Genre: Rock/Punk Year: 2005/1969 Country: USA Official Site: The Stooges Details: Tracks & Audio Label: Rhino
There have always been two schools of punks: one claims that the genre originated in England and that all is owed to one band and one album, The Sex Pistols with Never Mind the Bollocks. The other school claims that on the other side of the Atlantic the Ramones invented it all.
Some of the players of this era—including The Pistols' guitarist Steve Jones—are now openly stating that it doesn't really matter whether the birthplace of the movement was the US or the UK and whether the Ramones or the Pistols were the pioneer artisans. All however agree on one thing: that Iggy Pop is the godfather of punk.
FYI, the only valid question about punk might be if punk music died for good in the early 80's or if what we hear on the radio can also be called punk. Unless you're a 15 year old from Orange County, you probably already know the answer, as punk was a real socio-political threat that shocked society and the establishment for a brief moment, which is quite the opposite of singing under giant Vans banners and selling out through an ugly fake rock station called KROQ.
If, besides his antics from rolling in broken glass to performing in the nude (I witnessed that just a decade ago), Iggy Pop owes his punk credential to one album, it most certainly is The Stooges' eponymous debut in 1969. Featuring three classics, "I wanna be your dog", "1969" and "No Fun" and produced by John Cale of Velvet Underground fame, the album is mixed simply as a stereo work clearly divided between the left and right channel, which brings a sense of clarity despite the roughness of the guitars. The Stooges is no technical marvel but nonetheless it's one of the best moments of rock in its rawest incarnation.
Rhino gave the remastered 8-track work a bonus treatment by re-releasing it with a second CD that includes a series of 10 different variations of these songs. Half of them are Cale's original mixes, which at first are hardly discernable from the originals, except that they sound slightly cleaner in terms of arrangements. More exciting are the longer cuts of "No Fun" and "Ann", which gets my vote as the favorite bonus here. There is also an interesting softer version of "I wanna be a dog" where the Iguana's voice is more posed.
So if you expect some truly new versions of The Stooges' songs as if they had been remixed by William Orbit or the Neptunes, you will probably be disappointed. Instead, Rhino prefers to give us another look at rock history in an archeological fashion. And if you're a true fan, that's what you'll prefer.
The Stooges The Stooges
