I began listening to the Stooges in early September 2021. I don't think they have great albums but they do have a handful of some excellent songs. In the summer of 2025, I listened to Iggy Pop's first two albums.
The Stooges (1969): B-
Fun House (1970): B
Raw Power (1973): B
Iggy Pop: The Idiot (1977): B+
The Stooges (1969):
The possibilities that the Stooges introduce here are mind-blowingly great. Bad boys though the Rolling Stones have been, they don't revel in urban decay (I vaguely recall Robert Christgau referring to Iggy Pop as something like "trailer park trash") and Mick Jagger has never leant his voice or his pen to a song as disgusting as "I Wanna Be Your Dog." They play rock'n'roll with exhilarating desperation and without the artsy stylings of the Velvet Underground... that is, for the most part. I'm worried how much influence John Cale has imposed on this young group. My bet is that all they want to play is rock'n'roll but side one ends in the ten-minute "We Will Fall," which makes no sense with their sound. It's not just the disgracefully slow dirge, however. Their songwriting is inconsistent and produces maybe three excellent tracks while the rest is varying degrees of good. I hope this starts a revolution with bands from every corner of the US jumping on the bandwagon, but I hope the Stooges improve fast so they can properly show us the way. B-
Fun House (1970):
Side one is pretty spectacular--blending the punk rock of their debut with hard rock--and highlights the importance of great bass playing, which I now realize was very lacking on their debut. Iggy Pop has also evolved, no longer sounding like a front-man who only makes headlines for his silly antics on stage but one who's a genuine powerhouse on stage. I also love the production, which, as intended, makes the album sound like a live performance. On side two, the band expands on the album's sound by adding a saxophone, which shows up on all three songs. Saxophone on rock records can so be powerful on rock records but more often than not, they aren't utilized properly. Here, it particularly sounds out of place and mutes the main attraction of this group: power. B
Raw Power (1973):
Even if Bowie's mix wasn't so thin--Iggy Pop's mixes don't appear to be much better--I doubt I would understand the immense critical acclaim that Raw Power gets. I'd like it more than their sophomore record but that's not really fair as the second half of Fun House does great injustice to its outstanding beginning. "Gimme Danger," which is a perfect companion piece to "Gimme Shelter," is pretty much the only song I love, "Search and Destroy” is fine, and I prefer Ron Asheton to James Williamson on guitar. As usual, I enjoy the attitude of the record but at this least time around, Pop isn't a vocalist I'm very impressed by. B
Iggy Pop: The Idiot (1977):
The Stooges were maniacal, a hard-rock slobber fest of shock jock rock. But after the Stooges broke up in 1974, Iggy Pop went in a different direction. In 1976, he teamed up with David Bowie to kick heroin and the two worked out a creative partnership that would culminate in Pop's first two solo studio albums and would inform David Bowie's direction on the Berlin Trilogy. Because Bowie wrote much of the music for Pop's debut album and produced it, The Idiot bears almost no resemblance to Iggy Pop's previous work with the Stooges. With a slow pace, droning synths, and Pop's disinterested baritone, the album kisses proto-punk goodbye, skips over the current stylings of punk rock altogether, and foresees the post-punk scene to come. Heck, and it's even better than Bowie's Low whose recording sessions quickly followed The Idiot's. The darker, mechanical sound as well as Pop's bleak lyrics ultimately make a convincing pairing that more than sustains the life-blood of these songs, from the most impressive songwriting pieces ("Dum Dum Boys," a Lou Reed-esque lyrical reflection on brothers Scott and Ron Asheton that subtly builds and builds) to the least ("Nightclubbing," which kicks ass with almost no lyrics and a simple drum machine beat). "Mass Production" is killer send-off too. B+
