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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Let me tell you about the weirdness......, 3 Jul 2007
The weirdest thing about The Weirdness is Ron Asheton's guitar style. There's nothing to be found here reminiscent of the first two Stooges albums. If you're expecting No Fun and 1969 type riffing, forget it. Ironically, with The Weirdness Ron has concocted a bunch of riffs that give a more than knowing nod to the material on the one Stooges album he didn't play guitar on, Raw Power. He's very much doing a stripped down and lighter version of James Williamson's style, but that's certainly not a bad thing. Infact it makes for a more original and contemporary sounding album than one made using a bagfull of 3-chord Real Cool Time retreads.
The surprising let down on this album is Iggy. His voice is fine, it certainly doesn't seem to have decayed in the same fashion as many other Rock singers the same age. The problem is the lyrics. A lot of them are embarrassingly bad, sounding like the immature and angsty scrawlings of a 14 year old.
I get the impression that when the band agreed to record this album, Ron and Scott seriously got down to the business of working out the music - whilst Iggy lounged around in his garden in Miami, stroking his lizard and topping up his tan. Then when the time for recording came, he turned up with nothing, and bluffed his way through with a load of off-the-cuff lyrics that had about as much thought put into them as a kid puts into doing overdue homework at 8.45am in the school library.
But....once you accept (or get used to) the embarrasing triteness of many of the lyrics, this isn't a bad album. It's not a classic in any respect, it sounds too half finished for that (Iggy's half!). And of course in this day and age there's no way it was ever going to be as innovative or original as the material the band were penning almost 40 years ago.
The Weirdness is an OK album. Musically it's better than much of what is getting released by Rock bands these days....but if The Stooges ever decide to record another album, Iggy really needs to try harder..then maybe I'll hand out five stars, not three.
A+ to the Asheton brothers, and C- to Mr Pop.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
This is not an Iggy Pop album... this is The Stooges!, 24 Aug 2008
Often times, when bands have a reunion, it's a dreary rehash of their old songs and almost 100% of the time, a live album. As a result, they always disappoint. Not this time. This is a good renunion album because there's new studio material contained within.
The presentation is simple, yet excellent... black on silver, utilizing their original logo and even the typeface employed on the first two Elektra records. And much to Iggy Pop's credit, it does not emphasize his presence here. This is not a solo effort, nor is it "Iggy and The Stooges" ...this is the genuine article. This is The Stooges. Writing credits are given to the three original members. Anything else would have merely been a vehicle for another Iggy Pop solo album.
Original bassist, Dave Alexander, passed away a long time ago, but here we have Iggy Pop, Ron Asheton and Scott Asheton, not to mention the truly pleasant surprise of Steve MacKay playing sax on four of the twelve tracks. Also, Mike Watt makes for an excellent bass guitar replacement. In other words, this is pretty much the same musicians who brought you Fun House nearly four decades ago.
From the instant the first track begins, "Trollin'" you know you are listening to The Stooges. And you never forget until the album is over. Slashing, savage and recognizable as The Stooges throughout. Highlights include the Andy MacKay tracks as they harken back to that unique "jazz" sound that only The Stooges could achieve with the very best song being the coda, "I'm Fried" ...reminding one of "L.A. Blues" (unfortunately, it ends all too quickly). There were four other tracks that do not appear here. One is on the Japanese import version, while all four are featured as Side 3 of a now out-of-print vinyl version. With room to spare on this CD, it is a shame that these extra songs were not provided here as 'bonus' tracks.
This is certainly not a "mature" work, bringing new musical ideas and clever words to the table, however, it is not the same compared to what has gone before. The greatest disappointment lies in the lyrics, which sound as if they were written in less than an hour's time. Perhaps if they stay together and write another album, it will progress from here. Hopefully, such will the case.
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9 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Stooges being The Stooges! , 15 Mar 2007
After reading some of the press reviews and comments on here I approached this album with some trepidation. I think a few people need to refresh their memories about what 'The Stooges' are about. They are a garage quasi-punk band who have made full on good time thrash out music. It's never been about musicianship or delivering a musical tour de force.
It IS about Idiot Savante, primeval rock and roll which is exactly what 'The Weirdness' delivers. It's funny, observant and doesn't waste time. There is no fat on this baby which is exactly the way a 'Stooges' album should be.
Tracks such as 'ATM' and 'Free & Freaky' are very amusing using off the cuff lyrics which are deliberately trite but also well observed. 'Greedy Awful People' and 'The End of Christianity' are just succesful hits on some big targets which are achieved without compromising the music.
I really like this album. It's a 'Stooges' album, it's funny and sassy and well worth buying. What did the critics expect from them? Baffling.
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