The Stooges' epochal debut album of the same name is a proto-punk and garage classic that was way ahead of its time and remains a cult album to this day. The band was founded in 1967 in Ann Arbor, Michigan by James Osterberg (Iggy Stooge, Iggy Pop) (voc), Ron Asheton (g), Dave Alexander (b) and Scott Asheton (dr). With their primitive rock'n'roll and their confrontational and extreme performances, they soon gained a reputation as a live phenomenon. A talent scout from Elektra Records became aware of the four gritty guys and got the band a record deal. In 1969, they recorded their first LP, which was released in the USA in August and in England a month later. The self-titled album was a failure and was also panned by the critics. After the release of a second album, Fun House (1970), the group briefly disbanded. With a different line-up, however, the LP Raw Power (1973) marked the end of the band a year later.
The loud and direct original punk rock from Detroit with timeless, dark and primitive hymns full of nihilism is now seen as the beginning of the end of the flower power movement from San Francisco. The Stooges' launch LP is a legendary rock debut from the 60s, incredible and revolutionary music that has often been imitated but never achieved. And a highly sought-after collector's item due to the huge worldwide demand for US or UK originals.
