The Stooges (album)

The Stooges
Studio album by The Stooges
Released	August 5, 1969 (1969-08-05) (US) September 1969 (UK)
Recorded	April 1969
Genre	Protopunk, garage rock, hard rock, psychedelic rock
Length	34:33
Label	Elektra
Producer	John Cale
The Stooges chronology
The Stooges (1969) Fun House (1970)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic
BBC Music	(favorable)
Robert Christgau	(B+)
Entertainment Weekly	(B+)
Pitchfork	(8.9/10)
Stylus Magazine	(A)
This table needs to be expanded using prose. See the guideline for more information.

The Stooges is the self-titled debut studio album by American rock band The Stooges. It was released in August 1969 on Elektra Records. Two songs, "I Wanna Be Your Dog" and "1969", were released as singles and the album peaked at number 106 on the Billboard album charts. It is widely considered as one of the best proto punk albums. With Ron Asheton's walls of distortion, and distorted wah wah solos, textures and power chord riffs it is also considered to have had an impact on hard rock.

Album history

For their first album, The Stooges had intended to record five songs: "I Wanna Be Your Dog", "No Fun", "1969", "Ann", and "We Will Fall". The five songs were staples of—and essentially the basis of—The Stooges' live set at the time. A typical Stooges song of the period would involve two minutes of composed song followed by several minutes of improvisation. Presuming that the five songs as normally performed would cover requirements for the album, the Stooges were told by Elektra that they needed more material. According to Iggy Pop, "We handed (the five-song version of the album) in and they refused it. They said, 'There aren't enough songs!' So we lied and said, 'That's OK, we've got lots more songs.'" (liner notes of 2005 reissue, p. 9)

In reality, the Stooges were about a day ahead of themselves when Iggy made that statement to Elektra; overnight, the group wrote three more songs, "Real Cool Time", "Not Right", and "Little Doll", and played them for the first time in the studio.

An initial mix by producer John Cale, apparently resembling ex-Velvet Underground bandmate Lou Reed's "closet mix" of that band's eponymous third album of the same year, was rejected by Elektra. The mix as heard on the final product was done by Iggy Pop and Elektra Records president Jac Holzman. Four of Cale's original mixes would later appear on the bonus disc of a 2005 re-issued version, with pitch correction applied to them. Five years later, all Cale mixes were released unaltered on the first disc of a 2010 collector's edition release of the album.

In 2003, the album was ranked number 185 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. The same magazine included "1969" in their "100 Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time" list.

In March 2005, Q magazine placed "I Wanna Be Your Dog" at number 13 in its list of the 100 Greatest Guitar Tracks.

Track listing

All tracks written by Dave Alexander, Ron Asheton, Scott Asheton and Iggy Stooge (Iggy Pop).

Side A

1. "1969" – 4:05
2. "I Wanna Be Your Dog" – 3:09
3. "We Will Fall" – 10:18

Side B

1. "No Fun" – 5:14
2. "Real Cool Time" – 2:29
3. "Ann" – 2:59
4. "Not Right" – 2:51
5. "Little Doll" – 3:20

2005 re-issue

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 the following alternate takes on disc two:

1. "No Fun" (Original John Cale mix) – 4:43
2. "1969" (Original John Cale mix) – 2:45
3. "I Wanna Be Your Dog" (Original John Cale mix) – 3:26
4. "Little Doll" (Original John Cale mix) – 2:49
5. "1969" (alternate vocal) – 4:47
6. "I Wanna Be Your Dog" (alternate vocal) – 3:28
7. "Not Right" (alternate vocal) – 3:12
8. "Real Cool Time" (alternate mix) – 3:22
9. "Ann" (full version) – 7:52
10. "No Fun" (full version) – 6:49

2010 collector's edition

On May 7, 2010, Rhino Records 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 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.

Disc 1

1. "1969" – 4:05
2. "I Wanna Be Your Dog" – 3:10
3. "We Will Fall" – 10:15
4. "No Fun" – 5:15
5. "Real Cool Time" – 2:29
6. "Ann" – 3:00
7. "Not Right" – 2:49
8. "Little Doll" – 3:21
9. "I Wanna Be Your Dog" [Single Version] – 03:10
10. "1969" [Original John Cale Mix] – 02:57
11. "Not Right" [Original John Cale Mix] – 02:37
12. "We Will Fall" [Original John Cale Mix] – 11:10
13. "No Fun" [Original John Cale Mix] – 04:42
14. "Real Cool Time" [Original John Cale Mix] – 02:40
15. "Ann" [Original John Cale Mix] – 03:15
16. "Little Doll" [Original John Cale Mix] – 03:05
17. "I Wanna Be Your Dog" [Original John Cale Mix] – 03:42

Disc 2

1. "Asthma Attack" [Album Version] – 06:26
2. "1969" [Alternate Vocal] – 04:45
3. "I Wanna Be Your Dog" [Alternate Vocal] – 03:28
4. "We Will Fall" [Alternate Version] – 11:24
5. "No Fun" [Full Version] – 06:49
6. "Real Cool Time" [Takes 1 & 2] – 07:04
7. "Ann" [Full Version] – 08:00
8. "Not Right" [Alternate Vocal] – 03:08
9. "Little Doll" [Takes 1-5] – 10:24

Musical personnel

• Iggy Pop - vocals (credited as "Iggy Stooge")
• Dave Alexander - bass
• Ron Asheton - guitar, vocals
• Scott Asheton - drums
• John Cale - piano, sleighbell on "I Wanna Be Your Dog", viola on "We Will Fall"

Recording and artwork personnel

• John Cale, Producer
• Joel Brodsky, Photography
• Danny Fields, Liner Notes (original album and 1989 CD release only)
• William S. Harvey, Art Direction
• Jac Holzman, Production Supervisor

2005 re-issue personnel

• Bill Inglot, Reissue Producer, Remastering
• Ben Edmonds, Reissue Producer, Liner Notes
• Dan Hersch, Remastering
• Alice Cooper, Liner Notes

Covers

• Redd Kross covered "Ann" on their 1984 all-covers album Teen Babes From Monsanto.

• Sky Cries Mary covered "We Will Fall" on their album "A Return to the Inner Experience."

• Spacemen 3 covered "Little Doll" on their debut album Sound of Confusion.

• The Sisters of Mercy covered "1969" during one of their Peel Sessions and on their EP "Alice".

• Joey Ramone covered "1969" on his album Don't Worry About Me.

Acts that have covered "No Fun"

• The Black Keys, on their first EP The Moan.

• The Stalin, on their 1982 single "Allergy".

• The Orb, during their John Peel Session in 1992.

• Asian Dub Foundation, on their 2008 album Punkara (with guest vocals from Iggy Pop himself).

• The Sex Pistols, both live and as a studio-recorded b-side to "Pretty Vacant". It was the last song performed by the group before breaking up at the Winterland show.

• Some Girls, on their album All My Friends Are Going Death.

• Teen Idles, on the "Flex Your Head" compilation

Acts that have covered or sampled "Not Right"

• Baby Woodrose, on their 2004 album Dropout!.

• Terveet Kädet, on their 1999 album Ääretön Propaganda.

• Sonic Youth, who included a cut-up sample on their second full length Bad Moon Rising (between the tracks "Society Is a Hole" and "I Love Her All The Time").

Acts that have covered "I Wanna Be Your Dog"

• Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, on their 1988 album "Up Your Alley".

• Cage The Elephant, who have been known to play it live.

• Sonic Youth, on their first full length album Confusion is Sex.

• Uncle Tupelo, on their live album "March 16-20, 1992"

• Breathing Fire, on their album "Years of Lead"

• Slayer, (A parody/tribute titled "I'm Gonna Be Your God") on their album "Undisputed Attitude"

Notes

• Weisbard, Eric; Craig Marks (1995). Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. ISBN 0-679-75574-8.