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Fun House (The Stooges album)

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Untitled
For the album by Pink, see Funhouse (Pink album).
For other uses, see Funhouse (disambiguation).

Fun House is the second album by the American rock band The Stooges.

It was recorded in May 1970 and released in July of the same year. Like its predecessor, The Stooges (1969), Fun House did not sell well. In subsequent years, however, it has been cited as very influential on later musicians, notably in punk rock. In 2007, the album was voted Loudest Album Ever by Q Magazine.[2]The 1,000 Best Albums Since 1965, according to Fast 'N' Bulbous[3], "Fun House" stands at number 1.

Recording sessions

The tracks were recorded live in the studio with few or no overdubs, in roughly the same order as on the record. The Stooges were known at the time more for their cataclysmic live shows than for any established musicality, so "Fun House" being recorded in this pseudo-live fashion made it the Stooges album which most closely captures the essence of their sound.[4][5] It also allowed for the collector-friendly release of 1970: The Complete Fun House Sessions in 2001.

The Stooges intended that "Loose" open the album, but Elektra thought "Down On The Street" would be the stronger opener.[6]

An alternate version of "Down On The Street", with Doors-style organ overdubbed on it by producer Don Gallucci, was pulled from the album and made into a single.[6] It was released the same month as Fun House, and fared slightly better on the charts.

Influence

In 1985, singer Henry Rollins cited Fun House as one of his two favorite albums in Spin.[7] The other was The Velvet Underground's White Light/White Heat.

In 1989 indie rock band Blake Babies covered "Loose" for their album Earwig. They sampled Iggy's voice into the song.

Numerous other musical artists have cited Fun House as their favorite album, including Jack White, Nick Cave, Henry Rollins (along with The Velvet Underground's White Light/White Heat} and musician/engineer Steve Albini

In 1999 Rhino Records released a limited edition box set, 1970: The Complete Fun House Sessions, featuring every take of every song from every day of the recording sessions, plus the single versions of "Down On The Street" and "1970". On August 16, 2005, the album was reissued by Elektra and Rhino as a two-CD set featuring a newly remastered version of the album on disc one and a variety of outtakes (essentially highlights from the Complete Fun House Sessions box set) on disc two. Jack White contributed a quote to Iggy biographer Paul Trynka's liner notes to the reissue, in which White dubbed Fun House "by proxy the definitive rock album of America."

In 2003, the album was ranked number 191 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.[8]

In 1998, the Paris-based music magazine Rock & Folk placed Fun House in the top position of its "discothèque idéale."

In 2005 the album was performed live in its entirety as part of the All Tomorrow's Parties-curated Don't Look Back series.

Track listing

All tracks written by the Stooges

Original release

Side one:

  1. "Down on the Street" – 3:42
  2. "Loose" – 3:33
  3. "T.V. Eye" – 4:17
  4. "Dirt" – 7:00

Side two:

  1. "1970" – 5:14 (also known as "I Feel Alright")
  2. "Fun House" – 7:45
  3. "L.A. Blues" – 4:52

2005 Reissue

Disc one:

  1. "Down on the Street" – 3:43
  2. "Loose" – 3:34
  3. "T.V. Eye" – 4:17
  4. "Dirt" – 7:03
  5. "1970" – 5:15 (also known as "I Feel Alright")
  6. "Fun House" – 7:47
  7. "L.A. Blues" – 4:57

Disc two:

  1. "T.V. Eye" [Takes 7 & 8] – 6:01
  2. "Loose" [Demo] – 1:16
  3. "Loose" [Take 2] – 3:42
  4. "Loose" [Take 22] – 3:42
  5. "Lost in the Future" [Take 1] – 5:50
  6. "Down on the Street" [Take 1] – 2:22
  7. "Down on the Street" [Take 8] – 4:10
  8. "Dirt" [Take 4] – 7:09
  9. "Slide" (Slidin' The Blues) [Take 1] – 4:38
  10. "1970" [Take 3] – 7:29
  11. "Fun House" [Take 2] – 9:30
  12. "Fun House" [Take 3] – 11:29
  13. "Down on the Street" (Single mix) – 2:43
  14. "1970" (Single mix) – 3:21

Personnel

References and footnotes

  1. ^ Weisbard & Marks, 1995. p.378
  2. ^ Q Issue 253 (August 2007) P.54
  3. ^ http://www.fastnbulbous.com/best_since_1965.htm
  4. ^ Rudolph, Eric. Rocking in the Studio With The Stooges: Inside "The Complete Funhouse Sessions". June 1, 2001.
  5. ^ [1]"Like jazz, this is music where it sounds as if you can hear the players thinking and reaching conclusions and feeling their way as they go"
  6. ^ a b Edmonds, Ben. Liner notes of 1970: The Complete Fun House Sessions. Los Angeles: Rhino Entertainment dba Rhino Handmade, 1999 Cite error: The named reference "edmonds" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  7. ^ Rollins, Henry. "My Favorite Albums". New York City: Spin, Issue #3, 1985
  8. ^ http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/6599311/191_fun_house

Notes

  • Weisbard, Eric (1995). Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. ISBN 0679755748. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
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