Hard, Heavy and a Classic 1969
This is the section for a classic borderline album, that I feel belongs in with another genre, but is always worthy of being mentioned here. Any album I place here, is easily worthy of a placing on my top 10 list. It's either a highly acclaimed album of just a forgotten or underrated gem. I'll try and include at least one album per year in this section and in some cases possibly two if I can't just decide on one album.
The Stooges The Stooges 1969 (Elektra)
Proto Punk-Garage Rock
Primal nihilism from an underground sensation.
The Album
I won't waste words introducing the Stooges's frontman Iggy Pop as he's one of the most iconic figures in the history of rock music, but what I will say is that Ron Asheton, Scott Asheton and Dave Alexander are often forgotten, given the huge shadow that Iggy Pop cast over the rest of the band. As for the Stooges themselves, let's just say that after figuring in different line-ups, the Stooges really started to get things together when Iggy saw Jim Morrison performing in Detroit and realised this was what a frontman was all about and the rest was history as they say! So when the Stooges hit the ground with their debut album in 1969, nobody had heard anything quite like it, with its primal nihilism, fu
ck flower power attitude, howling garage classics and psychedelic tendencies. Like the Doors and the Velvet Underground before them, they took a dark view on proceedings and the legend of the band was built up over just two albums. This debut album and its follow-up
Funhouse released the following year, firmly established the Stooges as a cult classic of their time. The album starts of with the Rolling Stones influenced "1969" where Iggy sounds just like Mick Jagger and then onto "I Wanna Be a Dog" which as far as I'm concerned, is probably the first out and out punk song. "We Will Fall" is a lengthy psychedelic track and a favourite of mine from the album, even though some might find it lengthy and "No Fun" which is another proto-punk classic. Now the rest of the tracks "Real Cool Time" "Ann" "Not Right" are a weaker selection of songs than the first four tracks but they do have their moments. The best latter album track is surely "Little Doll" and John Cale was one production duties.
No other band at the time with the exception of Detroit neighbours MC5 packed so much aggression into their sound. To differentiate, I'd say MC5 had focused their aggression around a genuine anger at the state of things and revolutionary ideas, whereas the Stooges just came across as aggressive energy. You could say the Stooges were all about an out and out attitude, making the proto-punk label with heavy psychedelic tendencies the most accurate label for the band and not the hard rock label which was far more suited to MC5, and for that reason alone MC5 remain on the main list and the Stooges here. So how good is this album? Well the album lacks songcraft, the musical ability and singing at times are limited and there are some weaker tracks littered around the place. But as the album is not about songcraft, or musical ability......who cares! Where the album gains it's plaudits is in its attitude, originality and the feel of a group unwilling to compromise their sound for commercial reasons. The album belongs in any music collection.
Iggy Pop- Vocals
Ron Asheton- Guitar
Dave Alexander- Bass
Scott Asheton- Drums
Production- John Cale