New York Dolls: Lookin' Fine On Television, DVD

The New York Dolls in the early '70s took the raw power of the Velvets and the Stooges, then combined it with Jagger's ambivalent performance sexuality to create a "glam", cross-dressed stage show that had its visual as well as aural importance to the ensuing scene. In the course of their rising Nadja and Bob Gruen filmed interviews and live appearances in the clubs and on television.

The documentation can be had on the new 70-minute DVD Lookin' Fine on Television (MVD Visual 5272D). It captures the aura of the band in glorious black and white. The film makes quite clear the counterculture niche the band embodied. They were an eruption of a rather overtly flamboyant version of gay culture into the rock nightlife world, Liberace's of proto-punk if you like.

The club footage and tv spot cover much of the band's repertoire in raw sound. This is loud anarchic stuff and it recaptures the eccentric excitement the band generated. The sound is somewhat low-fi but in full keeping with the live ambiance of the band in full flight. One quibble--the filmakers continually synch multiple clips of the band performing on different occasions with the initial sound track, so that the band morphs minute-by-minute with the various outfits they wore on a different occasions. A little of this might have been enough--to give you the all-important visual impact of the band in full flower. As it is it tends to distract a little from the band-in-a-club actuality that the music portrays.

All-in-all, though, this is a very revealing documentary on a group that still sounds rootsy and strong. They used the elementality of their musical endowment to excellent advantage. They showed the punks to come that you could create real style out of a few chords, a lot of power and a big attitude.

Iggy and the Stooges: Raw Power Live, September 2010, DVD Now Out

Iggy Pop and the Stooges did a live concert in Monticello, NY last September, 2010. They featured supercharged renditions of songs from their influential album Raw Power and a gathering of well-known numbers from previous albums. The CD that came out from that concert was reviewed on these pages (see May 27th posting).

Now a DVD of the gig is out. The total package is the result of a contest open to all Stooges fans, to make a video explaining why they would be a best choice to videotape the concert and interview the Stooges afterwards. A number of fans won and the result is now fully available in the DVD Iggy and the Stooges, Raw Power Live: In the Hands of the Fans (MVD Visual 52340). It shows you the zoo-like madness of Iggy and the audience interacting, the Stooges' security squad pulling people off the stage who manage to get up there to make themselves visibly nutty, the security squad repeatedly getting Iggy back up on stage after the audience has pulled him down on top of them while the music manically blasts away, among other things. The six or so contest winners get the show from many angles and there is a constant cut editing style that gives you the excitement but also doesn't give you a lot of footage where all the band members are facing you on the screen. But it's in realm of a cinema realism, a what-it's-like-to-be-in-the-audience feel.

The interview footage that follows has its ups and downs but basically it is rather insightful at times, especially with what Iggy has to say, who turns out to be articulate about it all.

The music is loud and strong, as on the CD.

Stooges fans will love it. Those not quite in that camp will certainly get a Stooge-eye view of what rock is about. And the band does NOT sound dated. Iggy is a vocalist who does a lot more than scream and shout, though of course he does that. That alone is something. Why are the Stooges important? What do you think, eh? The DVD gives you an idea of what that means. So it's worth pursuing if you are up for it.

Iggy and the Stooges: Raw Power Live, September 2010

The Stooges were unvarnished and a little bit dangerous sounding to the majority of rock listeners when they hit the stage in the late-sixties, early-seventies. It's a well-known, well-told story of a band that was one of the first to return to the garage in a consistently excellent way. Like the Velvets, they ignored the increasing sophistication that was generally taking over. Unlike the Velvets, though, they took a little longer to reach cult status.

Cut to September of last year, when the reunited Stooges, complete with a very energized Iggy, played the All Tommorrow's Parties Festival in front of rolling "tapes".

What happened that day is well captured on an LP release, Raw Power Live: In the Hands of the Fans (MVD Entertainment). It's a blazingly overbearing (in a good way) performance of what was probably their seminal album (Raw Power, duh).

There's no point in discussing the niceties of this album--because with the Stooges as they should be, there ARE no niceties. It's rude, man, as it should be. And it's most definitely the band totally ON it. No need to say more.

The Stooges: Much Better Than We Thought Back Then

Originally posted on October 20, 2008

Iggy Pop and the Stooges were a financial disaster when they emerged in 1969-73. A group that raw and, let’s face it, crude, wasn’t something people were looking for then. By the time their third LP Raw Power was in the can, they were on the train to oblivion. Then punk came along and they became significant ancestors of that music overnight. And in retrospect they were one of those awful/great groups that have come along in rock history that seem better now than they did then. They were a garage band that appeared when garage bands were not in vogue.

UK’s Pilot records released in 1996 a set of Stooges rehearsal-demos (Studio Sessions) made around the time of the Raw Power record. It embodies Stooge-crude at its peak. If you can find a copy, you might want to get it if you like such things. It is not going to convert anybody to Stoogemania, but it will not disappoint those who already are predisposed. The sound is pretty elemental, like it was made in a garage. That’s fitting. But it has no pretensions.

Detroit's MC5 Live

Posted on October 13, 2008

There is a fine line between punk and thrash on one hand and out of control, inept performance, on the other. The MC5 came up in 1969 and they straddled the line between the two outcomes. They were ahead of their time in being brash and over the top with raw energy like some of the bands to come.

In the Priceless Collection, Extended Versions (Collectibles) release of a concert from around 1970 that borderline is crossed. The guitars tend to drown out the vocals in a crude way and the drums are present as a crashing noise somewhere just a little off the speakers. This is a historical document, of course, and for those who liked or like the band, it will be welcomed. For the rest it isn’t something to go out of the way to get. To cap it off the recording quality is sub-par. It’s not essential.