The Stooges - The Stooges 

Titles

LP 1

Side A

1.    1969

2.    I Wanna Be Your Dog

Side B

3.    We Will Fall

LP 2

Side C

4.    No Fun

5.    Real Cool Time

Side D

6.    Ann

7.    Not Right

8.    Little Doll

Few albums have caused as much of a stir and left as much of an impression as The Stooges' debut album. For most listeners who discovered it shortly after its release –  incidentally, in the same week as Woodstock 1969 – the record seemed to come from another planet, even though the songs accurately reflected the band's Detroit surroundings and the discontent of youth. Rolling Stone also had no mercy on The Stooges, describing the album of the same name as “loud, boring, tasteless, unimaginative and childish” – an opinion shared by many other critics. And yet it was Rolling Stone that later included “The Stooges” in its list of the 500 greatest albums of all time, creating the template for countless styles and the aggressive attitude that would come to be associated with the punk scene years later. Time had shown that the band's stomping, clattering rock ‘n’ roll was far ahead of its time, as the work is now cited in countless “best album” lists. Nothing captures the essence of the Stooges better than “I Wanna Be Your Dog,” a classic that has been covered by dozens of artists. Ranked #314 on Rolling Stone's list of the greatest songs of all time, the track hypnotizes with a groove that could go on for hours without getting boring. Its simple brilliance and grungy charm are complemented by the raw, scratchy “No Fun,” an expressive, edgy, dangerous, and explosive track!

In fact, everything that singer Iggy Pop, bassist Dave Alexander and brothers Ron (guitar) and Scott Asheton (drums) create on “The Stooges” is absolutely physical. This can be traced back to the industrial plants of Motor City, the urge to destroy the hypocrisy of the hippie movement, the feeling of being outsiders in a society struggling with a clash of cultures, and the honest desire to be completely original. With Iggy Pop as the only “real” musician in the quartet, the Stooges pursued a do-it-yourself ethic that was unprecedented at the time. The Stooges built their own instruments – from oil drums, vacuum cleaners, mixers, washboards, and various scrap parts – and eschewed structure in favor of experimentalism, improvisation and personality. They used their inexperience to their advantage, which manifested itself in their rough makeup and minimalist style. Three tracks – “Real Cool Time,” “Not Right” and “Little Doll” – were essentially created spontaneously: the band, which rarely bothered with fixed arrangements, preferred to rely on gut feeling to see what would happen on stage. However, they realized that they needed more material to fill the album. This also explains why the sung mantra “We Will Fall” extends beyond the 10-minute mark, as it flows into the fragmented, psychedelic mood that pervades the entire work. And the familiar tracks? The Stooges rehearsed and memorized these before entering the Hit Factory with their producer, former Velvet Underground member John Cale.

Lovingly mastered from the original tapes at MoFi's California studio and pressed on 180-gram vinyl at Fidelity Record Pressing, this double LP (45 rpm) presents this groundbreaking album in audiophile quality for the first time, marking the 75th anniversary of Elektra: The surging fuzz tones, the cavernous reverb and wah-wah effect, the overdrive in the red zone, the lively handclaps, the almost detached timbre of Pop's mocking vocals, the roughness, the dirt and the crunch of the overlapping rhythms now come into their own with thrilling clarity, liveliness, detail and spatiality. Despite their twisted density and wild tonality, the songs radiate a deep openness and great dynamism. The “vibration” of the recording comes through unabated on the strictly numbered MoFi reissue, bringing the listener right up to the edge of the Stooges' stage. Housed in a Stoughton Printing gatefold sleeve befitting their status, the records naturally come with the iconic cover artwork of the album that changed music history forever!