Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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39 of 44 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Outta My Mind On A Saturday Night, August 22, 2005
The other day, I heard the riff from "TV Eye" in a car ad. Times have indeed changed. Doesn't take more than 30 seconds to ruin a good song, does it? Atleast it was just the riff. I guess they needed the money.
So are the posers finally catching on, or is this brilliant piece of madness finally getting mainstream attention? Probably a little of both. I suppose Jack White's endorsement in the liner notes doesn't hurt matters either. In any case, it's about time this was given the reissue treatment. As always, Rhino has done a top notch job here. Sonically, it blows the low budget Electra releases away. And they kept the mix, which is more than you can say for Raw Power.
"Down In The Street" opens a vein of pure anarchy right from the start. And that's only the beginning. If Rock & Roll is all about sex & violence, then "Loose" is the poster child. The sound of repressed lust finally set free to wreak havoc on the unsuspecting world. A war cry for the sexual revolution, or just a tune about some crazy guy flashing chicks on the street? Either way, it's one of the best tracks on this album.
As for "TV Eye", guess it's about dropping acid & being stared at by your cat, but who really cares when you're hit with what Ron Ashton's delivering. Proof you don't need formal training to be a guitar god. Or hell, even know what you're doing. Things may mellow out a bit with the gorgeously sleazy dirge, "Dirt" but then "1970" kicks in. If there ever was a song about being "outta my mind on a Satuday night", this is it. Rumspringa from hell. Enough scorn & dersion to almost be a satire on Teenage Wasteland. Or drunken suburban brats everywhere. As for the title track, they emptied out the asylum here. A psycho jazz freak out, thanks to Steven McKay's manic sax.
Serious collectors & audiophiles can amuse themselves with the bonus disc of alterternate takes & there's even an unreleased gem in, "Lost In The Future".
Critics will tell you this is one of the most influential records of all time. Without a doubt, there would be no Ramones. No Clash. No Sex Pistols. No Nirvana. Not to mention hacks like Red Hot Chili Peppers. But leave all that for journalists to pontificate on. Virtually ignored at it's release, bargain binned through the years---I guess that's the price you pay for being ahead of your time. The reissue of their debut is just as essential. Simply one of the most explosive & unforgettable records you'll ever hear.
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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A modern American classic , August 16, 2005
A seminal album when it was first released but sadly overlooked. Jack White's notes in this cd reissue pretty much sum up the importance of this album . It defines American rock music -but still sounds years ahead of its time. There are numerous influences buried in here -Sun Ra, John Coltrane, [a hint of] blues, the Doors, Hendrix, Beefheart, etc- but this was, and remains, a unique album that actually sounds better with age. What really stuck me was how well the album flows. Although the Stooges were not particularly noted for their musical virtuosity (nothing wrong with that) these tracks had, by the time of the recording, been finely honed to perfection on the road. This also finds the band on the cusp of self-destruction but at their creative (substance fuelled) peak. Many of the vocals were live takes, but this is vital to the raw sound.
Overall, this is an incredibly powerful album and represents a real hybrid of the free- form acid drenched jamming of the last sixties, whilst looking forward to punk, new wave and grunge!
It would be wrong to use the term "deluxe edition" on a Stooges release! However it is worth mentioning the quality of this cd upgrade. On the second disk we get the cream of the long-deleted complete Funhouse sessions box set. The alternate takes are interesting and, if further proof was needed, confirm that the bad really were "in the zone" during these recording sessions. However it is the sonic upgrade on disc one that justifies the purchase. Rhino gernally do a great job on the remastering side but this is a huge leap from the previous cd version. And thankfully, polishing the sound has not in any way tampered with the original feel of Funhouse. A long overdue release and highly recommended to any rock fan (including Jack White).
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The ReMaster is worth it for the Second Disc., October 27, 2005
The Funhouse Album. Can it get much better than this? Apparently it can. I'm not one to buy reissues, remasters, and such. I have found that sometimes a remaster can be worse than the original! This is one remaster you're going to want to get, though.
The opening track of the Stooges' Funhouse album is "Down on the Street". Henry Rollins once described the driving rhythm that begins this album as a sound that makes a person want to either f[...] or fight, but you know something's going to happen. This album scares people. It is violent. It is sexy. It is everything that makes rock and roll worth listening to. An incredible mix of rock, protopunk, and even some free jazz to top it off.
So, why get the remaster? Honestly, my ears are not in tune enough to be able to tell a difference between this version of the album, and my old beat-up version. That being said, you need to buy this album for the incredible Second CD that it comes with. This album was recorded over several days in Los Angeles. Each day the band would focus on recording one new song live in the studio (something that was not very common then, with emerging advances in studio technology). Every song had several takes and many different versions throughout the day it was recorded.
The second disc consists of several of the alternate takes of the songs on the Funhouse album, and they are incredible. The new and unique interpretations of some of these songs are something any Stooges fan will want to hear. You might even end up liking the alternate versions more than the ones you are familiar with!
On top of the alternate takes, there are two new tracks, "Lost In The Future" and "Slide (Slidin' The Blues)". These are both great songs recorded in the same session, and they come out sounding incredibly clear (most stooges collectors know, tracks like that are hard to come by). If you are a long time Stooges fan, you need to pick up the remaster. If you don't own any version of this recording, what are you waiting for?
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by The Stooges 
