New Iggy & The Stooges Album This Year....Steve Albini Producing...

I got informed by eil that the double vinyl release is two weeks late, should ship around the 22 of march. So don't worry if you don't see it anywhere, it's not out yet.
The vinyl is a must, because "O solo mio", which I heard first time live last monday, is as far as i'm concerned not only of the best Stooges tunes ever made, but one of Iggy's best period. Don't expect something dancy, it's slow, very slow, and the voice is astounding. I don't agree with all the work Albini did (I would have done different, but hey, I only produce occasionaly), but I agree when he said to Iggy that this song should open the CD. You don't expect anything even remotely like this on a Stooges CD (which is why it should have been there in the first place. Expect a digipack with 4 bonus tracks down the line I guess)

 

More interesting interview stuff made at Iggy's cottage, including recording techniques (Iggy prefered to use a cheap Shure mike over a Neumann)

http://www.pastemagazine.com/action/article/3931/nasty_brutish_and_surprisingly_resilient

 

Also interesting that "Passing Cloud" was improvised on the spot. The writer also calls the Stooges Mark II. I would Say Stooges Mark III at least.

 

My friend Pat gave me the new CD for my birthday and I'm listening to it right now on my headphone rig while working. I guess it feels like a Stooges album, but, Iggy's vocals seem anemic and lack balls; "The End of Christianity" really seems like he phoned in the singing. When I get a chance, I'll spin it on the big rig and see how I feel about it.

 

I think the problems with the Igs voice are a question of EQ. It seems all the bottom end is gone on this CD.

 

agree...IMHO, overall, this cd sounds terrible

 

I have to add I saw the Stooges play all these songs live. Iggy would sing exactly the same way as on the disc, and no one ever noticed anything about him being off key. He was spots on all the time. EQ.

 

Trollin'

 

Whoops, looks like the Abbey road wizards have done it again.
If Dirty Harry was a CD mastering cop, there would be tons of dead bodies at the zebra crossing.
Anyone knows who is doing the Vinyl mastering ? If they mastered the lacquer straight from the analog tapes, it might be much better sounding than the CD.
I had no idea that all the criticism about the sound and mixes, might just have come down to the mastering engineer using over limiting and compression. The (little) dynamics left on the right channel are because the solo guitar is not playing always during the track.

 

nothing new ....somebody committed a mastering crime again:thumbsdn:

 

This should actually read

You can't call what they did mastering, and they shouldn't be paid for it either.

 

"The album was destroyed at the legendary Abbey Road Studios"...actually

 

'My Idea Of Fun'

 

sounds like an Iggy solo album to me, not bad, but not Funhouse or Raw Power either.

and I rest my case about Albini, he tries to get himself off the hook by stating he's a recording engineer (and even it that classifacation he fails, where's the bass? The Stooges used to have a sexy swagger, this album has the typical Albini nervous/insecure/anger vibe to it).

As a producer I feel he just captures whatever the band lays down and doesn't offer any guidance on performance or other nuances that would improve the feel of the music.

 

It's mastered by Nick Webb at Abbey Road. Any thoughts ?

Apparently, the band attended at least one session, but I'm not sure they would know if it was good or not, if they weren't used to the studio speakers and acoustics.

 

I don't know, I have read so many terrible reviews about this album that I did not feel like giving it a try

 

Albini's sound depends on dynamics. Send it off to Abbey Road to be smashed and his work becomes unrecognizable, just like it was on the last High On Fire album. You should check out Shellac's albums before you criticize his abilities. And what about Surfer Rosa for that matter?

As for this Stooges album, I've heard two cuts and they were just so bad as songs that the sonic qualities don't even enter into it. Not interested. The Stooges circa Fun House is a band that has long since ceased to exist, and I can accept that.

 

You should try to hear these songs live, you'll be surprised.
If you only heard the 2 mp3s doing the rounds, that's not the way to even judge the songs, it just sounds like ****.

 

I did in fact order the vinyl, and let's hope the results are better than the cd!

 

Actually, Nick Webb must have done it too, as I saw while googling him he also does a lot of vinyl mastering, but some appears to be AAA, which could be good. Could be.

 

I remember dumping several wavs of "Skull Ring" into Audition for a look see when it came out, & they were all virtually square-wave as above

 

I don't get it, I just received the US CD, and there is a reasonable bottom end on my system. it sounds way different than any download out there.

 

Here's the actual setlist (as opposed to planned setlist posted above) of the Stooges first live gig in Switzerland, promoting the new LP recently (past gigs were rehashing past material, brilliantly I shall say)

1) ATM
2) Loose
3) Down On The Street
4) 1969
5) I Wanna Be Your Dog
6) TV Eye
7) Dirt
8) Real Cool Time
9) No Fun
10) 1970
11) Mind Room
12) Funhouse/LA
13) Skull Ring
14) I'm Fried
15) I Wanna Be Your Dog

Encore 1
16) Electric Chair
17) Trollin'
18) Not Right

Encore 2
19) She Took My Money
20) My Idea Of Fun

I think it's fair to say that the tracks from the last album played are already classics... audiences went wild !

 

It isn't that bad. I just scanned through it at HMV and I may pick it up (although it's difficult to imagine how it will sound on the big stereo!)
Sounds like a "fun" album. A modern day hard rockin' Iggy album. Not a bad thing. It still kicks the *** of almost everything I've heard from any new "rock" band out there.

 

Well here's my verdict:

- All the songs sound the same
- Iggy sounds annoyingly out-of-tune, and not in a cool Jonathan Richman way
- "Free & Freaky" is incredibly lame
- On that note, the lyrics are terrible

At least "Mexican Guy" is alright...



I'm off to listen to Raw Power