Fun House (album)
Encyclopedia
Fun House is the second album by American rock band
The Stooges
. Though initially commercially unsuccessful, Fun House developed a strong cult following and, like its successor (1973
's Raw Power
), is generally considered integral in the development of punk rock
.
had more potential than the Stooges, he made a crucial intervention that former Kingsmen keyboardist Don Galluci produce the album. Having seen the group live, Galluci said to Holzman that it was an "Interesting group, but I don't think you can get this feeling on tape". Holzman said it didn't matter anyway because he had already reserved recording time in L.A. The album was recorded at Elektra Sound Recorders in Los Angeles, California from May 11, 1970 to May 25, 1970. Galluci's plan as a producer was to record a about a dozen takes of each song every day and pick which one that would appear on the album. The first day consisted of sound checking and run-throughs of the songs prepared. The entire band used headphones with the bass and drums isolated by baffles while Iggy sang his vocals through a condensor microphone on a boom. The result was terrible in the band's opinion. They took notice to the atmosphere inside the studio with sound proof paddings and isolators. To achieve the vision that the Stooges and Galluci had, they stripped the entire studio of its attire to take the next step into a pseudo-live feel. According to Galluci, they set up the band in the way they normally play at a concert. For example, Iggy was singing through a hand-held microphone, and the guitar and bass amps were placed side by side.
Iggy Pop indicated that Howlin' Wolf
"was really pertinent for me on Fun House. That stuff is Wolfy, at least as I could do it."
The Stooges intended for "Loose" to be the album's first track; Elektra, however, felt that "Down On The Street" would be the stronger opener.
An alternate version of "Down On The Street", featuring Doors
-style organ overdubbed by Gallucci, was pulled from the album and released as a single. It was released the same month as Fun House, and fared slightly better on the charts.
chose their name based on mishearing the line "radio burnin' up above" in the song "1970". They also named their Oxford Street performance venue The Oxford Funhouse and covered "TV Eye" on their 1977 album Radios Appear
.
Industrial group Throbbing Gristle
sampled a part of "Down On The Street" at the end of their track, "Maggot Death (Live At Brighton)" from their 1977 album The Second Annual Report
.
In 1977, The Damned's debut album, Damned Damned Damned, had a cover of "1970" on it, entitled "I Feel Alright".
In 1989 indie rock band Blake Babies
covered "Loose" for their album Earwig
. They sampled Iggy's voice into the song.
Spacemen 3
adapted "T.V. Eye" into the near-cover "OD Catastrophe" on their debut album Sound of Confusion
.
Numerous other musical artists have cited Fun House as their favorite album, including Joey Ramone
, Mark E. Smith
, Jack White
, Nick Cave
, Henry Rollins
(along with The Velvet Underground
's White Light/White Heat
), Buzz Osborne
from the Melvins, Maciej Cieślak from the Polish band Ścianka
and musician/engineer Steve Albini
. Australian rock band The Birthday Party
covered "Loose" on their 1982 live album Drunk on the Pope's Blood.
During the 2006 No Reservations episode in Sweden, host Anthony Bourdain
proclaimed that Fun House was his all-time favorite album (his "desert island disc").
In 1999 Rhino Records released a limited edition box set, 1970: The Complete Fun House Sessions
, featuring every take of every song from every day of the recording sessions, plus the single versions of "Down On The Street" and "1970". On August 16, 2005, the album was reissued by Elektra and Rhino as a two-CD set featuring a newly remastered version of the album on disc one and a variety of outtakes (essentially highlights from the Complete Fun House Sessions box set) on disc two. Jack White
contributed a quote to Iggy biographer Paul Trynka's liner notes to the reissue, in which White dubbed Fun House "by proxy the definitive rock album of America."
In 2003, the album was ranked number 191 on Rolling Stone
magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time
.
In 1998, the Paris-based music magazine Rock & Folk
placed Fun House in the top position of its "discothèque idéale."
Rage Against The Machine
recorded a cover of "Down On The Street" on their 2000 covers-album Renegades
In 2005 the album was performed live in its entirety as part of the All Tomorrow's Parties
-curated Don't Look Back
series.
"Down on the Street" was used in the 2006 film Smokin' Aces
and included on the soundtrack.
In 2010 "Fun House" ranked #25 in Gibson's Top 50 Guitar Albums. The last track on side one "Dirt" is ranked #46 on Gibson's Top 50 Guitar Solo's
The video game Condemned: Criminal Origins
in an extra, Golden Bird Award, they have a prototype of the game where "Down On the Street" is playing in the background at the area where the killer cut the head off of a victim.
Side two:
Disc two:
Rock Band
Rock Band is a music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems, published by MTV Games and Electronic Arts. It is the first title in the Rock Band series. The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions were released in the United States on November 20, 2007, while the PlayStation 2 version was...
The Stooges
The Stooges
The Stooges are an American rock band from Ann Arbor, Michigan first active from 1967 to 1974, and later reformed in 2003...
. Though initially commercially unsuccessful, Fun House developed a strong cult following and, like its successor (1973
1973 in music
-January–April:*January 9 – Mick Jagger's request for a Japanese visa is rejected on account of a 1969 drug conviction, putting an abrupt end to The Rolling Stones' plans to perform in Japan during their forthcoming tour.*January 14...
's Raw Power
Raw Power
Raw Power is the third studio album by American rock band The Stooges. Though not initially commercially successful, Raw Power gained a cult fanbase in the years following its release and, like its predecessor , is generally considered an influential forerunner of punk rock.-Recording history:After...
), is generally considered integral in the development of punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
.
Recording sessions
Even though Elektra Records' Jac Holzman believed that the MC5MC5
The MC5 is an American rock band formed in Lincoln Park, Michigan and originally active from 1964 to 1972. The original band line-up consisted of vocalist Rob Tyner, guitarists Wayne Kramer and Fred "Sonic" Smith, bassist Michael Davis, and drummer Dennis Thompson...
had more potential than the Stooges, he made a crucial intervention that former Kingsmen keyboardist Don Galluci produce the album. Having seen the group live, Galluci said to Holzman that it was an "Interesting group, but I don't think you can get this feeling on tape". Holzman said it didn't matter anyway because he had already reserved recording time in L.A. The album was recorded at Elektra Sound Recorders in Los Angeles, California from May 11, 1970 to May 25, 1970. Galluci's plan as a producer was to record a about a dozen takes of each song every day and pick which one that would appear on the album. The first day consisted of sound checking and run-throughs of the songs prepared. The entire band used headphones with the bass and drums isolated by baffles while Iggy sang his vocals through a condensor microphone on a boom. The result was terrible in the band's opinion. They took notice to the atmosphere inside the studio with sound proof paddings and isolators. To achieve the vision that the Stooges and Galluci had, they stripped the entire studio of its attire to take the next step into a pseudo-live feel. According to Galluci, they set up the band in the way they normally play at a concert. For example, Iggy was singing through a hand-held microphone, and the guitar and bass amps were placed side by side.
Iggy Pop indicated that Howlin' Wolf
Howlin' Wolf
Chester Arthur Burnett , known as Howlin' Wolf, was an influential American blues singer, guitarist and harmonica player....
"was really pertinent for me on Fun House. That stuff is Wolfy, at least as I could do it."
The Stooges intended for "Loose" to be the album's first track; Elektra, however, felt that "Down On The Street" would be the stronger opener.
An alternate version of "Down On The Street", featuring Doors
The Doors
The Doors were an American rock band formed in 1965 in Los Angeles, California, with vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, drummer John Densmore, and guitarist Robby Krieger...
-style organ overdubbed by Gallucci, was pulled from the album and released as a single. It was released the same month as Fun House, and fared slightly better on the charts.
Influence
Sydney band Radio BirdmanRadio Birdman
Radio Birdman was one of the first punk bands in Australia along with The Saints. Deniz Tek and Rob Younger formed the group in Sydney, Australia in 1974...
chose their name based on mishearing the line "radio burnin' up above" in the song "1970". They also named their Oxford Street performance venue The Oxford Funhouse and covered "TV Eye" on their 1977 album Radios Appear
Radios Appear
Radios Appear was the first full length studio album by Sydney punk-rock band Radio Birdman. The album was recorded at Birdman's Trafalgar Studios, Sydney during 1976 and 1977. Trafalgar initially distributed the album via mail order and by sales from the backs of friend's and band members' station...
.
Industrial group Throbbing Gristle
Throbbing Gristle
Throbbing Gristle were an English industrial, avant-garde music and visual arts group that evolved from the performance art group COUM Transmissions...
sampled a part of "Down On The Street" at the end of their track, "Maggot Death (Live At Brighton)" from their 1977 album The Second Annual Report
The Second Annual Report
The Second Annual Report is an album by the industrial music group Throbbing Gristle. A combination of live and studio songs, the album was originally released on 12" vinyl in 1977, and later pressed to CD, with additional tracks, in 1991....
.
In 1977, The Damned's debut album, Damned Damned Damned, had a cover of "1970" on it, entitled "I Feel Alright".
In 1989 indie rock band Blake Babies
Blake Babies
Blake Babies was an alternative rock band formed in 1986 in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. The three primary members were John Strohm, Freda Love , and Juliana Hatfield, with Evan Dando, Andrew Mayer, Seth White, Anthony DeLuca , and Mike Leahy each also performing as members of the band at...
covered "Loose" for their album Earwig
Earwig (album)
Earwig is the second album by the Blake Babies, released in 1989 .-Track listing:#"Cesspool" – 3:16 #"Dead and Gone" – 3:47 #"Grateful" – 3:07...
. They sampled Iggy's voice into the song.
Spacemen 3
Spacemen 3
Spacemen 3 were an English alternative rock band, formed in 1982 in Rugby, Warwickshire by Peter Kember and Jason Pierce. Their music was "colorfully mind-altering, but not in the sense of the acid rock of the '60s; instead, the band developed its own minimalistic psychedelia"...
adapted "T.V. Eye" into the near-cover "OD Catastrophe" on their debut album Sound of Confusion
Sound of Confusion
1994 re-issue bonus tracks...
.
Numerous other musical artists have cited Fun House as their favorite album, including Joey Ramone
Joey Ramone
Joey Ramone was an American vocalist and songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist in the punk rock band the Ramones. Joey Ramone's image, voice and tenure as frontman of the Ramones made him a countercultural icon.-Early life:Joey Ramone was born Jeffry Hyman to parents Noel and Charlotte Hyman...
, Mark E. Smith
Mark E. Smith
Mark Edward Smith is the lead singer, lyricist, frontman, and only constant member of the English post-punk band The Fall.-Early life:...
, Jack White
Jack White (musician)
Jack White , often credited as Jack White III, is an American musician, songwriter, record producer and occasional actor...
, Nick Cave
Nick Cave
Nicholas Edward "Nick" Cave is an Australian musician, songwriter, author, screenwriter, and occasional film actor.He is best known for his work as a frontman of the critically acclaimed rock band Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, established in 1984, a group known for its eclectic influences and...
, Henry Rollins
Henry Rollins
Henry Rollins is an American singer-songwriter, spoken word artist, writer, comedian, publisher, actor, and radio DJ....
(along with The Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground was an American rock band formed in New York City. First active from 1964 to 1973, their best-known members were Lou Reed and John Cale, who both went on to find success as solo artists. Although experiencing little commercial success while together, the band is often cited...
's White Light/White Heat
White Light/White Heat
The album briefly appeared on the Billboard 200, although only peaking at number 199. Despite its poor sales, the distorted, feedback-driven, and roughly recorded sound on White Light/White Heat became a notable influence on punk and experimental rock...
), Buzz Osborne
Buzz Osborne
Roger "Buzz" Osborne , also known as King Buzzo, is the guitarist/vocalist/songwriter and technically the only remaining founding member of the Melvins...
from the Melvins, Maciej Cieślak from the Polish band Ścianka
Scianka
Ścianka is a Polish rock band formed in 1994 in Sopot by guitarist Maciej Cieślak. In 1998 Ścianka were signed by independent label Biodro Records and recorded their debut album entitled Statek kosmiczny Ścianka . After its release, the group received critical and audience acclaim...
and musician/engineer Steve Albini
Steve Albini
Steven Frank Albini is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, audio engineer and music journalist. He was a member of Big Black, Rapeman, and Flour, and is currently a member of Shellac...
. Australian rock band The Birthday Party
The Birthday Party (band)
The Birthday Party were an Australian rock band, active from 1973 to 1983.Despite being championed by John Peel, The Birthday Party found little commercial success during their career...
covered "Loose" on their 1982 live album Drunk on the Pope's Blood.
During the 2006 No Reservations episode in Sweden, host Anthony Bourdain
Anthony Bourdain
Anthony Michael "Tony" Bourdain is an American chef, author and television personality. He is well known for his 2000 book Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly, and is the host of Travel Channel's culinary and cultural adventure program Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations.A...
proclaimed that Fun House was his all-time favorite album (his "desert island disc").
In 1999 Rhino Records released a limited edition box set, 1970: The Complete Fun House Sessions
1970: The Complete Fun House Sessions
1970: The Complete Fun House Sessions is a seven-CD limited edition boxed set that commemorates and chronicles the entire session for Fun House, the second studio album by American protopunk band The Stooges.-The original album:...
, featuring every take of every song from every day of the recording sessions, plus the single versions of "Down On The Street" and "1970". On August 16, 2005, the album was reissued by Elektra and Rhino as a two-CD set featuring a newly remastered version of the album on disc one and a variety of outtakes (essentially highlights from the Complete Fun House Sessions box set) on disc two. Jack White
Jack White (musician)
Jack White , often credited as Jack White III, is an American musician, songwriter, record producer and occasional actor...
contributed a quote to Iggy biographer Paul Trynka's liner notes to the reissue, in which White dubbed Fun House "by proxy the definitive rock album of America."
In 2003, the album was ranked number 191 on Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time
The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time
"The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time" is the title of a 2003 special issue of American magazine Rolling Stone, and a related book published in 2005.Related news articles:...
.
In 1998, the Paris-based music magazine Rock & Folk
Rock & Folk
Rock & Folk is a prominent French popular music magazine founded in 1966, and published in the Paris suburb of Clichy. Its current editor in chief in Philippe Manœuvre. Though the magazine's title includes the word "folk," it is in fact oriented strongly toward rock and roll, especially championing...
placed Fun House in the top position of its "discothèque idéale."
Rage Against The Machine
Rage Against the Machine
Rage Against the Machine is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1991, the group's line-up consists of vocalist Zack de la Rocha, bassist and backing vocalist Tim Commerford, guitarist Tom Morello and drummer Brad Wilk...
recorded a cover of "Down On The Street" on their 2000 covers-album Renegades
Renegades
-Film:*Renegades , starring Myrna Loy*Renegades , starring Evelyn Keyes*Renegades , starring Kiefer Sutherland and Lou Diamond Phillips-Music:*Renegades Drum and Bugle Corps, a Drum Corps Associates corps...
In 2005 the album was performed live in its entirety as part of the All Tomorrow's Parties
All Tomorrow's Parties (music festival)
All Tomorrow's Parties is a music festival which takes place at Camber Sands holiday camp in East Sussex and Butlin's holiday camp in Minehead, Somerset, England....
-curated Don't Look Back
Don't Look Back (concert series)
Don't Look Back is a yearly series of concerts in which London based promoters All Tomorrow's Parties ask artists and bands to play one of their seminal albums live in its entirety...
series.
"Down on the Street" was used in the 2006 film Smokin' Aces
Smokin' Aces
Smokin' Aces is a 2006 crime film, written and directed by Joe Carnahan. It stars Jeremy Piven as a Las Vegas magician turned mafia informant and Ryan Reynolds as the FBI agent assigned to protect him...
and included on the soundtrack.
In 2010 "Fun House" ranked #25 in Gibson's Top 50 Guitar Albums. The last track on side one "Dirt" is ranked #46 on Gibson's Top 50 Guitar Solo's
The video game Condemned: Criminal Origins
Condemned: Criminal Origins
Condemned: Criminal Origins is a psychological horror first-person shooter video game, developed by Monolith Productions and published by Sega. It was launched worldwide in 2005 on the Xbox 360, with a Microsoft Windows version released later in 2006...
in an extra, Golden Bird Award, they have a prototype of the game where "Down On the Street" is playing in the background at the area where the killer cut the head off of a victim.
Original release
Side one:- "Down on the Street" – 3:42
- "LooseLoose (Stooges song)"Loose" is the second song on rock group The Stooges' second album, Fun House. It features a simple guitar line using the common E to G to A progression, used in countless other rock songs. Iggy Pop repeats a vocal, "I'll stick it, deep inside"...
" – 3:33 - "T.V. Eye" – 4:17
- "Dirt" – 7:00
Side two:
- "1970" – 5:14 (also known as "I Feel Alright")
- "Fun House" – 7:45
- "L.A. Blues" – 4:52
2005 Reissue
Disc one:- "Down on the Street" – 3:43
- "Loose" – 3:34
- "T.V. Eye" – 4:17
- "Dirt" – 7:03
- "1970" – 5:15 (also known as "I Feel Alright")
- "Fun House" – 7:47
- "L.A. Blues" – 4:57
Disc two:
- "T.V. Eye" [Takes 7 & 8] – 6:01
- "Loose" [Demo] – 1:16
- "Loose" [Take 2] – 3:42
- "Loose" [Take 22] – 3:42
- "Lost in the Future" [Take 1] – 5:50
- "Down on the Street" [Take 1] – 2:22
- "Down on the Street" [Take 8] – 4:10
- "Dirt" [Take 4] – 7:09
- "Slide" (Slidin' The Blues) [Take 1] – 4:38
- "1970" [Take 3] – 7:29
- "Fun House" [Take 2] – 9:30
- "Fun House" [Take 3] – 11:29
- "Down on the Street" (Single mix) – 2:43
- "1970" (Single mix) – 3:21
Personnel
- Iggy PopIggy PopIggy Pop is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. Though considered an innovator of punk rock, Pop's music has encompassed a number of styles over the years, including pop, metal, jazz and blues...
- vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments... - Ron AshetonRon AshetonRonald Frank Asheton was an American guitarist and co-songwriter with Iggy Pop for the rock band The Stooges.Asheton is ranked as number 29 on Rolling Stones list of 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time....
- guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with... - Dave Alexander - bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
- Scott AshetonScott AshetonScott "Rock Action" Asheton is an American musician, best known as the drummer for the rock band The Stooges...
- drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person .... - Steve MackaySteve MacKaySteve Mackay is an American tenor saxophone player, best known for his participation on The Stooges' second album Fun House.-The Stooges:Mackay was familiar to The Stooges from his work in Detroit's avant-rock pioneers, Carnal Kitchen...
- saxophoneSaxophoneThe saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846... - Don Gallucci - producer, organOrgan (music)The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with...
overdubs - Brian Ross-Myring - remaster producer, engineer