BY MIKEY MIGO
Expanding ones musical lexicon is a must for those who truly appreciate and love music. Over the past few months I've checked out bands "Simon and Garfunkel", "The Smiths", and "The Pixies" all for the first time. Sure, I've heard a hit single here and there, but what I do with this "First Impression" piece is to sit down and listen to a band's entire studio discography.
It takes a few hours to absorb the artist's entire career. I stick with bands that have only four or five albums, but that still gives me a good three to four hour journey into a musical scene that I never explored before. Sometimes it's a bit too much to take every studio track in for one sitting, but in the end I feel I can give a valid and honest opinion about the band.
This time around I'm going with "The Stooges". I am a fan of Iggy Pop, the man, actor, and personality, but I've never given much time or thought to his musical career. Of course, I know "I Wanna Be Your Dog" and "Search and Destroy", but that's about it.
So let's sit down, crank up the four studio albums, and take in what makes "The Stooges" one of the most respected bands of all time…
The Stooges (1969)
The open guitar noises of "1969" sounds very pornographic, but picks up with a good blues rock tempo. The psychedelic drones of the guitar were pretty cool towards the end. Seems a bit ahead of its time compared to other acts I've heard before from the same genre and timeframe. The second song is probably the one by The Stooges that I'm most familiar with in "I Wanna Be Your Dog". Of course it's a classic. There's not much to say about this song. It's got a simplistic feel to its grandeur, but is a classic rock staple and rightfully so. Most of the best guitar tracks do seem simple because they have such a precisely perfect melody and comfort to them. That's the case with this song. "We Will Fall", a 10:18 long epic, is the third track on this album. The track is enchanting and draws you in. Before you know it, it's over. The tempo never changes and with headphones you have no choice but to melt into the song. The violins at the end cap off a very surprising track. Not a side to them that I expected at all. The catchy "No Fun" seems familiar. I'm not sure if I'm heard it in a movie or if it's just one of those déjà vu types of songs where upon first listen you already feel at ease with it. There's a story how about half of this eight track album was written the night before they recorded it. The fifth track, "Real Cool Time" is one of those quasi-improvised tracks. While it does seem simple, it's not a bad track at all. It takes us to "Ann", a down tempo track that again follows the trend of pulling you in. The guitars on "Not Right" are extremely cool and I'm surprised I've not heard this before. The album burns out with "Little Doll", another down tempo psychedelic track with blazing guitars. A lot of critics and fans rank this album as one of the best of all time. I'm not sure if I'd hold it up that high upon first listen, but it's an opinion I can respect and understand. This album will be listened to again in the near future.
Fun House (1970)
"Down on the Street" kicks it off with a really funky rock riff. Pop's vocals are crisper here than on the entire debut album. His voice doesn't just ring of spontaneity, but also a harder edge confidence. I think I might even like this track than "I Wanna Be Your Dog" upon a first hear. We kick into a more aggressive rock track with a blues rhythm tucked underneath with "Loose". "T.V. Eye" starts with a howling scream that peaks goose bumps on the back of your neck. The track seems to be about a woman having an obsession or keen liking to Iggy. I could be wrong and I don't care. The track is bad ass enough proper meaning or not. We go into a 7 minute journey on "Dirt". It doesn't hold back on the impact, but pulls you along for the ride. Its psychedelic blues rock at its best. "1970" pours out at you with a head banging bass line. About three and a half minutes in a saxophone kick in and jars the hell out of you. It doesn't as much accompany the song, but almost takes it over. The sixth and the title track "Fun House" continues with the sax, but in a more controlled way. It feels like a song by "The Doors", but with a saxophone instead of an organ. Not a rip off, but something on the same echelon of blues rock collision. Iggy Pop is a mad man on this song and belts out random sounds of undistinguishable emotion. The closing track, "L.A. Blues" beings with a "pop" (pun intended) and trails off into what feels as if all sound is deflating. We spiral out with chaos until the echo of feedback is all we hear. That's just bad ass. "Fun House" is one of those genuine albums where you can understand why experimental drugs will and should always exist.
Raw Power (1973)
We kick off with "Search and Destroy", which is probably the track I'm second most familiar with besides "I Wanna Be Your Dog". It's one of the bands most successful and popular songs and it's pretty damn obvious why it's the case. "Gimme Danger" is the second track, a dark and poetic ballad. "Your Pretty Face Is Going to Hell" is a dirty blues punk track. That's a weird genre to word, but it's probably the best way to describe this grittier than sand blues track. You can by far understand the "punk pioneer" references after hearing it. "Penetration" haunts you in vein of a smoked filled blues club. Then in contrast, the next track "Raw Power" is more up tempo and definite foot tapper. By "foot tapper", I mean that if anyone walked in to the room right now they'd probably get a bloody nose. It's not necessarily an aggressive song, but the vibe it gives off is very "mosh" worthy. "I Need Somebody" is a fantastic blues track with very emotive vocals from Pop. "Shake Appeal" almost reminds of a really good rock-a-billy track, maybe even "rock-a-billy punk". We wrap up the album with "Death Trip", a hard edge grind out. The title of the album isn't just a witty moniker, but a very exact description of this album. It's raw and full of power. Sadly, the band would have personal problems and a falling out. This would be the last album "The Stooges" would record until their reunion in 2007.
The Weirdness (2007)
The first album in over twenty years starts off with "Trollin". It's a very polished track and Pop's vocals are less strained and raw. I don't mean that in a bad way. It sounds good, but mature compared to the youthful explosion of the early work. "You Can't Have Friends" seems to be more of a throwback to the older punk phase of the band. The third track, "ATM", seems a bit weird to hear. After a long stint of my ears being stuck in the 70's, we're getting metaphoric about ATM machines. So far, it's my favorite track on this recent release. "My Idea of Fun" is a bit more extreme and gets back to the "I don't give a fuck" attitude. With lyrics like "my idea of fun is killing everyone" is a little ballsy even for today's desensitized moral code. "The Weirdness" gives us a chance to hear Iggy belt out a song with his very soothing singing voice. "Free & Freaky" is a punk track, but with a lot of clarity and precision. That might have been an oxymoron. "Greedy Awful People" seems to be an anthem against the normal 9 to 5 bland lifestyle and religion. There's literally a Dr. Phil reference on the track "Mexican Guy", which again confuses my 70's set year. Jumping to the end, "I'm Fried" is a pretty strong aggressive track to close it out. Lyrically, this album seems a bit goofier than the early ones. Iggy's been spending too much time with John Waters. The album is good, but not great. The lack of blues inspired tracks is lacking and sadly feels forced. In the grand scheme of things, this album is pretty damn good. It's just a letdown when you hold it up against the first three albums from the 70's.
In the past few months I've covered a small handful of ironically acclaimed bands that I never really listened to and I can honestly say that "The Stooges" discography was the most satisfying to experience like this. A full sit down with the music of Iggy Pop and "The Stooges" made for a great Sunday afternoon. Outside of the NFL season (well, most of the time) or Wrestle Mania, I can't think of a better way to spend one. I can definitely feel a similar vibe to artists such as Pink Floyd, David Bowie, and The Doors. That's a very cool and respectable peer group if you ask this listener. At the same rate, you can easily hear how many others after would be influenced by the work of The Stooges. Many attribute The Stooges as a huge influence on punk music. I've never been one to get into punk. The stereotypical punk song doesn't have much musicianship and always seems sloppy to me. I don't get that here with this band. "The Stooges" are the kind of punk that I can easily get behind. I think the moment the blues element was stripped from certain punk influences it all goes downhill, but that's just my feelings on the topic. I appreciate the maturity of "The Weirdness" and I can enjoy the raw energy of Bowie's production on "Raw Power" but I prefer the first half of the studio discography a little more. I am on the border of ashamed and amazed that I've never been fully exposed to "The Stooges". Some things are better late than never.
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