Doll were written in the space of about 3 hours, rehearsed once and recorded on the first take. This isn't bad stuff though, by any means. It's just when compared to the classics (I mean Fun House, Raw Power) that followed it, it comes up a little short.

We Will Fall gets a lot of criticism, clearly because it's so inaccessible and different to the rest. If you're in the right frame of mind and prepared for what it has to offer though, I think it's great. Lie down, close your eyes and take it all in and it's damn eerie and addictive.

There's not much else to add really. A lot of these reviews are recycling the same information, but it's all true (well the good bits are).

Amazing... One of the best records of all time. buy this and funhouse.. Quit your job, form a band and live your life.

When Iggy pop muttered his distain for the 60s at the beginning of this landmark album he perhaps was unaware of the angst ridden fetus he gave birth too. That child was punk rock, which has been so pillaged and diluted through the years that now it's a mere shell of it's primal self. However, in it's inception, it was a visceral, foaming, distortion soaked creature spewing the off key, blue collar pespective of troubled youth in Detriot. Envision incoherant, slurred vocals about loose woman, casual dope abuse and teenage shiftlessness and you have the stooge's debut album. The beauty about this ignored relic is it's simplicity.

In the late 60's while "La La" peace n' love hippie tunes dominated the west coast's music scene, in the cold and somewhat tumultuous Midwest a totally different sound was beginning to emanate. Particularly around Detroit, home of the MC5 and the Stooges. These bands, while it might be far fetched to call them outright "punk", where instrumental in punk's creation.
I don't quite consider these bands punk because there is a distinct element of bluesy rock n' roll that most punk bands of the 70's where trying to eschew. But the social outcast attitude, dirty guitar tones and smart-assed vocal stylings that would later be the hallmark of punk where definitely evident in these proto punk bands. The Stooges notoriety stems from the fact that they have one of the greatest frontmen of all time. Combining Mick Jagger's vocal swagger, Jim Morrison's ambiguous attitude, a hint of androgny(later emulated by David Bowie and Lou Reed, among others) and an amazing and energetic stage presence, Iggy definitely owns the Stooges. Coming in close behind is guitarist Ron Ashford, who's rusty-chain-being-dragged-through-a-dirt-road guitar stylings influenced countless 3 chorders to follow.
Stemming at 8 tracks, this isn't the Stooges finest work. That would either be Funhouse or Raw Power. But it's definitely recommended for those just wanting to touch onto the early proto punk scene. The summer boredom anthems 1969 and No Fun still speak the language of teenage life today. I Wanna Be Your Dog proudly displays what is perhaps the first grunge riff ever written. And the somewhat long but kinda hypnotic track We Will Fall proves that Iggy and his boys, as anti-hippie as they where, still could not resist injecting a little psychedelia in the mix.

A milestone album from a truly golden age of rock n' roll.

I believe that Iggy Pop, the Asheton brothers, and Dave Alexander invented punk rock with this album...The three chord songs and overtly immature lyrics are two elements that are still found in punk rock today (more than 30 years after the release of this album). This has led me to believe that this music is also timeless. I love everything on here and I can't pick a favorite song. The sombre "We Will Fall" has got to be the most obscure song I've ever heard Iggy sing, but it's a favorite of mine. The anthemic "I Wanna Be Your Dog" is one of the best songs on here. If you're into old punk rock, this is a must. Very influential and highly recommended to all...

Take the druggy strut of the Rolling Stones, the bizzare howl of avant garde jazz, a propelling bo diddley beat and douse with distortion. The resulting explosion is the first stooges record. Indispensable.

The Stooges had the spontanuity of Pharoh Sanders, the untamed cool of Charlie Parker, and the violent psychosis of a raging bull on acid, wrapped up into a Rock & Roll band consisting of four punk kids with nothin' to do but get laid. This album represents (along with the MC5's "Kick Out the Jams") Detroit 1969. A city that never recovered from a riot. Kids with long hair weren't "groovy" in the Midwest, they were considered freaks. On this record, Iggy crawls, howls from the bottom of his soul, claws out his own eyes in the true madness of 100watt Marshall electricity. 100watts is a sound that everyone should be subjected to once. Ron Asheton's fuzzed out guitar leads bend and curve, shape themselves into the long legs of a beautiful Cuban hooker, dancing in the center of the bar at five oclock in the morning. "Scott Asheton is a stone genius", Iggy Pop 1975, he is one of the greatest Rock & Roll drummers of all time. I'm curious about the introductory bass line on the last track (Little Doll), Dave Alexander sounds to me like he was listening to a good amount of jazz. It really is astonishing how four hick kids from Michigan could record an album, which equals Sgt. Peppers originality, and never have a billboard hit. I can just imagine the shock of the robot audience when The Stooges walked on to the stage and played the music that was so loud it would echo in the year 2000. Enjoy this album my friends, you're never going to hear another one like it.

Originally unleashed in 1969,as this self-titled was the Stooge's debut effort.Proto-punk with no compromise whatsoever.It's easy to tell that this Detroit band had many influences,just to name a few are The Troggs,Kingsmen,The Who,Yardbirds and especially The Doors.Tracks of this classic release I'm not likely to grow tired of soon are "1969",his signature piece(well,sort of)"I Wanna Be Your Dog"(I've heard this covered by several bands and NO one does plays it quite like Iggy does),"No Fun",the ten-minute slammin' "We Will Fall" and "Little Doll".Heard that another label had reissued this title as a Deluxe 2-CD pressing.Very nice.A must-have.

After reading all the other reviews I had to grab this, even though i already had the 2 CD deluxe edition from 2005, that this is based on.
I was not disappointed, even though this is more about the packaging than the music inside.
The Stooges Handmade album seems to be the 2005 remaster and a good part of CD 2 is also on the 2nd CD of the 2005 Elektra deluxe edition, but this is all about the complete Cale "Closet Mix" mix of the album. Some people seem to think the mastering by Rhino was flawwed, but if you know the history of the album, you know it was rejected by Elektra and now you get to hear why. The Cale mix cuts on the Elektra edition were pitch corrected and sound more lively, but it was studio trickery that did it, speeding up the tape to give it a more upbeat feel and make it closer to the released mix.
Now you get the original drone sound that Elektra refused to release in all it's sludgey glory.

If you are a Stogges fan you will enjoy hearing the original album and 2 completely different versions for comparison.