Classic Review: The Stooges - Fun House (1970)

Fate deals some odd hands, but then of course The Stooges were an odd band. In 1970 the Michigan four piece hardly registered any critical significance outside their home state. A self titled debut album from the previous year had received a lukewarm reception and for that reason failed to ignite the charts or indeed match the avid local support for their incendiary live performances. What changed the course of history and transformed this and their 1971 follow up “Raw Power” into two of the most influential Protopunk recordings of all time? Was it leader Iggy Pop’s egocentric, manic, charismatic and at times shocking persona? Was it the slipstream of popular attention that came from a working relationship with David Bowie? Was it that televised peanut butter hurling Cincinnati concert that cemented their place in every disaffected teenager’s heart? There’s an argument for each and every route to the mass attention Iggy craved, but the simple fact is that to this day “Fun House” still sounds more relevant and omnipotent than 99% of the music that was released in 1970. The hopelessly unfulfilling 60s “summer of love” was over; ravaged and deconstructed by this vital recording.

Elektra Records’ casually fortuitous masterstroke was to appoint a lowly staff producer to helm the recording. Don Gallucci was considered inexperienced in terms of studio technique, but excelled as a session musician, and in addition, understood Garage Rock having played keyboards with The Kingsmen during the early 60s. His view was to deny the The Stooges sound any studio gimmickry or overdubs and just capture the raw essence that sonically bound the four together for their electrically charged live performances. For added authenticity Gallucci and the band set up their gear like they were playing a show, with ample room for Pop to swagger and menace as if an audience were before him. The Asheton brothers, Ron and Scott (guitar, drums), and bass player Dave Alexander create a tense but tight backdrop to Pop’s corrosive tales of tough streets, drugs and sluts. His hedonistic ideals were brazen, the morals of drug infused teen Dom interlaced through every syllable, whilst the band load the gun with brutally growling metallic guitar work and urgent rhythms. Side 1 is the sensationally maniacal party side of The Stooges with “Down On The Street” and “T.V. Eye” perfectly capturing the mood, whilst side 2 is more complex, darker, deeper and more explorative. Pop’s bravado shows cracks on the gargantuan title track as he warns of the consequences of excess at the “Fun House” whilst saxophonist Steven Mackay launches into a gloriously cacophonous freeform solo.

“Fun House” is a drooling derangement of all that came before it, a pulsating powerhouse of emotion, discordant attitudes, and blood pumping aggression.

10/10