5 Essential Stooges Albums You Should Listen To
By: Jeffrey Ramos
Tags: Iggy Pop, Music, Punk Rock, The Stooges

The Stooges formed in 1967 out of Ann Arbor, Michigan. With Iggy Pop on vocals, the Asheton brothers on guitar and drums respectively, and Dave Alexander on bass, the band didn’t top charts in 1969 or become an instant success during their time. But The Stooges did set the foundation for the early beginnings of Punk Rock with their first three albums. Along with fellow Detroit band MC5, and bands such as the Velvet Underground, The Stooges helped pioneer the Punk Rock sound and ethos of the late 1970s by playing raw, loud garage rock.

Performances by the band were erratic, wild; improvised music as Iggy Pop ran wild on stage covering himself with peanut butter or bleeding out on stage. It was a true show of wild, eccentric self-expression which largely defined the 1960s.

With the release of the band’s eponymous debut album,TheStoogesbegan their legacy as Proto-Punk icons. Their second album Funhouse, sounded heavier, tighter, and more raw but it wasn’t until after the release of Raw Power and plenty of time before their influence was recognized. Iggy Pop launched a successful solo career with dozens of albums to his name. And in the early 21st Century, The Stooges once again reunited and released an additional two albums.

These are the 5 Essential Albums by The Stooges You Should Listen To:

1. The Stooges

The Stooges eponymous debut album was released in August 1969. “I Wanna Be Your Dog” and “1969” were released as singles for the album, garnering very little attention.

Still known as The Psychedelic Stooges, they had just recently been signed to Elektra records along with fellow Detroit contemporaries, MC5. At suggestion from the label, they dropped “Psychedelic” from their name, and became “The Stooges.” But because the band was more disorganized than they were by later records, and more centered around improvisation on the few songs they did already have — they didn’t have enough material to meet the length requirement Elektra Records had set forth for them. With only five songs written, the band quickly wrote another three songs the night before recording began with former Velvet Underground member, producer John Cale in April of 1969.

The Stooges’s debut album is musically simplistic compared to later albums. Where in Funhouse the band was clearly experimenting more with their sound, The Stooges didn’t need any of that, not yet. They were setting the foundation for what was to come while playing simple music and having fun with it. They weren’t trying to be flashy. Especially in comparison to other albums that came out during 1969, The Stooges were clearly doing something different with their sound and approach that was purposely stripped down and raw.

Although the album initially wasn’t a hit or well received like many of their records, it is considered one of the first Proto-Punk albums and a Rock and Roll classic.

2. Funhouse

After The Stooges released their debut album, less than a year later in July 1970, their second album Funhouse was released. Running at thirty-six minutes long, Fun House features a drastic change in the band’s sound with a less refined and more experimental process. The album was produced by former Kingsman keyboardist, Dan Gallucci despite the bands record label believing MC5 would be the more successful Detroit band.

Recording for Funhouse began on May 11th, 1970 and lasted a mere two weeks until May 25th. Unhappy with the sound of the songs recorded during the first day, The Stooges and Gallucci stripped down all of the padding in the recording studio as a way to get a more live sound for the record.

Funhouse is often regarded as one of the band’s best efforts, former Black Flag vocalist Henry Rollins even considers the album to be one of the greatest records of all time.

Opening with “Down on the Street,” the record is chaotic, heavy, and full of raw intensity. Unlike The Stooges, in Funhouse the band is tighter, they’re playing far more complicated music with a slight blues influence that gives many of the songs an improvisational sound that is closer to a real performance by the band. It’s as authentic to a live performance by The Stooges as it can be.

Funhouse is a true statement to the influence the Stooges had on Punk-Rock and their own ability to experiment with a sound that wasn’t being replicated very much in the early 1970s.

Notable Tracks:

1. 1970

2. Dirt

3. Down on the Street

4. Fun House

3. Raw Power

Lackluster sales from Funhouse and a growing drug addiction to heroin within the band led to Elektra dismissing The Stooges and their first breakup in the Summer of 1971.

Soon after, Iggy Pop and David Bowie became friends and moved to London, where Bowie helped Pop get a record deal with his own label, Columbia Records. Iggy intended to make a solo record with guitarist James Williamson but the pair were unable to find a suitable rhythm section. This led to Pop and Willaimson reuniting with brothers and original Stooges members, Guitarist Ron and Drummer Scott Asheton. Ron moved to bass and with Williamson on lead guitar, the band re-branded as Iggy and The Stooges for their third studio album, Raw Power.

Raw Power was produced by David Bowie and released two years after Funhouse in 1973. Like their previous releases, the album failed to top any charts but it was an impressive return for the band that was well praised by critics at the time. With Williamson on guitar, the sound of the Stooges expanded into a new territory that was more mature and expansive than their previous records.

Despite the original mixing’s of Raw Power never sounding great and ongoing addiction that led to the band’s second break-up in 1974. The album has influenced many bands and musicians such as Kurt Cobain, who named the record his all-time favorite album. Raw Power is usually considered the best album by The Stooges.

Notable Tracks:

1. Search and Destroy

2. Gimme Danger

3. Raw Power

4. I Need Somebody

4. Ready To Die

After reuniting in 2003, The Stooges released The Weirdness, the first Stooges studio album since 1973 and the first with Ron Asheton back on guitar since Funhouse, the fifth and final Stooges album, Ready to Die was subsequently released in 2013.

After Ron Asheton’s passing in 2009, Iggy and The Stooges returned with James Williamson back on guitar for nearly the first time in 30 years. The band continued to play shows until late 2013 before quietly playing their final show and officially disbanding in 2016. Mostly, due to the fact that the original Stooges members had passed away, with Iggy Pop and James Williamson being the exceptions.

Running at 34-minutes long, the same length as Raw Power, Ready To Die contains 10 original songs written mostly by Pop and Williamson. The album sounds like it is by The Stooges, but it doesn’t sound like the late 1960s, early 70s Stooges. The Stooges found a distinct new sound in the 21st Century that can be attributed to Pop’s own experimental music career. They didn’t attempt to return to their old sound, instead they came together and made a great record that you’ll never hear much of in mainstream media or radio stations.

The Stooges’s final studio album is part of their legacy that leaves behind more great than bad music.

Notable Tracks:

1. Burn

2. Gun

3. Unfriendly World

4. Ready to Die

5. The Departed

5. Heavy Liquid ‘The Album’

In 2005, Heavy Liquid, a six CD box set featuring studio and live recordings along with interviews from the Raw Power sessions was released. The set contains songs recorded and performed live by the band between 1972 and 1974 during their time as Iggy and The Stooges. It wasn’t until over 12 years later in 2017, when Heavy Liquid ‘The Album’ was released.

While the box set contains various recordings of the same songs, ‘The Album’ is instead made up of the best recordings of a select seventeen songs, many of these songs may be familiar to die-hard fans but for new fans, this is a great record.

Unlike other Stooges albums, Heavy Liquid contains covers such as “Louie Louie” and “Money” as well as songs such”Johanna” and”Till The End of The Night” that display the true talent of The Stooges as a musical unit. This album is a great look into the potential The Stooges had while also being a glimpse as to how great Iggy Pop really is before he headed off as a solo artist.

Heavy Liquid is an impressive, ear opening look into the musical flexibility of The Stooges with James Williamson on guitar.

Notable Tracks:

1. I Got A Right

2. Louie Louie

3. Money

4. Johanna

5. Till The End Of The Night