Upon A Mouse #3: You Made Me Shiver With A Real Thrill

For this week's third and final final dip into The 20 Greatest Eponymous Albums Of All Time series, which originated at No Badger Required, my #18 pick is the debut album by The Stooges.

If that seems a bit harsh, you may be aggrieved to learn that The Stooges didn't even make the official NBR 20 Greatest Eponymous Albums Of All Time. Competition was stiff, to say the least.

In my case, The Stooges (the album) was an album I came to pretty late. And by late, I mean three and a half decades after it was first released. 

Being a mid-80s teen, I was aware of Iggy Pop, but I pretty much had no idea that he was in The Stooges until the end of the decade, and then mainly because every guitar band plying their trade on the Bristol live circuit would play I Wanna Be Your Dog or No Fun. 

There was also the cover of 1969 by The Sisters Of Mercy on my brother's copy of the Alice 12" single, which wound it's way onto one of my mixtapes around the same time.

So I didn’t get to listen to The Stooges’ debut album in full until 2005 when I bought the 2CD expanded edition, including the released version and original mixes, both produced by John Cale.

Whichever disc I listen to, what a fucking record. 

And then, in addition to the above mentioned songs, and amongst the scuzzy garage rock that inspired a slew of musical genres, the original Side One (track 3 of 8 on the CD) closes with the 10-minute tripped out, slowed down epic We Will Fall. Bonkers!

The second CD contains original or alternate versions of the entire album, bar We Will Fall, with a couple of versions apiece of the three big hitters. The standout for me though is Ann, expanded from the official album's three minutes to nearly eight, offering a different introduction and an extended squally guitar freakout to close. I like the brevity of the original, but this is something else.

I was very late to the party, but The Stooges retained the power to  thrill and inspire, more than three decades after the album emerged kicking and screaming into the world. Having listened to it several times again in the past month, it still does.

 

 

Today's completely unrelated movie snap off the telly is The Stepfather, a 1987 film starring Terry O'Quinn, who I am familiar with almost exclusively from his role as John Locke in the long-running TV series Lost. 

Summer's End Gathered In The Dampened Grass

Even further back today, with some heavy hitters from 1967 to 1969. Aretha! Beatles! Stones! Marvin! Bowie! Byrds! Monkees! Scott! Jimi! And more, much more.

 

Before I go into that though, a few words about today's photo, which was taken during a visit to Oceanogràfic València on day 2 of the recent Clan K tour. Billed as the largest aquarium in Europe, we spent a full seven or eight hours there and even that wasn't enough. I have mixed feelings about places such as these. I recognise the important conservation work and protection of endangered species. At the same, I feel utterly heartbroken that there are sentient creatures who, no matter how 'big' the space or millions of gallons of water used are still confined and caged. It was simultaneously an enlightening and enervating experience. In an ideal world, places like this wouldn't need to exist.

Back to today's selection, I originally had in mind a relaxed, acoustic heavy set but that kind of went off track as soon as I picked the delightfully unsettling Oleh Oleh Bandu Bandong by Kevin Ayers as the opening song. Choosing to follow it up with Aretha Franklin's cover of I Say A Little Prayer and there was no turning back.

 

Most of these songs will be familiar by virtue of being stone cold classics but I've lobbed a few rarities in to spice things up. 

Get Behind Me is lifted from Scott 4, Mr. Engel's first album entirely featuring his own songs and one which I only heard for the first time in 2018. Very, very late to discovering this but wow, what an album.

 

Time And Time Again by The Monkees was a 'lost' song originally recorded for the album Changes but unused and unreleased until the Missing Links compilation in 1988. I first heard it tucked away on the limited edition 2CD of The Definitive Monkees, a 60-track budget price treasure trove released in 2001. Time And Time Again is essentially Davy Jones solo with a team of session musicians. Peter Tork had left at this stage and the three remaining Monkees were recording their own songs separately.

The version of Little Doll by The Stooges featured here is the original mix by John Cale featured as a compare-and-contrast re-release of their eponymous debut album in 2005. Much as a I love the original, there's a charm and grit to these alternate versions too.

 

Dandelion by The Rolling Stones was originally the B-side of We Love You. The original single version featured an outro of the latter A-side, which has been edited from most of it's subsequent compilation appearances, including the one I own. None of that detracts from the song's general brilliance, though. And a mere B-side!!

The Innocence was the studio creation of songwriters Pete Andreoli (Pete Anders) and Vini Poncia, who released a handful of singles and a self-titled album in 1967. Vini co-wrote and appeared on five of Ringo Starr's solo albums in the 1970s and co-wrote Kiss' disco-rock classic, I Was Made For Lovin' You.

The Beatles and David Bowie seemed liked obvious companions and a natural way to close this selection, which ventured way off from my original idea but hey, that was the Sixties man, go with the flow.

More attempts to fake that I have a clue what I'm doing tomorrow. Stay tuned!

 

1) Oleh Oleh Bandu Bandong (Album Version By Kevin Ayers & Peter Jenner): Kevin Ayers (1969)

2) I Say A Little Prayer (Album Version By Burt Bacharach & Hal David) (Cover of Dionne Warwick): Aretha Franklin (1968)

3) Get Behind Me (Album Version By John Franz): Scott Walker (1969)

4) Ain't No Mountain High Enough (Album Version By Harvey Fuqua & Johnny Bristol): Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell (1967)

5) Time And Time Again ('Changes' Session Outtake): The Monkees (1969)

6) This Wheel's On Fire (Cover of Bob Dylan & The Band): The Byrds (1969)

7) Little Doll (Original John Cale Mix): The Stooges (1969)

8) Come On (Let The Good Times Roll): The Jimi Hendrix Experience (1968)

9) Dandelion (Single Version By Andrew Loog Oldham) (Edit): The Rolling Stones (1967)

10) All I Do Is Think Of You: The Innocence (1967)

11) Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds (Album Version By George Martin): The Beatles (1967)

12) Memory Of A Free Festival (Album Version By Tony Visconti): David Bowie (1969)

 

1967: The Innocence: 10

1967: Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band: 11

1967: United: 4

1968: Aretha Now: 2 

1968: Electric Ladyland: 8

1969: Dr. Byrds & Mr. Hyde: 6

1969: Joy Of A Toy: 1

1969: Scott 4: 3

1969: Space Oddity: 12

1988: Missing Links: 5

2005: The Stooges (Expanded Edition): 7

2007: Rolled Gold +: The Very Best Of The Rolling Stones (Expanded Edition): 9

 

Summer's End (45:05) (KF) (Mega)