The Stooges: Fun House ---Ink Blot Magazine

The Stooges: RFun House

at a glance...

Hometown: Ann Arbor, MI
Year Formed: circa 1967

Personnel:
Iggy Pop -vocals
Dave Alexander -bass
Ron Asheton -guitar
Scott Asheton -drums
Steven Mackay -tenor saxophone

Bands In The Family:
MC5, The Velvet Underground, David Bowie, New Order, Destroy All Monsters

Notes:
The Stooges, a thorn among the roses of 60's psychedelia, dwelled on the dingier, dirtier side of rock & roll. While Iggy Pop's deranged onstage antics and The Stooges' loud, primitive, bluesy rock won them a devoted cult audience, they were too vulgar to break into the mainstream. Despite the public's loathing, The Stooges landed a record deal after an Elektra talent scout saw them open for the MC5 in 1968. The bands' first two albums, their 1969 eponymous debut and 1970's Fun House, sold barely any copies and were shunned by critics. Substance abuse left the Stooges in shambles and Alexander left the band. Not long after recruiting guitarist James Williamson, Iggy ran into David Bowie, who took it upon himself to salvage The Stooges' career. Bowie helped the band get a contract with Columbia and mixed The Stooges' third album, 1973's Raw Power. Although the album received positive reviews, The Stooges' cult rejected Bowie's influence, which ultimately ended the band. However, The Stooges sound got the punk revolution rolling, and their influence and fans have increased tremendously over time.

The Stooges
Fun House
Elektra/Asylum, Released 1970

The Stooges were never the type of band that made fourteen-year old girls want to plaster their bedroom walls with Stooges group photos. When Fun House came out in 1970, the majority of the record buying public were thoroughly disgusted with its depiction of the world of sex and drugs. The Stooges were still chronologically out of place.

It doesn't really matter that the first three tracks ("Down on the Street, "Loose", "T.V. Eye") are almost indistinguishable from each other, because the Stooges' sound is too cool and consuming. The songs are dominated by a loud, pounding rhythm section and raunchy blues guitar. Iggy's voice is flat as he sneers his way through songs, but he redeems himself with some disturbingly tormented shouting and screaming. However, the Stooges do depart from their raw rock and roll on "Dirt," where intricate guitar strokes swirl into a dark psychedelic spiral while Iggy lowly howls along to the music.

It isn't until "1970" that we begin to see the Stooges as pioneers. Starting out dismal and sedated, the song crescendoes into a raging cacophony, and Steven Mackay's sax, which just somehow doesn't sound quite right, adds to the madness. The title track is a continuation of that chaotic groove, and "L.A. Blues" is just five minutes of revolutionary noise. Few may have realized it at the time, but the Stooges' dissonance was history in the making.

If you like The Stooges, check out:
Iggy and the Stooges Raw Power
The Doors 13
The Velvet Underground The Velvet Underground and Nico
Sonic Youth Confusion is Sex

-- Lori Latimer

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