The Stooges - The Stooges
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Free Music Notes for The Stooges
Free Music Review: rock on
Hit: 5 Stars
Update- March 16, 2011
I've decided to update my rating to a perfect 5 stars because, to be totally honest, I didn't GET this album at first. I didn't really get the early and obvious influence of the punk rock movement this album would be responsible for, nor did I appreciate Iggy Pop's vocals.
Most importantly however, I didn't appreciate the 10-minute "We Will Fall". I must not have been paying close enough attention when I first heard it 10 years ago, because the wah wah pedals never even seemed noticeable to me back then, and the constant ominous chanting on the part of the background vocals that seemed to drag initially have actually improved *considerably* and make total sense when paying close enough attention to the lyrics. Excellent song that I completely didn't get at first, and I apologize for that. The atmosphere itself is another aspect of the song that floors me. I can't say I've ever experienced anything like it before. I do wish the viola didn't take so long to make an appearance though (all the way until the final minute). That thing is spooky as heck when it finally reveals itself.
Many of the other songs tend to blend together in my mind, such as "1969", "Little Doll" and perhaps the best of the bunch, "No Fun". These three songs in particular seem to be based on the same pattern but it's not a *bad* thing by any means. A lot of music out there blends together and it honestly doesn't matter in the slightest, especially when similarities are only noticeable when it concerns bands with their own unique style, which defines the Stooges.
Perhaps "Not Right" makes me think about the Ramones because the guitar riff alone is arguably more punk-ish than the rest of the album. If "Ann" is supposed to qualify as a ballad, well, all I can say is that it's one really twisted and bizarre ballad! Still, my favorite song just HAS to be "I Wanna Be Your Dog". Iggy's voice sounds pretty darn cool on this track, and he almost seems to imitate the guitar tone which is very very odd... and awesome.
Besides that, the guitar playing is honestly a tad thin compared to the tone the Stooges would have on their next two albums, and Iggy resembles Mick Jagger on several occasions, but besides these two minor setbacks, this album is pure classic without a single weak point if you ask me.
Free Music Review: A deal at twice the price!
Hit: 5 Stars
I purchased this CD (and Funhouse) primarily to give my modern stereo a work-out. Anyone who has the pre-remastered Stooges CDs knows how muddy the quality was on those past releases, especially compared to today's artists and their CDs.
Not only did Elektra do a phenomenal job remastering the tapes, they turned both albums into necessary collector's editions for any Stooges fan. In addition to a legendary album remastered and brought up to today's standards, you get a bonus disc full of unreleased material.
In the case of the self-titled debut, the bonus disc contains what would have been the Psychedelic Stooges' first album, had producer/Velvet Underground-er John Cale had his way. Cale's original mixes (too "arty," as explained in the liner notes) for "No Fun," "1969," "I Wanna Be Your Dog," and "Little Doll" are included; at their best, they're completely different songs from the versions we all know. "I Wanna Be Your Dog" is the stand-out, with Cale burying the guitar and bringing the piano and bells to the fore, creating something so familiar yet so different to what is probably the Stooges' most well-known song. Oh yeah, and the bonus tracks are all remastered, too.
Unlike the remastering job that Columbia did with Raw Power, Elektra kept the rawness and the energy intact and created a mix that sounds great. None of the overmodulation and distortion -- you can turn this mother up LOUD. A very clean mix that still manages to keep the volume, danger and intensity of America's greatest rock band. Ever.
Free Music Review: finally
Hit: 5 Stars
Heard this at a friend's house and ordered it that day. Up to now, I've only been able to listen to this on the original vinyl without puking--the Elektra CD is that bad. This remaster is very good: you can hear Iggy's voice and tell how young he is and you can hear the nuances in all the songs (which sound dull and repetitive on the Elektra CD). Maybe most important, they included all of Ron Asheton's guitar solos here, which makes this a must buy, even if you're a vinyl freak with the original in decent condition. And the John Cale mixes are interesting, much better in my opinion than most of the reviewers here say.
As to the album itself, if you don't know it, well . . . just listen to the Amazon sampler of "Now I wanna be your dog"--it'll only play you the instrumental lead in, which should be enough. I dare you to name a better, hotter lead than that, ever, except maybe Chuck Berry on "Johnny B. Good." Everybody talks about how the Stooges were punk before punk on this album and metal before metal on Raw Power and free jazz/rock fusion on Fun House, which was recorded before the Stones' Exile on Main Street. All true, but so what. Get this album (buy all three, actually) because the band was fantastic: hot, tight, powerful, as hard-core as it will ever get. You'll never hear anybody play or sing with more conviction than this. In the end that's what counts, and what should last.
Free Music Review: John Cale just didn't get rock and roll...
Hit: 5 Stars
...and it shows on his original mix on the second disc of this set. What he did get, however, was a disembodied sense of art house sound the Stooges could produce. Unlike Todd Rundgren's total savaging of the initial New York Dolls album, Cale at least has a sense of art and edge. The original mixes have a spooky spaciness that, while robbing the meat essence of the Stooge sound, delivers a fascinating portal into a new hearing of several of these songs. While the final approved Cale production is hardly the way the Stooges were meant to be heard (see Fun House), at least Ron Asheton's guitars are allowed to rise and shine. He wasn't going to give Ron the courtesy of a hearing on the first mixes, so thank the Holzman gods we got what we eventually got. And dig the extended cuts - Ann is an Asheton playground. Oh, that's what that song was all about! Play this whole thing loud. The Ramones did. And let's face it, there wouldn't be any Ramones without this Stooges album.Free Music Review: The Birth of Punk
Hit: 5 Stars
The Stooges invented punk not the Ramones not the Sex Pistols not the Dolls "The Stooges" plain and simple listen to 1969 the lyrics "Its another year for me and you another year with nothing to do" That's punk I don't care if it was years before they started calling it that the look the sound and the freakin attitude were what was later called punk.And I'll tell you plain and simple no-one made music like this in the late 60's early 70's every time I played it my landlords and the cops and most of my friends gave me a hard-time That being said and having bought numerous copies of this disc this is the best sounding version yet that and it comes with a bonus disc of other versions of the songs along with a really nice booklet.Listen to it loud listen to it often one finger in the air