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Toby Keith
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The Stooges
You may be able to argue that the Stooges weren’t the most talented musicians to ever get a recording contract, but you cannot argue that they also happen to be one of the most influential bands of all time. Anybody who sites 1976 as the birthdate of punk rock was apparently not paying attention in 1969, when the Stooges arrived on the scene, and almost instantly became the laughing stock of erudite hippies everywhere.
Well, he who laughs last wins, and Iggy Pop and his bandmates certainly have the right to yuck it up on us now. The good news is that, if we want to, we can laugh along with the band. Despite their lack of ability, the energy, creativity and unique simplicity of this album make it impossible to ignore. While the Woodstock nation strained at the seams to hold itself together, Iggy and the Stooges looked to the future, completely ignoring the hippie rhetoric of 1969. In its place, they provided youth culture with the means to express their frustration, and they did it with a brash, semi-idiotic humor that empowered them because of the honesty in their performance. One listen to “1969” or “I Wanna Be Your Dog” provides all the evidence you might require. At the time, “No Fun” seemed like a tossed off ode to youthful frustration. It has since become a garage band classic that inspired the Sex Pistols to attempt a cover version (and the original is much, much better).
Perhaps the best thing about the re-released version of this album is the bonus disk. While the primary disk features the album in all its original glory, the second disk features the original mixes as they were originally submitted by producer John Cale, as well as the full, unedited versions of “Ann” and “No Fun”. The original mixes are a gas, and might even surpass the versions that we’ve been hearing for the past 35+ years, while the full unedited versions display what might have happened if album length limitations didn’t come into play. Not only has the Stooges first album withstood the test of time, it has grown in stature and is now included on most critics “best of all time” lists (it recently appeared on the Rolling Stone list of Rock and Roll’s 500 best albums). If you consider yourself a fan of rock and roll, then you owe it to yourself to own this.
Grade: 
 
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