the debut album

I know the first album is often less highly regarded than Funhouse and/or Raw Power, but to me it's just something else, and not just because Ron Asheton (helped out by his brother and Dave Alexander of course) creates the most amazing sounds on the planet - he does that on Funhouse too. But Funhouse is recognizably a rock album with jazz/funk elements whereas the first album seems indefinable to me. Of course broadly speaking it is classed as rock, and I'm aware of the band's
many other,and varied, influences - Coltrane, Pharoah Sanders, Ravi Shankar, Harry Partch, etc. Not to mention their viola-playing producer John Cale!! But the end result is just so unique. It's so hypnotic, the rhythms and sounds, that incredible drone on Asheton's guitar, that by the end of Little Doll I'm left literally in a trance. This record has an effect on me that no other one does, it just feels fundamentally different.
What do other people think?

I think you've nailed it on the head pretty well.
Do you have the 2cd set, with the extra takes? Listen to "No Fun" on THAT, and be swept away.

The debut is my second favorite, behind Fun House. Though in my mind there is no Stooges album less than great.

Alas, my Stooges collection is actually very basic - just the first two albums, the re-mixed Raw Power and a Williamson -era collection very imaginatively titled 'Iggy and the Stooges - Original Punks', or something like that.
I think John Sinclair, MC5 manager, is meant to have said that the Stooges' music was more like North African music than rock. Without having listened to too much North African music, myself, I reckon he was probably right! Certainly the time of that first album. Oh, and I forgot to mention I've got The Weirdness as well, which is saved by the presence of the Ashetons - so much so, in fact, that it becomes quite a good album, despite the crappy production and the very often less-than-inspiring lyrics, etc.,...

Do yourself a favor and get the first two albums in their 2 cd incarnations. Both sets feature the main album on disc one, and the second disc features outtakes, demos and uncut, extended versions. No Fun is nearly 7 minutes long, the end is Ron just jamming away with the band. You'll love it.

On the Fun House set, you'll be treated to some great demos and early versions, including a 11+ minute version of the title song.

If you can't find those editions where you are, let me know and I'll gladly point you in the right direction.

YOU MUST HAVE THESE.

iggys so bad on the weirdness it's embaressing.

I admit, Ig isn't on top of his game on The Weirdness. The lyrics are abysmal. But Scott, Ron & Mike play admirably, and the music is good. So it's still a keeper.

With that said, the Stooges tunes on Skull Ring are generally better.

Loose- I know mike played well, but how can we tell... the bass is practically absent, lol.

i still love this album, i think iggy's singing is still pretty good..

Yeah, you got a point about the bass. Very thin, dry mix. No stugots.

Fuckin' Albini. He did a great job with Page/Plant, why the fuck did he botch the Stooges?

Loose1969 wrote:

Yeah, you got a point about the bass. Very thin, dry mix. No stugots.

Fuckin' Albini. He did a great job with Page/Plant, why the fuck did he botch the Stooges?

Yeah, I think the mix really sucks on The wierdness and the lyrics are almost a dumbed down parody of the first album, it's kind of lackluster. They needed inspiration: Williamson.

Williamson dosen't play guitar anymore though..

Loose1969 wrote:

Do yourself a favor and get the first two albums in their 2 cd incarnations. Both sets feature the main album on disc one, and the second disc features outtakes, demos and uncut, extended versions. No Fun is nearly 7 minutes long, the end is Ron just jamming away with the band. You'll love it.

On the Fun House set, you'll be treated to some great demos and early versions, including a 11+ minute version of the title song.

If you can't find those editions where you are, let me know and I'll gladly point you in the right direction.

YOU MUST HAVE THESE.

thanks for the offer of help, I'll probably need to take you up on it. I'm so lazy that if I can't find something in my local music store I give up on it. And practically all music retailers in the UK suck these days .

Hold on here guys, yeh you are all right about the stooges and i wanna listen to it again! havent in awhile, got distracted by ravi shankar and sun ra!! lol and of course funhouse, the sesssions are amazing! BUT and this is a HUGE BUT!!!! THE WEIRDNESS FUCKIN' ROCKS!!! i love the weirdness, for me it stands up there with the stooges/funhouse/rawpower/best boots the lyrics arent great in some places, but it makes you smirk all the same, though in some places they are brilliant some of his best in awhle, and in the mojo artcile on it ig came into the studio and did the lyrics and the ashetons would either say ''they're too smart'' then theyd be ''too dumb'' i think they found a good balance, like any of iggys lyrics you have to look past the actual words

mike watts fine on it, good bassist though you cant hear it at times BUT (again, sorry) the produciton wasnt steve albini's fault, it states in the liner notes that he was like a supervisor r sumthing and that, like all stooges albums originally The Stooges produced it as ''Three Blind Mice'', they originally did the stooges, ig did funhouse - allegedly - tho it probly was galliuci, and ig tried raw power but was too strung out and hte technology wasnt there so bowie came in a did a fine job - not great, btu fine

watt's bass is almost cancelled out because, and this is my own theory, it was iggy, the original as he sees it 3 stooges are back together and he wanted them to come out, when u listen you hear ig, ron and scott, even ig says that watt is just a replacement type thing, hired i think he put it, he's not a stooge, dont think he wants to be either, seems like an independant musician,a nyway, weirdness is fuckin great, i love the album, try and search out the ''full'' album, as in 16 songs long, with the 4 vinyl tracks; sounds of leather, o solo mio, claustrophobia and the cover of the stones cover of the beatles ''i wanna be your man'' all amazing

listen to it again, its a great album, for me, it evokes the same feeling as dylan's recent Modern Times, that dealing with modern life, money, bastards etc, have a listen, dont give up on it

The production on The Weirdness is much too dry, there's no resonance like on the first two albums. Quite a few albums of the original Stooges era - like their fellow-artists on Elektra, the Doors - sound a lot cleaner and fresher than anything today.
Actually, this thread was meant to be about the debut album ...! oh well

Haha, yeh, sorry got carried away nadja, but the weirdness is a good album, i wish people didnt just write it off so quickly, but the debut album is a fuckin amazing record, its as good as funhouse r rawpower, you cant really put the albums after each other, theyre each 1st on my list, ha ha, tho i love weirdness too