Head On Curve - The Stooges' Magnum Opus?

I received the Heavy Liquid box set for my birthday and have been listening to "Head On" (disc 4 demo track) non-stop. The more I listen, the more I think that - if it had been recorded properly - it would have been their masterpiece.

I sorta compare it to Johnny Thunders' "So Alone," which many of us have as a bonus track on the CD of his first LP, titled So Alone. A sweeping, emotional, and powerful song, but it was never recorded as it should have - it was still pretty much an advanced demo.

One of my favorites too, Head On that is. A great showcase for Ron's superb bass.

mc wrote:

A great showcase for Ron's superb bass.

LOL...I dunno about that! That is, if you were talkin' about skill - he pretty much just plays the same scale up and down, over and over, sometimes falling off rhythm. However, it IS a very powerful bassline.

What makes the song for me is the sum of its parts. Everyone is complimenting each other, whether it be tiny little cymbal fills or James's rough power chords.

Since when has "skill" ever mattered? That song is more powerful than anything that could be done by a technically minded musician. I agree though it's a fantastic song.

I wouldn't know what skillful bass is, all I know is it sounds great!

I was never that keen on Head On, because it always sounded half-finished in some way. And, in part, because I didn't like Ron's bass line that much. Which is unusual because normally I love his bass playing.

It's an odd one, also because they've based the arrangement of it on The Who, pretty much exactly. So you can't help but hear it in comparison to a Who song, or I can't anyway.

Though having the lyrics explained to me did give it a whole new lease of life, haha. Maybe it's explained in one of the books and I'd just forgotten. But if not, I'm sure someone else on here can tell the story a lot better than me.

I can, but not sure I should explain.

I will try and be delicate..............

The song is about a certain Stooge and a certain Stooge girlfriend driving around LA in a car and a certain "act" being performed while driving round the corners.

Please do not PM and ask who because my lips are sealed.

So is it Head on the "Curb" or Head on the "Curve" ? It seems to be called both, and I suppose both would fit well.

"Head On Round The Curve", No?

The original title was "Head On, Round the Corner". It's the "Head On" that is the focus of the song.

mc wrote:

So is it Head on the "Curb" or Head on the "Curve" ? It seems to be called both, and I suppose both would fit well.

It is "Curve." As used in the song, "Dead Man's Curve."

Funny I've been listenin to this one alot recently and also was wondering about the curb/curve issue.

i dunno which version i was listen to on Heavy Liquid but there is one where I was lovin that bassline solo. yes, def got a bit of John Entwhistle goin on there. which seems natural enough as legend of stooge fandom of the Who goes back to Ron n Zanders trip to the UK in the 60's.

anyway the start of the song used to really bug me. like some country song or cowboy tv show!
but when that riff kicks in afterwards its fuckin great.

I'm surprised that people are comparing this song to the Who, when what immediately grabs me every time I hear it is the bass lick borrowed from the Doors "L.A. Woman".

No one else hears that?

jneilnyc wrote:

I'm surprised that people are comparing this song to the Who, when what immediately grabs me every time I hear it is the bass lick borrowed from the Doors "L.A. Woman".

No one else hears that?

I wasn't comparing any particular instrumental parts to The Who, just the way they've arranged the song. Which is very much to a Who template. Certainly not comparing what sounds, to me at least, like one of Ron's most repetitive and uninspired bass lines to John Entwistle.

Re The Doors, I'll have to try and give LA Woman another listen, I haven't heard it in years. Though if it is lifted from there it might explain a few things.

It's there all right https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMVnEGcMsFs

skip ahead to the 3:00 mark...

Yep, that certainly sounds a lot like it. Jam round that for a few minutes, let the singer make up some new words, hey presto.

jneilnyc wrote:

It's there all right https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMVnEGcMsFs

skip ahead to the 3:00 mark...

Excellent call! Now, can someone please figure out which Bowie song the acoustic intro to Gimme Danger is from?!

mg196 wrote:

jneilnyc wrote:

It's there all right https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMVnEGcMsFs

skip ahead to the 3:00 mark...

Excellent call! Now, can someone please figure out which Bowie song the acoustic intro to Gimme Danger is from?!

I thought it was Alice Cooper-inspired:"I'm eighteen!!!......."

boogie wrote:

mg196 wrote:

jneilnyc wrote:

It's there all right https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMVnEGcMsFs

skip ahead to the 3:00 mark...

Excellent call! Now, can someone please figure out which Bowie song the acoustic intro to Gimme Danger is from?!

I thought it was Alice Cooper-inspired:"I'm eighteen!!!......."

I'd agree with you there, always had "Gimme Danger" down as "Eighteen" inspired too.

But if you want to hear something that really sounds like a James riff, check out "Lady Of The North" from the Gene Clark album "No Other". Starting at 4:13. they start playing the riff to "Johanna", and I don't mean something that sounds "a bit like it".

I'd go as far as suggesting that "Lady Of The North" was at least a partial blue-print for James' "smoother" arrangement from "Kill City".

"No Other" was released in 1974, and it's an LA album, so who heard who, where, and when, I can't say. But I'd love to know.

Oops, just remembered the "No official releases" policy, so I've taken the link down. Hopefully this means HL won't shout quite so loudly at me when she spots it was there.

Petrie Terrace wrote:

You can download "Lady Of The North" for free, here ...

http://nonlefthanded.com/music/Gene%20Clark/No%20Other/

Thanks for that - another outstanding call!

Not to derail this thread completely, but surely some of you must already know that the second half of I'm Sick of You comes from The Yardbirds' Happenings Ten Years Time Ago? Check it out -

jpod,

It is not Stooge legend, but Stooge fact that both Ron and Dave were big fans of the Who. While discussing our various escapades in England , both of them had some stories about seeing the Who live in 1965. Matter of fact, at that time, one of Ron's prized possessions were the shards he had obtained from the stage after Pete Townsend had smashed his guitar.

Natalie