Stooges - The Weirdness

[binnie]

Anyone picked this up yet?

First Stooges studio record in fucking decades and it's a killer!!!!

Ok, it's not Funhouse or any of the original records, but it still really kicks and snarls at you: I'm not a Steve Albini fan, but he's done a decent job here.

Will post a full review after a few more spins....

[Last_Child]

I've heard 2 songs, My idea of Fun & the opener.

Good, but could've been better.

Heard them on the radio. The DJ's, at least on of them, hated the album.
Bad production, bad lyrics etc.
His call..

[binnie]

Well, it was never gonna be like the original records was it?

They're all pushing 60...

But trust me, it's a pretty decent record: still like a smack in the face at time...

[Last_Child]

I kind of want to buy it, but I only have money for 2 records, and those 2 are released in 2 weeks..

[binnie]

Well, I would buy the two you know you want and hang fire on this one...

Or download it first....

[FORD]

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[binnie]

Cheers Ford, I hadn't seen that before!!

[binnie]

Here's my little mini-review:

In truth, this is more of a latter-day Iggy Pop record than it is a Stooges record: this is more about 3-4 minute garage rock songs than the uncontrollable musical toxication that featured on the first three Stooges records. But it's still fucking great.

Opener "Trollin" is like a clip in the teeth: dirty, mean and punchy and grabs you straight off. The next three tunes are the records' weaker points IMO: "You can't have friends", "ATM" and "My Idea of Fun" are all the most "Iggy" on this disc, short and closer to 'proper' songs than you might have expected, they bob along and snarl periodically. they aren't poor by any means, but not up to the calibre of the rest of this record, although Pop's lyrics are as strong as ever. Indeed his perfromance throughout is stella, snarling, raging and belligerent: the 160lbs of pure rock and roll that he is, the no frills dirty and sleezy rebellion that no rockstar stylist will ever tame.

And it is on the title track that he comes into his own: "The Weirdness" is like the Stooges of old but without being a pastiche, weird, and jammed out in a fussion-esque disturbing four minutes as Pop croons over the top of Ron's unique guitar tones.

Other highlights include "She Took my Money", with awesome storytelling lyrics, the rpaid fire of "Greedy awful People" and "Mexican Guy", all of which are performed with conviction and you know they still mean it. They don't sound much like the raw fury of those old records, indeed they are far darker, but the vibe is there: and you'll feel it.

"Passing Cloud" takes those jazz influences to another level, and is my favourite tune here: mellow and yet disturbing. And the record ends with the more garage than garage "i'm fried" which had real dirt and gravel.

If I was being critical, it would be of the recording: there's not enough ummph on the bass. Albini has done a stella job of capturing the raw performance of the band, at the expense of a sonic boom that would do them justice!

This isn't a vintage Stooges record, it's a record made by an OLDER Stooges, who haven't tried to recpature their former glory; or tried to copy trends. They've modified their approach, sure, and this is what you get: stripped down, uncomplicated, garage rock with a thousand times more bite than bark.