Fun House (The Stooges album)

Fun House is the second studio album by American rock band the Stooges. It was released on July 7, 1970, by Elektra Records.[3] Though initially commercially unsuccessful, Fun House developed a strong cult following. Like its predecessor (1969's The Stooges) and its successor (1973's Raw Power), it is generally considered integral in the development of punk rock.[4][5][6]

Fun House
Studio album by
the Stooges
ReleasedJuly 7, 1970
RecordedMay 11–25, 1970
StudioElektra Sound Recorders in Los Angeles, California[1]
Genre
Length36:35
LabelElektra
ProducerDon Gallucci
The Stooges chronology
The Stooges
(1969)		 Fun House
(1970)		 Raw Power
(1973)

Recording sessions

In 1969, Elektra Records had released the Stooges' debut album to mixed reviews and mediocre commercial success (peaking at number 106 on the Billboard charts). Company head Jac Holzman believed that MC5, another Michigan-based band, had more potential of success than the Stooges.[7] Holzman asked former Kingsmen keyboardist Don Gallucci to produce the Stooges' second album.[7]

Having seen the group live, Gallucci told Holzman that the Stooges were an "interesting group, but I don't think you can get this feeling on tape". Holzman said it didn't matter because he had already reserved recording time in Los Angeles. The album was recorded at Elektra Sound Recorders in Los Angeles, California, from May 11 to 25, 1970.[8] Gallucci's plan as a producer was to use each day to record about a dozen takes of a particular song and then pick the one that would appear on the album. The first day consisted of sound checking and run-throughs of all songs with heavy use of baffles between the amps and drums while singer Iggy Pop sang his vocals through a studio-style microphone on a boom stand.[9]

The result was terrible in the band's opinion. They took exception to the atmosphere inside the studio with soundproof padding and isolators. To achieve their vision, the Stooges and Gallucci stripped the entire studio of its usual gear to emulate their live performances as closely as possible. According to Gallucci, they set up the band in the way they normally play at a concert. For example, Pop was singing through a handheld microphone, and the guitar and bass amps were placed side by side. The results were very raw when compared to many contemporary records; for example, without the normal isolation baffles the vibrations from the bass amplifier cause audible rattling of the snare drum on several songs.

Pop indicated that iconic blues singer Howlin' Wolf "was really pertinent for me on Fun House. That stuff is Wolfy, at least as I could do it."[10]

The Stooges intended for "Loose" to be the album's first track; Elektra, however, felt that "Down on the Street" would be the stronger opener.[11]

An alternate version of "Down on the Street", featuring a Doors-style organ overdubbed by Gallucci, was pulled from the album and released as a single.[11] It was released the same month as Fun House, and fared slightly better on the charts.

Music and lyrics

At the time of its release, Billboard magazine regarded Fun House as being a hard rock album with elements of musical improvisation.[12] Music critic Robert Christgau of The Village Voice has characterized the album as "genuinely 'avant-garde' rock" because of the music's apt "repetitiveness", "solitary new-thing saxophone", and "L.A. Blues", which showcases the "old avant-garde fallacy ... trying to make art about chaos by reproducing same."[13] Author Greg Kot has called Fun House "the Stooges' punk jazz opus".[14]

In 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die (2005), music journalist Stevie Chick wrote that the sleazy tales of hedonism and reckless abandon on the album's first half are followed by "the comedown", as evoked by looser song structures, Steve Mackay's freeform saxophone, and "Iggy sounding like a scared, lost child, warning from bitter experience that 'The Fun House will steal your heart away.'"[15] "L.A. Blues" concludes the album with a flurry of noise and disoriented dual drumming, which Stylus Magazine's Patrick McNally interpreted as the Stooges being "lost culturally and spiritually in the smoke and riots and confusion of Detroit and America at the dawn of the seventies, but also in the overwhelming squall and clatter of the sound that they—from nothing, from nowhere—managed to create."[16]

Critical reception
Retrospective professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[17]
Chicago Tribune[18]
Christgau's Record GuideA−[13]
Entertainment WeeklyA+[19]
Mojo[20]
Pitchfork9.4/10[21]
Q[22]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[23]
Spin Alternative Record Guide10/10[24]
Uncut[25]

In contemporaneous reviews, Charles Burton from Rolling Stone found Fun House to be "much more sophisticated" than the Stooges' debut album, writing that they sounded "so exquisitely horrible and down and out that they are the ultimate psychedelic rock band in 1970".[26] Roy Hollingworth of Melody Maker was unimpressed however, calling it the worst record of the year and "a muddy load of sluggish, unimaginative rubbish heavily disguised by electricity and called American rock".[27] Christgau wrote in his original review for The Village Voice that the Stooges' successful use of monotony and incorporation of saxophone had intellectual appeal, but questioned whether it was healthy as a listener for "[me] to have to be in a certain mood of desperate abandon before I can get on with them musically".[28] He later said his criticism had been based on the album's "inaccessibility" as popular music, and wrote in Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies (1981):

Now I regret all the times I've used words like 'power' and 'energy' to describe rock and roll, because this is what such rhetoric should have been saved for. Shall I compare it to an atom bomb? a wrecker's ball? a hydroelectric plant? Language wasn't designed for the job.[29]

In a retrospective review, AllMusic's Mark Deming hailed Fun House as "the ideal document of the Stooges at their raw, sweaty, howling peak", and wrote that it features better songs than their debut, significant improvement from each member, and Don Gallucci's energetic and immediate production.[17] Dalton Ross of Entertainment Weekly wrote that the "radical" album sounded "primal, unpredictable, dangerous".[19] Pitchfork critic Joe Tangari felt that the music's aggression has rarely been matched. He recommended it to "any rock fan with a sense of history" and asserted that, along with the Stooges' debut, Fun House is one of the most important predecessors to the punk rock movement.[21] Barney Hoskyns called it a "proto-punk classic",[30] and Jon Young of Spin hailed it as a "proto-punk landmark" that possessed a "magnificent chaos".[31] According to Cleveland.com writer Troy L. Smith, "What was once dismissed as something too raw and primal, now sits as a work of unparalleled hard-rock genius",[32] while music historian Simon Reynolds says "it clearly stands out as the most powerful hard-rock album of all time."[33]

In 2003, Rolling Stone ranked Fun House number 191 on their list of 500 Greatest Albums of All Time,[34] maintaining the rating in a 2012 revision, and moving it up to number 94 in the 2020 reboot of the list.[35][36] Melody Maker said that it is, "no contest, the greatest rock n' roll album of all time".[37] Lenny Kaye, writing for eMusic, called it a "rock and roll classic" and "one of the most frontal, aggressive, and joyously manic records ever".[38] In The Rolling Stone Album Guide (2004), Scott Seward claimed that, although saying so "risks hyperbole", Fun House is "one of the greatest rock & roll records of all time" and that, "as great as they were, the Stones never went so deep, the Beatles never sounded so alive, and anyone would have a hard time matching Iggy Pop's ferocity as a vocalist."[23]

Legacy and influence

Australian band Radio Birdman chose their name based on mishearing the line "radio burnin' up above" in the song "1970". They also named their Oxford Street performance venue The Oxford Funhouse and covered "TV Eye" on their 1977 album Radios Appear.

John Zorn covered "T.V. Eye" for Rubáiyát: Elektra's 40th Anniversary: the same song was also covered for the glam rock film Velvet Goldmine by a supergroup featuring original Stooges guitarist Ron Asheton and members of Sonic Youth, with actor Ewan McGregor on vocals. The Birthday Party covered "Loose" on their 1982 live album Drunk on the Pope's Blood and, also live, the song "Funhouse": a version with sax played by J.G. Thirlwell appears on the 1999 CD The Birthday Party Live 81–82. the Damned's 1977 debut album, Damned Damned Damned, features a cover of "1970", entitled "I Feel Alright". Depeche Mode covered "Dirt" on their I Feel Loved single. GBH covered "1970" (as "I Feel Alright") on their third album City Babys Revenge. A live version of "1970" appears on Mission of Burma's posthumous live album The Horrible Truth About Burma. Hanoi Rocks cover "1970" (titled "I Feel Alright") on their 1984 live album All Those Wasted Years. Spacemen 3 adapted "T.V. Eye" into the near-cover "OD Catastrophe" on their debut album Sound of Confusion. Michael Monroe also covered the song for his Another Night in the Sun live album in 2010. In 1989 indie rock band Blake Babies covered "Loose" for their album Earwig. They sampled Pop's voice into the song. Rage Against the Machine recorded "Down on the Street" for their 2000 covers album Renegades, and the main riff from their song "Sleep Now in the Fire" was inspired by the one in "T.V. Eye." A cover of "Dirt" appears on disc one of Screeching Weasel's 1999 double CD compilation Thank You Very Little.

In 2010, Nigerian songwriter Billy Bao and his band went into the studio exactly 40 years after the recording of the album and recorded their album Buildings from Bilbao using all titles and song times for their own songs (except "1970", which is updated as "2010", and "L.A. Blues", which is called "LAGOS Blues"). "Down on the Street" briefly appears on the song "Maggot Death (Live at Brighton)" off of the Throbbing Gristle album The Second Annual Report, as a field recording of a club playing the song over the P.A. system.

Joey Ramone, Mark E. Smith, Jack White, Nick Cave, Michael Gira, Buzz Osborne, Aaron North, Henry Rollins[39] and Steve Albini. are among the artists who cited Fun House as a favourite album. "The greatest rock 'n' roll record ever made," enthused White. "It is a brilliant, brilliant record. I don't think it'll ever be topped."[40]

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 outtakes (essentially highlights from the Complete Fun House Sessions box set). Contributing a quote to Pop biographer Paul Trynka's liner notes for the reissue, Jack White dubbed Fun House "by proxy the definitive rock album of America".

In 2005, the Stooges performed the album live in its entirety as part of the All Tomorrow's Parties-curated Don't Look Back series. "Dirt" was ranked number 46 on Gibson's "Top 50 Guitar Solos" list in 2010.[41]

The title track was on the soundtrack to the 2004 video game MTX Mototrax, "1970" appeared in Tony Hawk's Underground 2 the same year and "Down on the Street" appeared in Battlefield: Hardline in 2015.

The album had sold 89,000 copies through March 2000.[42]

Track listing

All tracks are written by The Stooges (Dave Alexander, Ron Asheton, Scott Asheton, and Iggy Pop)

Side one
No.TitleLength
1."Down on the Street"3:42
2."Loose"3:34
3."T.V. Eye"4:16
4."Dirt"7:00
Side two
No.TitleLength
1."1970"5:14
2."Fun House"7:45
3."L.A. Blues"4:52
2005 reissue: Disc two
No.TitleLength
8."T.V. Eye" (Takes 7 & 8)6:01
9."Loose" (Demo)1:16
10."Loose" (Take 2)3:42
11."Loose" (Take 22)3:42
12."Lost in the Future" (Take 1)5:50
13."Down on the Street" (Take 1)2:22
14."Down on the Street" (Take 8)4:10
15."Dirt" (Take 4)7:09
16."Slide (Slidin' the Blues)" (Take 1)4:38
17."1970" (Take 3)7:29
18."Fun House" (Take 2)9:30
19."Fun House" (Take 3)11:29
20."Down on the Street" (Single mix)2:43
21."1970" (Single mix)3:21

Personnel
The Stooges

Technical

  • Don Gallucci – production, organ overdubs for the album’s single
  • Brian Ross-Myring – remastering, engineer
  • Tom Hummer – assistant engineer

See also

References
  1. Caraeff, Ed (May 23, 1970). "Iggy the Stooges (L-R Dave Alexander, Iggy Pop in front, Scott Asheton in back and Ron Asheton) pose for a portrait at Elektra Sound Recorders while making their second album 'Fun House'". Getty Images. Los Angeles, California. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
  2. Sharp, Johnny (August 28, 2019). "10 Essential Garage Rock Albums". louder. Retrieved April 5, 2023.
  3. "Fun House". Iggyandthestoogesmusic.com. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
  4. "50 Greatest Punk Albums Ever". Kerrang! (Noise Pollution: The Punk Magazine ed.). London. 2000.
  5. Michalik, Timothy (October 23, 2017). "Treble's Top 100 Punk Albums – 21. The Stooges – Fun House". Treble. Retrieved April 10, 2019. Arguably punk rock's most essential and influential album, Fun House—The Stooges follow-up to their 1969 self-titled studio debut—found Iggy Pop, David Alexander, Ron Asheton and Scott Asheton at their finest and purest form as artists, digging deeper than any band before them, channeling slow-rolling jazz with gritty blues guitar licks, psychedelia with spurts of hammering drum fills, and licentious screaming and hollering with bass lines groovier than the bulk of Motown's discography.
  6. Greene, Andy (April 13, 2016). "Readers' Poll: The 10 Best Punk Albums". Rolling Stone. New York. Retrieved April 10, 2019. The Ramones were still unknown teenagers in Forest Hills, Queens, when the Stooges laid the groundwork for punk on their first two albums, 1969's The Stooges and Fun House a year later in 1970.
  7. "Happy Anniversary: The Stooges, Fun House". Rhino Entertainment. August 8, 2016. Retrieved June 9, 2019.
  8. Fun House (booklet). The Stooges (deluxe ed.). Rhino Entertainment. 2005. pp. 13–14. R2 73175.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  9. Rudolph, Eric (June 1, 2000). "Rocking in the Studio With The Stooges: Inside "The Complete Fun House Sessions"". Mix. New York. Archived from the original on June 4, 2011. Retrieved February 8, 2012.
  10. "Iggy Pop: Chicago Blues". Rolling Stone. No. 1119. New York. December 9, 2010. p. 59.
  11. 1970: The Complete Fun House Sessions (liner notes). The Stooges. Rhino Handmade. 1999. RHM2 7707.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  12. "Album Reviews". Billboard. Vol. 82, no. 38. New York. September 19, 1970. p. 36. Retrieved June 27, 2013.
  13. Christgau 1981, p. 376.
  14. Kot, Greg (October 21, 2005). "Gris Gris takes garage rock on a rocket ride". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved June 27, 2013.
  15. Chick 2010, p. 214.
  16. McNally, Patrick (August 18, 2005). "The Stooges – The Stooges / Fun House – Review". Stylus Magazine. Archived from the original on March 2, 2016. Retrieved June 27, 2013.
  17. Deming, Mark. "Fun House – The Stooges". AllMusic. Retrieved June 27, 2013.
  18. Kot, Greg (July 22, 1990). "Pop On Pop: Iggy Rates His Own Music (And So Do We)". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved November 4, 2020.
  19. Ross, Dalton (February 23, 2007). "Then and Now". Entertainment Weekly. New York. p. 66.
  20. "The Stooges: Fun House". Mojo. London. 2005. p. 114. [T]he Stooge machine was savagely tuned, rampaging, able to precision-blast numerous near-identical takes.
  21. Tangari, Joe (August 17, 2005). "The Stooges: The Stooges / Fun House". Pitchfork. Retrieved June 27, 2013.
  22. "The Stooges: Fun House". Q. No. 88. London. January 1994. p. 119.
  23. Seward 2004, p. 786.
  24. Rubin 1995, p. 378.
  25. Reynolds, Simon (September 2005). "The Stooges: The Stooges / Fun House". Uncut. No. 100. London. p. 120.
  26. Burton, Charles (October 29, 1970). "Funhouse". Rolling Stone. New York. Retrieved June 27, 2013.
  27. Hollingworth, Roy (December 26, 1970). "The Stooges: Fun House (Elektra)". Melody Maker. London.
  28. Christgau, Robert (November 19, 1970). "Consumer Guide (14)". The Village Voice. New York. Retrieved June 27, 2013.
  29. Christgau 1981, pp. 5, 376.
  30. Hoskyns 2009, p. 271.
  31. Young, Jon (March 2007). "They Still Need More". Spin. p. 90.
  32. Smith, Troy L. (October 5, 2021). "10 best Rock & Roll Hall of Fame albums of the 1970s year by year". Cleveland.com. Retrieved November 13, 2021.
  33. Shock and Awe: Glam Rock and Its Legacy, from the Seventies to the Twenty-First Century. London: Faber & Faber. 2016. ISBN 978-0571301713.
  34. "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone. New York. December 11, 2003. p. 136.
  35. "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone. September 22, 2020. Archived from the original on April 5, 2023.
  36. "500 Greatest Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone. New York. May 31, 2012. Retrieved September 18, 2019.
  37. Reynolds, Simon (February 19, 1994). "The Stooges: The Stooges / Fun House". Melody Maker. London. p. 34.
  38. Kaye, Lenny (January 11, 2010). "Stooges, Funhouse [Deluxe Edition]". eMusic. Archived from the original on June 29, 2013. Retrieved June 27, 2013.
  39. "Henry Rollins Channels His Anger at Spicy Wings". Hot Ones. Season 4. Episode 8. September 7, 2017. YouTube. Archived from the original on December 12, 2021. Retrieved March 12, 2020 – via YouTube.
  40. Cameron, Keith (October 2003). "Jack & Iggy". Mojo. No. 119. p. 96.
  41. "Gibson.com's Top 50 Guitar Solos of All Time – 50–41". Gibson. September 20, 2010. Archived from the original on February 24, 2012. Retrieved February 8, 2012.
  42. Sisario, Ben (March 19, 2000). "The Making of 'Fun House,' Every Bit of It". The New York Times. Retrieved September 29, 2020.

Bibliography
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