The Stooges | ||
| Allmusic Biography : During the psychedelic haze of the late 60s, the grimy, noisy, and relentlessly bleak rock & roll of the Stooges was conspicuously out of time. Like the Velvet Underground, the Stooges revealed the underside of sex, drugs, and rock & roll, showing all of the grime beneath the myth. The Stooges, however, werent nearly as cerebral as the Velvets. Taking their cue from the over-amplified pounding of British blues, the primal raunch of American garage rock, and the psychedelic rock (as well as the audience-baiting) of the Doors, the Stooges were raw, immediate, and vulgar. Iggy Pop became notorious for performing smeared in blood or peanut butter and diving into the audience. Ron and Scott Asheton formed a ridiculously primitive rhythm section, pounding out chords with no finesse -- in essence, the Stooges were the first rock & roll band completely stripped of the swinging beat that epitomized R&B; and early rock & roll. During the late 60s and early 70s, the group was an underground sensation, yet the band was too weird, too dangerous to break into the mainstream. Following three albums, the Stooges disbanded, but the groups legacy grew over the next two decades, as legions of underground bands used their sludgy grind as a foundation for a variety of indie rock styles, and as Iggy Pop became a pop culture icon. After playing in several local bands in Ann Arbor, Michigan, including the blues band the Prime Movers and the Iguanas, Iggy Pop (born James Osterberg) formed the Stooges in 1967 after witnessing a Doors concert on the University of Michigan campus. Adopting the name Iggy Stooge, he rounded up brothers Ron and Scott Asheton (guitar and drums, respectively) and bassist Dave Alexander, and the group debuted at a house party in 1967. For the next year, the group played the Midwest relentlessly, earning a reputation for wild, primitive performances, which were largely reviled. In particular, Iggy gained attention for his bizarre on-stage behavior. Performing shirtless, he would smear steaks and peanut butter on his body, cut himself with glass, and dive into the audience. The Stooges were infamous, not famous -- while they had a rabidly devoted core audience, even more people detested their shock tactics. Nevertheless, the group lucked into a major-label record contract in 1968 when an Elektra talent scout went to Detroit to see the MC5 and wound up signing their opening act, the Stooges, as well. Produced by John Cale, the Stooges primitive eponymous debut was released in 1969, and while it generated some attention in the underground press, it barely sold any copies. During the recording of the Stooges second album, members of the band were introduced to heroin, which quickly took a heavy toll on the group. As the Stooges prepared to release their sophomore album, every member sank deeper into substance abuse (except for Ron Asheton, who became increasingly frustrated with his bandmates as instruments and gear were pawned to pay for drugs), and their excess eventually surfaced in their concerts, not only through Iggys antics, but also in the fact that the band could barely keep a simple, two-chord riff afloat. Fun House, an atonal barrage of avant noise, appeared in 1970 and, if it was even noticed, it earned generally negative reviews and sold even fewer copies than the debut, though it was belatedly hailed as a masterpiece. Following the commercial failure of Fun House, the Stooges essentially disintegrated, as Iggy sank deep into heroin addiction. At first, he did try to keep the Stooges afloat. Dave Alexander was fired after a lackluster performance at the 1970 Goose Lake Rock Festival, and Zeke Zettner took his place. In 1971, a new lineup of the Stooges emerged, with Ron Asheton and Bill Cheatham sharing duties on guitar, Zettner on bass, Scott Asheton on drums, and Iggy on vocals. Several months later, Cheatham and Zettner quit the band, and James Williamson became the new Stooges guitarist, while Jimmy Recca joined as bassist. While live recordings exist of the Asheton/Williamson lineup, they never went into the studio, and for a spell the Stooges went dormant. Early in 1972, Pop happened to run into David Bowie, then at the height of his Ziggy Stardust popularity and an avowed Stooges fan. Bowie made it his mission to resuscitate Iggy & the Stooges, as the band was then billed. Iggy and Williamson were signed to a management deal with MainMan, the firm guiding Bowies career, and the new edition of the band scored a deal with Columbia Records. Temporarily based in London and unable to find a suitable rhythm section in the U.K., Iggy and Williamson invited the Asheton brothers to join the new group, with Scott on drums and Ron moved to bass. Iggy produced the third Stooges album, Raw Power, and Bowie handled the mix. Released in 1973 to surprisingly strong reviews, Raw Power had a weird, thin sound due to various technical problems. Although this would be the cause of much controversy later on -- many Stooges purists blamed Bowie for the brittle mix -- its razor-thin audio and fierce attack helped kick-start the punk revolution. At the time, however, Raw Power flopped, essentially bringing the Stooges career to a halt, with the bands disastrous final gig in Detroit in February 1974 captured on the live album Metallic K.O. In 1976, Bowie once again came to Iggys rescue, helping him establish himself as a solo act by producing the albums The Idiot and Lust for Life, and playing keyboards in Iggys road band. In time, Iggy established an international following as one of rocks great renegades, but the other Stooges didnt fare quite as well. Dave Alexander died of pneumonia in 1975, aggravated by an inflamed pancreas. James Williamson returned to Iggys circle as a songwriter and producer on the albums New Values (1979) and Soldier (1980), but in the 80s he dropped out of music and began a successful career in electronics. Ron Asheton launched a band called the New Order (no relation to the successful British group), but it didnt fare well and soon split up. In 1981, Ron Asheton was recruited to join New Race, a short-lived side project formed by Radio Birdman guitarist Deniz Tek that also featured MC5 drummer Dennis Thompson and Radio Birdman alumni Rob Younger and Warwick Gilbert. However, the group (as intended) split after a single Australian tour and album. After returning to Michigan, Ron gigged periodically with Destroy All Monsters and Dark Carnival, acted in a handful of low-budget films, and in 1998 he recorded with the ad hoc band Wylde Ratttz, featuring Thurston Moore and Steve Shelley of Sonic Youth, Mark Arm from Mudhoney, and Mike Watt, ex-Minutemen and fIREHOSE. Wylde Ratttzs cover of "TV Eye" appeared on the soundtrack of the film Velvet Goldmine, but the groups album remained unreleased. Following the Stooges breakup, Scott Asheton played with a few local groups in Detroit before joining Sonics Rendezvous Band in 1974, with Fred "Sonic" Smith of the MC5, Scott Morgan of the Rationals, and Gary Rasmussen of the Up; the band earned a potent reputation as a live act, but record labels were wary and the group slowly faded out by the end of the decade. In 2002, Ron Asheton and Scott Asheton joined J Mascis + the Fog for a tour in which they performed a handful of Stooges classics from the groups first two albums. The shows were enthusiastically received, especially in Europe, and word got back to Iggy Pop, who had been talking with Ron Asheton on and off for several years about a possible Stooges reunion. In 2003, Iggy was recording the album Skull Ring, which featured contributions from a number of noteworthy bands, and he decided to add the Stooges to the roster; the Asheton brothers backed Iggy on four cuts (with Ron handling both guitar and bass), and on April 27, 2003, the Stooges played their first concert in 30 years at Californias Coachella festival, with Mike Watt sitting in for the late Dave Alexander. The reunited Stooges began hitting the road on a semi-regular basis for the next three years, playing major festivals in Europe and the United States, and in the fall of 2006 the group entered Electrical Audio Studio in Chicago, Illinois with engineer Steve Albini to record The Weirdness, an album culled from 22 new songs written by Pop and the Ashetons. The Weirdness was released in March 2007, followed by a major world tour. The Weirdness was greeted with mixed reviews but the accompanying tour was warmly received. Sadly, Ron Asheton was found dead in his Ann Arbor home on January 6, 2009. By May of that year, Iggy began talking about continuing the Stooges with Raw Power-era guitarist James Williamson replacing Ron. In November of 2009, this newly revamped Stooges debuted, and they kept going strong into the new millennium, beginning with their 2010 induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, running through a deluxe 2010 reissue of Raw Power, and continuing into 2013, when the Williamson-fueled Stooges released a new album called Ready to Die in April. Scott Asheton played on Ready to Die, but he soon dropped out of the Stooges touring lineup due to health problems, with Toby Dammit (aka Larry Mullins) taking over on drums. Sadly, Ready to Die would be Scott Ashetons last hurrah; he died on March 15, 2014. | ||
 | Album: 1 of 16 Title: The Stooges Released: 1969-08-05 Tracks: 8 Duration: 34:36 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 1969 (04:06) 2 I Wanna Be Your Dog (03:09) 3 We Will Fall (10:18) 4 No Fun (05:15) 5 Real Cool Time (02:32) 6 Ann (02:59) 7 Not Right (02:51) 8 Little Doll (03:22) |
| The Stooges : Allmusic album Review : While the Stooges had a few obvious points of influence -- the swagger of the early Rolling Stones, the horny pound of the Troggs, the fuzztone sneer of a thousand teenage garage bands, and the Velvet Undergrounds experimental eagerness to leap into the void -- they didnt really sound like anyone else around when their first album hit the streets in 1969. Its hard to say if Ron Asheton, Scott Asheton, Dave Alexander, and the man then known as Iggy Stooge were capable of making anything more sophisticated than this, but if they were, they werent letting on, and the best moments of this record document the blithering inarticulate fury of the post-adolescent id. Ron Ashetons guitar runs (fortified with bracing use of fuzztone and wah-wah) are so brutal and concise they achieve a naïve genius, while Scott Ashetons proto-Bo Diddley drums and Dave Alexanders solid bass stomp these tunes into submission with a force that inspires awe. And Iggys vividly blank vocals fill the "so what?" shrug of a thousand teenagers with a wealth of palpable arrogance and wondrous confusion. One of the problems with being a trailblazing pioneer is making yourself understood to others, and while John Cale seemed sympathetic to what the band was doing, he didnt appear to quite get it, and as a result he made a physically powerful band sound a bit sluggish on tape. But "1969," "I Wanna Be Your Dog," "Real Cool Time," "No Fun," and other classic rippers are on board, and one listen reveals why they became clarion calls in the punk rock revolution. Part of the fun of The Stooges is, then as now, the band managed the difficult feat of sounding ahead of their time and entirely out of their time, all at once. | ||
 | Album: 2 of 16 Title: Fun House Released: 1970-12 Tracks: 7 Duration: 36:29 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Down on the Street (03:43) 2 Loose (03:34) 3 T.V. Eye (04:17) 4 Dirt (07:00) 5 1970 (05:14) 6 Fun House (07:45) 7 L.A. Blues (04:53) |
| Fun House : Allmusic album Review : The Stooges first album was produced by a classically trained composer; their second was supervised by the former keyboard player with the Kingsmen, and if that didnt make all the difference, it at least indicates why Fun House was a step in the right direction. Producer Don Gallucci took the approach that the Stooges were a powerhouse live band, and their best bet was to recreate the bands live set with as little fuss as possible. As a result, the production on Fun House bears some resemblance to the Kingsmens version of "Louie Louie" -- the sound is smeary and bleeds all over the place, but it packs the low-tech wallop of a concert pumped through a big PA, bursting with energy and immediacy. The Stooges were also a much stronger band this time out; Ron Ashetons blazing minimalist guitar gained little in the way of technique since The Stooges, but his confidence had grown by a quantum leap as he summoned forth the sounds that would make him the hero of proto-punk guitarists everywhere, and the brutal pound of drummer Scott Asheton and bassist Dave Alexander had grown to heavyweight champion status. And Fun House is where Iggy Pops mad genius first reached its full flower; what was a sneer on the bands debut had grown into the roar of a caged animal desperate for release, and his rants were far more passionate and compelling than what he had served up before. The Stooges may have had more "hits," but Fun House has stronger songs, including the garage raver to end all garage ravers in "Loose," the primal scream of "1970," and the apocalyptic anarchy of "L.A. Blues." Fun House is the ideal document of the Stooges at their raw, sweaty, howling peak. | ||
 | Album: 3 of 16 Title: Live at the Whiskey A GoGo Released: 1988 Tracks: 8 Duration: 59:30 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Raw Power (05:11) 2 Head On (08:00) 3 Search n’ Destroy (04:49) 4 I Need Somebody (05:58) 5 New Orleans (05:53) 6 She Creatures of Hollywood Hills (09:52) 7 Open Up and Bleed (12:55) 8 Gimme Danger (06:48) |
 | Album: 4 of 16 Title: Till the End of the Night Released: 1991 Tracks: 6 Duration: 36:17 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 Johanna (08:41) 2 She Creatures of the Hollywood Hills (04:43) 3 Open Up and Bleed (03:11) 4 Born in a Trailer (07:24) 5 Till the End of the Night (07:49) 6 Wet My Bed (04:26) |
 | Album: 5 of 16 Title: Night of Destruction Released: 1991 Tracks: 21 Duration: 1:46:18 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 I Got a Right (02:36) 2 Johanna (03:07) 3 Gimme Some Skin (02:42) 4 I Got Nothin’ (03:23) 1 Raw Power (04:19) 2 Head On (04:52) 3 Purple Haze (03:11) 4 Im Waiting for My Man (02:01) 5 Radio Ad (01:03) 1 Gimme Danger (07:52) 2 Open Up and Bleed (04:00) 3 Heavy Liquid / I Got Nothing (06:32) 4 Dynamite Boogie (04:49) 1 Open Up and Bleed (12:33) 2 She Creatures of Hollywood Hills (10:54) 1 What You Gonna Do (04:57) 2 Gimme Danger (06:42) 3 Ron Asheton Speaking (09:22) 1 I Got Nothing (04:15) 2 Search and Destroy (03:43) 3 Cock in My Pocket (03:25) |
 | Album: 6 of 16 Title: 1970: The Complete Funhouse Sessions Released: 1999 Tracks: 142 Duration: 7:53:12 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Fun House (tape glitch fragment) (00:21) 2 [studio dialogue] (00:39) 3 1970 (incomplete) (01:50) 4 [studio dialogue] (00:19) 5 1970 (take 1) (07:04) 6 1970 (take 2) (03:07) 7 [studio dialogue] (00:30) 8 1970 (take 3) (07:34) 9 1970 (take 4) (06:02) 10 [studio dialogue] (00:14) 11 Loose (demo) (01:13) 12 [studio dialogue] (00:06) 13 1970 (take 5) (05:47) 14 Loose (take 1 - labeled as "Im Loose" - false start) (01:36) 15 Loose (take 2) (03:41) 16 Down on the Street (take 1) (02:05) 17 [studio dialogue] (00:11) 18 Loose (take 3) (03:45) 19 Down on the Street (take 2 - false start) (03:31) 20 Down on the Street (take 3 - false start) (00:20) 21 [studio dialogue] (00:34) 22 See That Cat (T.V. Eye) (05:15) 23 [studio dialogue] (00:11) 24 1970 (take 1) (06:26) 25 Fun House (take 1) (10:03) 26 [studio dialogue] (00:09) 27 Lost in the Future (false start) (00:27) 28 [studio dialogue] (00:08) 29 Lost in the Future (false start) (01:10) 1 Lost in the Future (take 1) (05:41) 2 [studio dialogue] (00:11) 3 Lost in the Future (take 2 - false start) (01:21) 4 Lost in the Future (take 3) (04:35) 5 [studio dialogue] (00:14) 6 Loose (take 1) (03:38) 7 [studio dialogue] (00:19) 8 1970 (take 1) (06:17) 9 Loose (take 2) (03:41) 10 Loose (take 3) (00:25) 11 [studio dialogue] (00:32) 12 Loose (take 4) (03:38) 13 [studio dialogue] (00:13) 14 Loose (take 5) (03:38) 15 [studio dialogue] (00:07) 16 Loose (take 6) (03:42) 17 Loose (take 7 - false start) (01:10) 18 Loose (take 9) (03:40) 19 Loose (take 11) (03:41) 20 Loose (take 12) (03:41) 21 Loose (take 13) (03:47) 22 Loose (take 14) (03:41) 23 Loose (take 15) (03:42) 24 Slide (Slidin the Blues) (04:35) 25 [studio dialogue] (00:12) 26 Loose (take 16) (03:43) 27 Loose (take 17 - false start) (00:27) 28 Loose (take 18 - false start) (01:00) 29 Loose (take 19) (03:36) 1 Loose (take 20) (03:41) 2 [studio dialogue] (00:20) 3 Loose (take 21 - false start) (03:14) 4 [studio dialogue] (00:43) 5 Loose (take 22) (03:40) 6 [studio dialogue] (00:13) 7 Loose (take 23) (03:42) 8 Loose (take 24) (03:43) 9 Loose (take 25 - false start) (03:13) 10 Loose (take 26 - false start) (01:59) 11 [studio dialogue] (00:13) 12 Loose (take 27) (03:37) 13 Loose (take 28) (03:36) 14 Down on the Street (take 1) (03:57) 15 Down on the Street (take 2) (04:11) 16 Down on the Street (take 3) (04:07) 17 Down on the Street (take 4) (04:15) 18 [studio dialogue] (00:07) 19 Down on the Street (take 5) (04:14) 20 [studio dialogue] (00:18) 21 Down on the Street (take 6) (04:26) 22 Down on the Street (take 7 -false start) (00:17) 23 Down on the Street (take 8) (04:15) 24 Down on the Street (take 9 - false start) (00:25) 25 Down on the Street (take 10) (04:24) 26 Down on the Street (take 11 - false start) (00:40) 27 [studio dialogue] (00:27) 28 Down on the Street (take 12 - false start) (01:23) 29 Down on the Street (take 13) (04:00) 30 Down on the Street (take 14 - false Start) (02:10) 31 Down on the Street (take 15) (03:41) 1 T.V. Eye (take 1) (05:21) 2 T.V. Eye (take 2 - false start) (04:28) 3 Slide (Slidin the Blues) (01:00) 4 T.V. Eye (take 3) (05:28) 5 T.V. Eye (take 4 - false start) (00:33) 6 T.V. Eye (take 5) (05:54) 7 T.V. Eye (take 6) (05:43) 8 [studio dialogue] (00:25) 9 T.V. Eye (take 7) (05:21) 10 T.V. Eye (take 8) (05:20) 11 [studio dialogue] (00:16) 12 T.V. Eye (take 9) (04:17) 13 T.V. Eye (take 10 - false start) (00:11) 14 T.V. Eye (take 11) (04:16) 15 T.V. Eye (take 12) (04:46) 16 T.V. Eye (take 13) (04:17) 17 T.V. Eye (take 14) (04:45) 18 [studio dialogue] (00:17) 19 1970 (take 1) (05:27) 20 [studio dialogue] (00:12) 21 1970 (take 2) (05:19) 22 [studio dialogue] (00:09) 23 1970 (take 3) (05:09) 1 1970 (take 4) (05:44) 2 [studio dialogue] (00:23) 3 1970 (take 5) (05:24) 4 1970 (take 6 - false start) (01:00) 5 1970 (take 7) (05:46) 6 1970 (take 8) (05:17) 7 Fun House (take 1 - false start) (03:09) 8 Fun House (take 2) (09:15) 9 Fun House (take 3) (11:19) 10 [studio dialogue] (00:41) 11 Fun House (take 4) (08:24) 12 Fun House (take 5) (07:46) 13 [studio dialogue] (00:38) 14 Dirt (take 1) (07:30) 15 Dirt (take 2) (07:03) 1 Dirt (take 3) (07:02) 2 [studio dialogue] (00:30) 3 Dirt (take 4) (07:09) 4 Dirt (take 5) (06:39) 5 Dirt (take 6) (06:39) 6 Dirt (take 7 - false start) (00:45) 7 Dirt (take 8) (06:51) 8 Dirt (take 9) (06:57) 9 Dirt (take 10) (07:09) 10 Dirt (take 11 - false start) (00:07) 11 Dirt (take 12) (07:03) 12 Freak (later titled "L.A. Blues" - take 1) (17:25) 13 Freak (later titled "L.A. Blues" - take 2) (04:54) 1 Down on the Street (mono single edit) (02:47) 2 I Feel Alright (1970) (mono single edit) (03:18) |
 | Album: 7 of 16 Title: Extended Play Released: 2005-05-30 Tracks: 3 Duration: 12:42 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 Hard to Beat (04:41) 2 Hard On (05:07) 3 I Got a Right (02:53) |
 | Album: 8 of 16 Title: The Weirdness Released: 2007-03-06 Tracks: 13 Duration: 46:13 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Trollin’ (03:07) 2 You Can’t Have Friends (02:22) 3 ATM (03:15) 4 My Idea of Fun (03:17) 5 The Weirdness (03:45) 6 Free & Freaky (02:39) 7 Greedy Awful People (02:07) 8 She Took My Money (03:49) 9 The End of Christianity (04:19) 10 Mexican Guy (03:29) 11 Passing Cloud (04:04) 12 I’m Fried (03:44) 13 O Solo Mio (06:16) |
| The Weirdness : Allmusic album Review : The creative and interpersonal dynamics of a rock band are notoriously tricky, and when a band hasnt worked together for a few decades, simply getting the same people together in a recording studio doesnt guarantee lightning is going to strike again. In 2003, more than 30 years after the original lineup of the Stooges collapsed after the commercial failure of Fun House, Iggy Pop finally buried the hatchet with his former bandmates Ron Asheton and Scott Asheton, and they hit the road for a series of heroic reunion shows (with Mike Watt standing in on bass for the late Dave Alexander) in which they miraculously re-created the dinosaur-stomp sound and feel of their first two albums. After the riotous reception of the Stooges reunion shows, Iggy and the Ashetons took the next logical step and recorded a new Stooges album, but while the reconstituted band sounded stunning on-stage (check out the Telluric Chaos CD or the Live in Detroit 2003 DVD for evidence), in the studio the Stooges reunion went horribly awry with 2007s The Weirdness. It would have been foolish to expect The Weirdness to sound just like The Stooges or Fun House, given how much water has flowed under the bridge, but whats startling is how little this album recalls the primal groove of their previous work (or the sound they recently delivered on-stage). While Ron Ashetons guitar howls as loud as ever, the pulsating wah-wah and ripsaw fuzz that were his aural trademarks are all but missing, and while his solos step back into the noisy id, they lack the coherence and internal logic of his brilliant work on Fun House. Similarly, Scott Ashetons drumming is muscular and his timing is superb, but while he created an unexpectedly sensuous groove out of stuff like "Down in the Street," "1969," and "Real Cool Time," here he stomps away with lots of gravity but little nuance, and like his brother, hes traded soul for jackhammer force (emphasized by Steve Albinis hard-edged recording). But surprisingly, the guy who really drops the ball on this set is Iggy. Pops been in fine voice on his last few solo albums, but much of The Weirdness finds him singing a bit flat or sharp, and while he belts out these songs with commendable passion, this ranks with Beat Em Up as the dumbest set of lyrics the man has ever committed to tape. Instead of reaching into the Real O Mind for the cosmic simplicity of stuff like "TV Eye," "1970," or "I Wanna Be Your Dog," Iggy goes into inane blather mode from the jump-start, and if titles like "Greedy Awful People," "Free and Freaky," and "Im Fried" dont tip off listeners that hes off his game, lines like "England and France, these cultures are old/The cheese is stinky and the beer isnt cold," "They drive those f*ckin awful cars/And roll their lips in titty bars," and the deathless "My dick is turning into a tree" tell the rest of the story. | ||
 | Album: 9 of 16 Title: Gimme Some Skin Released: 2008-06-23 Tracks: 13 Duration: 1:00:31 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 I Got a Right (03:38) 2 Gimme Some Skin (02:46) 3 Louie Louie (02:50) 4 I’m Sick of You (06:54) 5 Tight Pants (02:09) 6 Jesus Loves the Stooges (04:22) 7 Scene of the Crime (02:53) 8 Open Up and Bleed (04:53) 9 Head on Curve (05:42) 10 Johanna (04:36) 11 Rubber Legs (05:24) 12 Till the End of Night (06:57) 13 Born in a Trailer (07:27) |
| Gimme Some Skin : Allmusic album Review : One for completists only, this 2008 release rounds up 13 tracks from the Stooges 1972-1974 swan song, concentrating on studio rehearsals and outtakes, but offering up nothing that has not appeared on innumerable occasions in the past; indeed, it is essentially a "best of" the studio portion of the Easy Action labels six-disc Heavy Liquid box, which itself is more or less the last word in this era of the Stooges career. So, once more around the block for "I Got a Right," "Gimme Some Skin," "Tight Pants," "Louie Louie," and "Im Sick of You" from the July 1972 Olympic Studio sessions, and eight further cuts from the Ypsilanti and Detroit rehearsals the following spring. Its a well-compiled collection, but given the amount of other releases that have mined this same material, perhaps a little redundant. | ||
 | Album: 10 of 16 Title: You Dont Want My Name... You Want My Action Released: 2009 Tracks: 29 Duration: 3:00:41 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 I Got a Right (false start) (06:45) 2 You Don’t Want My Name (06:45) 3 The Shadow of Your Smile (Iggy solo) (01:09) 4 Fresh Rag (or New York Pussy Smells Like Dog Shit) (05:39) 5 Dead Body (or Over My Dead Body) (09:08) 6 Big Time Bum (03:22) 7 Do You Want My Love? / Feedback / Goodnight (11:23) 8 The Children of the Night (00:26) 1 I Got a Right (05:52) 2 You Don’t Want My Name (07:36) 3 Fresh Rag (or New York Pussy Tastes Like a Dog) (05:24) 4 Dead Body / Who Do You Love? (08:20) 5 Big Time Bum (Over My Dead Cock) (04:26) 6 Do You Want My Love? (09:37) 1 I Got a Right (05:28) 2 You Don’t Want My Name (or St. Louis Adolecent Nightmare) (07:33) 3 Fresh Rag (or Sweet Revenge for Treating Me Like a Piece of Shit) (05:33) 4 Dead Body / Who Do You Love? (09:14) 5 Big Time Bum (03:32) 6 Do You Want My Love? (08:35) 1 I Got a Right (04:42) 2 You Don’t Want My Name (07:05) 3 Fresh Rag (05:33) 4 Dead Body (or Black Like Me) / Who Do You Love? (10:12) 5 Big Time Bum (04:39) 6 Do You Want My Love? (10:26) 7 Ron, Scott and Jimmy Recca Play Instrumental (03:40) 8 Band Talk With the Audience – Scott and Jimmy (03:14) 9 What You Gonna Do? (05:23) |
| You Don't Want My Name... You Want My Action : Allmusic album Review : This four-CD box documents as many live shows by an otherwise unrecorded lineup of Iggy and the Stooges, circa 1971. In the wake of the commercial failure of their magnum opus Funhouse, the groups original lineup split up. Some members would stick around for 1973s Raw Power, at which point the story ended for real. But in between, there were some really lean years, as captured here. Its worth bearing in mind that the Stooges were not a popular band during their original lifespan. They got coverage in the rock press, but they sold neither albums nor tickets in any significant amount. Anyway, the music. This lineup of the Stooges is one that actually should have gotten into the studio -- its an awesome two-guitar force with both Ron Asheton and James Williamson cranking out the riffs at top volume, unknown bassist Jimmy Recca holding down the low end, and Scott Asheton pounding out minimalist rhythms with nail-gun simplicity and force. These are audience recordings of 40- to 45-minute sets, with the same core repertoire every night -- songs that never made it onto any Stooges studio album, like "I Got a Right," "You Dont Want My Name," "Fresh Rag," and "Big Time Bum." The performances are savage, less psychedelic than the band had been only a year before; the addition of James Williamsons stinging, post-Chuck Berry guitar brought a whole new level of aggression to the Stooges sound, and the bootleg sound only makes it more so. Pops voice, usually the dominant element on his albums, is buried in the mix here, to the point that he sounds like Jon Spencer sometimes. This may seem on its surface like a specialists-only item, but its raw power (so to speak) makes it worthwhile for any fan of Iggy Pop or punk rock in general. | ||
 | Album: 11 of 16 Title: A Thousand Lights Released: 2010 Tracks: 10 Duration: 45:50 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Dirt (05:38) 2 1970 (05:16) 3 Loose (03:25) 4 Down on the Street (05:05) 5 1970 (05:16) 6 (The Shadow of Your Smile) Fun House (08:51) 7 L.A Blues (05:50) 8 1970 (02:17) 9 T.V. Eye (01:35) 10 1970 (02:37) |
| A Thousand Lights : Allmusic album Review : For a band that could barely get arrested during their original run in the late 1960s and early ‘70s, the Stooges have had a genuinely remarkable afterlife, with devoted fans still eagerly scrambling after every last scrap of the groups recorded legacy. Dozens of semi-authorized albums (and a few outright bootlegs) have emerged of late-period Stooges gigs and studio sessions with Raw Power-era guitarist James Williamson, but there are far fewer artifacts documenting the extracurricular activities of the bands original lineup with Ron Asheton on lead guitar, though several important exceptions appeared in the new millennium, most notably the box set 1970: The Complete Fun House Sessions, the live collection You Dont Want My Name, You Want My Action (chronicling a short-lived, two-guitar edition of the Stooges), and Have Some Fun: Live at Unganos, a live document of the band on-stage in New York in 1970. Add to this short roster A Thousand Lights, which brings together a handful of live tapes of the Stooges on-stage in 1970, roaring through material from their masterpiece Funhouse. This disc was drawn primarily from audience tapes, and these recordings will make any audiophile cringe; the performances are compelling, with Ashetons guitar sounding ferocious, Iggy Pop as primal and powerful as you could ever ask for, and the rhythm section thoroughly indefatigable, but the muddy, distorted sound quality is lousy enough to compromise the strength of some very fine performances. Half of the ten tracks were taken from a show in Chicago, while two others came from a New York show of the same vintage as Have Some Fun (which does boast better sound, though its still not up to professional standards). And the final three tracks should be familiar to anyone who has ever searched for the Stooges on YouTube: a truncated version of "1970" from the bands set at the Goose Lake Rock Festival (it proved to be Dave Alexanders last show with the band; the lack of bass lending credence to the legend that he blanked out on-stage) and bits of two songs from a Cincinnati, OH show videotaped for the syndicated TV special Midsummer Rock (this was the show where Iggy walked out on the audiences hands before smearing himself with peanut butter), complete with banter from the hosts of the broadcast ("There goes Iggy right into the crowd! Weve lost audio on him … this seems like a good chance to get a message in!"). Easy Actions packaging for this set is beautiful, with a booklet of rare color photos of the band in action, but though A Thousand Lights confirms what a wild, dazzling band the Stooges could be, the substandard sound quality and the presence of the same songs over and over ("1970" appears no less than four times) makes this a disc for hardcore Stooges zealots only. | ||
 | Album: 12 of 16 Title: Have Some Fun: Live at Ungano’s Released: 2010-11-22 Tracks: 8 Duration: 39:45 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Going to Ungano’s (01:47) 2 Loose (03:14) 3 Down in the Street (04:23) 4 T.V. Eye (04:18) 5 Dirt (06:05) 6 1970 (05:55) 7 Fun House (03:20) 8 Have Some Fun / My Dream Is Dead (10:39) |
| Have Some Fun: Live at Ungano’s : Allmusic album Review : In the summer of 1970, after a shambolic set at the Goose Lake Rock Festival in their native Michigan, the Stooges put together a new lineup as they prepared to hit the road in support of their second album, Funhouse. Zeke Zettner, previously part of the Stooges road crew, became their new bassist, and second guitarist Bill Cheatham was brought aboard to reinforce the primal guitar work of Ron Asheton. With vocalist Iggy Pop, drummer Scott Asheton, and sax player Steve MacKay joining the new recruits, the band headed to New York City for a three-night stand at Unganos, a rock club in Manhattan. Danny Fields, the legendary behind-the-scenes figure who signed the band to Elektra Records, brought a portable tape recorder to the show on August 17, 1970, and Have Some Fun: Live at Unganos is a suitably raw document of the Stooges in full flight. Sounding taut and feral, the band rips through six songs from Funhouse before bringing the set to an explosive conclusion with the spontaneous "Have Some Fun"/"My Dream Is Dead." Have Some Fun is one of the few live recordings documenting the Stooges during the period when Ron Asheton was lead guitarist. While the fidelity leaves something to be desired, the force and intensity of the performance make this a must for anyone wanting to hear the Stooges when they were the most dangerous band in rock. | ||
 | Album: 13 of 16 Title: Collection (Australian Tour Edition) Released: 2011 Tracks: 23 Duration: 1:54:28 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Gimme Danger (03:27) 2 T.V. Eye (04:18) 3 Loose (03:35) 4 Down on the Street (03:44) 5 Penetration (03:32) 6 Search & Destroy (03:26) 7 No Fun (05:17) 8 1969 (04:06) 9 1970 (05:16) 10 Ann (02:58) 11 Fun House (07:48) 12 Raw Power (04:18) 13 I Wanna Be Your Dog (03:11) 14 We Will Fall (10:15) 15 Your Pretty Face Is Going to Hell (04:51) 1 Down on the Street (04:24) 2 T.V. Eye (04:18) 3 1970 (05:55) 4 Fun House (03:21) 5 1969 (alternate vocal) (04:46) 6 No Fun (Cale mix) (04:43) 7 1970 (take 3) (07:33) 8 Fun House (take 2) (edit) (09:16) |
 | Album: 14 of 16 Title: Playlist: The Best of the Stooges Released: 2016-09-23 Tracks: 14 Duration: 1:03:19 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 I Wanna Be Your Dog (03:09) 2 Down on the Street (03:42) 3 1969 (04:06) 4 Loose (03:33) 5 No Fun (05:16) 6 Dirt (07:00) 7 Little Doll (03:21) 8 T.V. Eye (04:17) 9 I Feel Alright (1970) (Mono Single Edit) (03:19) 10 Real Cool Time (02:32) 11 Lost In The Future (Take 1) (05:42) 12 Not Right (02:51) 13 Ann [Full Version] (08:03) 14 Asthma Attack (06:28) |
 | Album: 15 of 16 Title: Gimme Danger (music from the motion picture) Released: 2017-04-07 Tracks: 10 Duration: 00:00 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Gimme Danger (Bowie mix) (?) 2 I Wanna Be Your Dog (?) 3 Loose (?) 4 No Fun (?) 5 Asthma Attack (?) 6 I Got a Right (outtake) (?) 7 Down in the Street (?) 8 Lost in the Future (take 1) (?) 9 I’m Sick of You (outtake) (?) 10 1969 (?) |
 | Album: 16 of 16 Title: Highlights From the Fun House Sessions Released: 2017-05-19 Tracks: 14 Duration: 1:15:47 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Studio Dialogue (#23) (00:19) 2 Down on the Street (take 6) (04:26) 3 Loose (take 16) (03:39) 4 T.V. Eye (take 5) (05:54) 5 Dirt (take 5) (06:39) 6 Studio Dialogue (#3) (00:27) 7 1970 (take 3) (07:29) 8 Fun House (take 3) (11:19) 1 Studio Dialogue (#7) (00:33) 2 See That Cat (T.V. Eye) (05:15) 3 1970 (take 2) (03:07) 4 Lost in the Future (take 3) (04:34) 5 Slide (Slidin’ the Blues) (take 1) (04:36) 6 Freak (take 1) (17:23) |