Review Summary: The debut of the Stooges proves to be a great one...
The Stooges' debut album is an album that can particularly hard to listen to on your first try. It contains things that can seem new to any person's ear, even if its highly trained in music. Now don't get me wrong, this doesn't mean it's bad, it's pretty good. It's gritty, raw, powerful, and destructive. All these 'elements' (if you want to call it that), work in a tandem. All 8 songs on this album show the results of those elements...
'1969': It starts out with Ron Asheton's well-known wah-wah guitar and Iggy Pop's 'All rights'. (all rights?)
It is, in a way, a little short story as told by Iggy Pop, of the year 1969, and how it doesn't compare to the previous year. It builds on the guitar work and seemingly bored lyrics of Iggy Pop, with the powerful rhythm section, consisting of Dave Alexander and Scott "Rock Action" Asheton. The guitar solo is magnificent, but the song takes a bit of time to get accustomed to. At the end, we get a snarling Iggy Pop screaming "It's 1969 baby!", and every second of it feels powerful. Great opener! Rating: 4.5/5
'I Wanna Be Your Dog': The best known song on the album and their signature track, it tells of a man's desperation to be with a woman (correct me if wrong please...) and what he'd do to be with her, such as "Now I Wanna Be Your Dog", saying that he'd her slave (?) and do anything for her. The guitar solo is pretty good, but there should have not been a fade-out, it kind of kills it for me. The things that stand out is the one not piano chord played by The Velvet Underground's violist and this album's producer, John Cale, the trademark riff by Ron Asheton, the vocals by Iggy Pop that sound of disgust and desperation, and the bass playing by Dave Alexander. A Excellent song, but gets somewhat ruined by the fade-out. Rating: 4.5/5
'We Will Fall': A very, very boring and tedious song. It's too long, and it feels as nothing really happens, but I feel that was intentional, as it has been said to be filler. That, I have to disagree, it is of good quality, higher quality than of a filler track. It's probably the least-best on the album, when compared to tracks like '1969', 'I Wanna Be Your Dog' and 'No Fun'. But at least there's some more good wah-wah guitar by Ron Asheton and some great viola by John Cale. Rating: 3/5
'No Fun': Like 'We Will Fall', 'No Fun', is well... no fun. Nothing happens, it has very monotone vocals that sound bored and distressed. Once again, it feels intentional. Near the end, everything just goes awry, the guitar goes into a frenzy, Iggy Pop begins babbling madly, and I am loving every single second of it. That saves the song for me. Rating: 3.5./5
'Real Cool Time': Oh boy, here are the actual fillers of the album! One of the three tracks supposedly written in one night by the band after Elektra complained of there being only 5 tracks written. It has some good vocals, great guitar, with a gritty riff. Nothing else besides that, but it does make a great live performance, trust me. Rating: 3/5
'Ann': What a dramatic song, it is a tribute to the band's native Ann Arbor, Michigan and sings of its "swimming pools" and it's "roads". It is too short, only 3 minutes, but the full version is nearly 8 minutes.
Some crooning-esque vocals by Iggy Pop, and his howl of "Ann, my Ann, I love you!" nails it. The guitar solo is pretty good, and the full version showcases that solo, full of that good 'ol wah-wah guitar that we all know and love. The rhythm section does a good job too... Good song. Rating: 4/5
'Not Right': Another song that is filler, and it isn't a song to be very excited about. It just sings about how a guy wants something from a woman (maybe I'm not looking hard enough to figure out what's about?) Good riff by Ron Asheton. Rating: 2/5
'Little Doll': What a great ending. Just a good way to end the debut. Almost everything works despite this being one of the three fillers. Has some good guitar, vocals, and rhythm. Rating: 3.5/5
