The Stooges is the self-titled debut studio album by American rock band the Stooges, released on August 5, 1969, by Elektra Records. Considered a landmark proto-punk release, the album peaked at number 106 on the US Billboard Top 200 Albums chart. The tracks "I Wanna Be Your Dog" and "1969" were released as singles; "1969" was featured on Rolling Stones list of the "100 Greatest Guitar Songs" at number 35. In 2020, the album was ranked number 488 on Rolling Stones 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.
Background and recording
For their first album, the Stooges had intended to record seven songs: "I'm Sick", "Asthma Attack", "Dance Of The Romance" / "Goodbye Bozos", "No Fun", "I Wanna Be Your Dog", and "1969". "I'm Sick" was a bolero that Iggy Pop had written on a Wurlitzer electronic piano and when performed live he would flop around on the stage going, "I'm sick! I'm siiiick! I'm sick! Blah!". "Asthma Attack" was a completely different composition than the version of the song utilizing the same song title that appears on the album reissue. According to Iggy Pop, ['Asthma Attack'] was a structured piece of repetitive descending chording that sounded a lot like 'Interstellar Overdrive. He elaborates further, "And it was B, A, G, E. Like a Who thing – and then I would wheeze and say, 'asthma attack. "Dance of the Romance" / "Goodbye Bozos" was an early version of what became known as "Little Doll" without the Ron Asheton guitar audio feedback cacophony known as "Goodbye Bozos" that originally ended the Psychedelic Stooges live performances of 1968.
"No Fun" took inspiration from the Johnny Cash country song "I Walk The Line" and the main guitar riff to "I Wanna Be Your Dog" took inspiration from the opening guitar riff to "Highway Chile" by the Jimi Hendrix Experience. Early versions of all seven songs were initially written from mid-late 1968 and early 1969. These seven songs were staples—and essentially the basis—of the Stooges' 1968 and early 1969 live set at the time.
Reception and legacy
According to music historian Denise Sullivan, The Stooges was "disavowed" by most critics; Sullivan nonetheless called it "a rock'n'roll classic". In a contemporary review, Edmund O. Ward of Rolling Stone called it "loud, boring, tasteless, unimaginative and childish", while conceding that he "kind of liked it". Robert Christgau gave it a backhanded compliment in his column for The Village Voice, deeming it "stupid-rock at its best", but did give it a "B+" grade overall. Daryl Easlea, writing for BBC Music, called the album "rock at its most primordial. ... [the] album is the original punk rock rush on record, a long-held well-kept secret by those in the know." Mark Deming of AllMusic commented, "Part of the fun of The Stooges is, then as now, the band managed the difficult feat of sounding ahead of their time and entirely out of their time, all at once." According to Phillip Sherburne of Pitchfork: "The album is unabashedly savage, fuzzy as a moldy peach, subtle as a hangover. Nevertheless, John Cale's production on the album harnesses just enough studio magic to make them sound positively otherworldly, from the swollen low end, dark as a bruise, to the blown-out sonics of Ron Asheton's guitar solos. Throughout, in unexpected pockets of silence, handclaps pop like fireworks."
In 2003, the album was placed at number 185 on Rolling Stones list of the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time", maintaining the rating in its 2012 revised list, and dropping to number 488 in its 2020 list. The magazine also included "1969" in their list of the "100 Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time". Seth Jacobson, writing in 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die, said that the album was "a collection of brilliant curios, which were neither full-on garage rock, nor out-and-out dirge." In 2005, Q magazine placed "I Wanna Be Your Dog" at number 13 in its list of the "100 Greatest Guitar Tracks".
Slash of Guns N' Roses noted it as one of his 15 his favorite studio albums. Michael Gira of Swans listed it as one of his 13 favorite albums.
Reissues
On August 16, 2005, Elektra and Rhino Records jointly re-issued the album as a specially-priced double CD, with a remastered version of the album on disc one and alternate takes on disc two. On May 7, 2010, Rhino again released the album in their "Handmade" series as a collector's package including two CDs, a 7" record and a 7"x7"-sized booklet. The first disc features the main songs, the single version of "I Wanna Be Your Dog", and all original John Cale mixes of the eight songs. The second disc, and both sides of the 7" single, contain the previously unissued "Asthma Attack", a staple of the group's early live shows. In 2020, Vinyl Me, Please reissued the album on vinyl using the rejected John Cale mixes. This was the first time the tracks have ever appeared on a vinyl pressing.
Track listing
Original release
Notes
- All track titles are stylized in all lowercase on original release.
2005 reissue
2010 collector's edition
2020 reissue
Personnel
The Stooges
- Iggy Stooge – vocals, handclaps
- Ron Asheton – guitar, handclaps
- Dave Alexander – bass, handclaps, vocals on "We Will Fall"
- Scott Asheton – drums, handclaps
Additional personnel
- John Cale – piano, sleigh bell on "I Wanna Be Your Dog", viola on "We Will Fall", production
Technical personnel
- Joel Brodsky – sleeve photography
- Danny Fields – liner notes (original album and 1989 CD release only)
- William S. Harvey – sleeve art direction
- Jac Holzman – production supervisor
2005 reissue personnel
- Bill Inglot – remastering
- Ben Edmonds – liner notes
- Dan Hersch – remastering
- Alice Cooper – liner notes