Iggy And The Stooges Double Danger CD

Recorded live at The Latin Casino, Baltimore, Maryland in November, 1973 and The Academy Of Music, New York, New York on December 31, 1973. Includes liner notes by Frank Meyer.

The Stooges occupy a curious niche in rock history, because few decent live recordings have survived to capture the visceral wallop that ignited countless 1970s-era punk bands -- in an era when live taping was an often cumbersome, clumsy exercise. Issued as part of Bomp's Iguana Chronicles series of unreleased live and studio material, Double Danger seeks to impose a sense of coherence on the oft-copied, multiple-generation Stooges concert tapes, which have gone mostly unheard outside collectors' circles. The results are as perversely hit-and-miss as the band itself. Latin Casino is a highly-combustible November 1973 show from Balltimore that is bedeviled by 65 minutes of rickety sound, yet rightly regarded as a crown jewel. Lead guitarist James Williamson flails with trademark abandon on lightning raids of "Search & Destroy," and "Raw Power," while Ron Asheton's insistent, overdriven bass, and younger brother Scott's scrappy drums, never stop pushing the beat. Latin Casino reveals a fiery outfit sharpened by relentless gigging, even if some songs end on their own sprawling, leisurely terms -- such as the nearly nine-minute "Rich Bitch," where vocalist Iggy Pop rambles about what he detests in well-off girlfriends (who often served as his only lifeline between record deals). Just when matters nearly fall apart, however, the band rises to the occasion, whether through Williamson's quicksilver high-end leads, or keyboardist Scott Thurston's ragtag splashes of barroom-style piano on unheard classics like "Heavy Liquid." Taped in New York only one month later, on New Year's Eve 1973, the only similarity between Academy Of Music and Latin Casino lies in the setlists; otherwise, the second half of this affair only merits attention from Stooges completists. While the band is seasoned as ever, Pop's utter lack of vocal coherence trashes standards like "Search & Destroy," leaving both sides sounding utterly distanced from each other. Against such odds, the 45-minute gig still ends on a high note with a thunderous barrage over "Gimme Danger," and "Heavy Liquid." Double Danger is unlikely to convert anyone immune to the Stooges' molten charms, but makes a fascinating companion to their official albums. More of a documentary exercise than a musical one, this release provides an accurate snapshot of the peaks and valleys experienced by one of rock's most unrewarded yet influential bands. ~ Ralph Heibutzki

Did you ever think you'd see the day when the back of a liner note booklet would have mini-pics of eight CDs of rare and previously unreleased Iggy and the Stooges recordings from 1973-1976, all on the same label? And that the CDs accompanying those liner notes would contain yet two more discs of previously unreleased live Stooges, from late 1973? Well, that day has come, and unless you've got a shrine to Iggy by your bedside, it's not a cause for celebration. Both of these shows -- November 1973 at Baltimore's the Latin Casino on disc one, and New Year's Eve, 1973 at New York's the Academy of Music on disc two -- have been around as bootlegs. Both also have abysmal fidelity, even by 1973 bootleg standards, although the Academy of Music show is a little better. (Note: Although that show was reportedly recorded by Columbia for a possible live album, this is not a pro-quality Columbia tape; it is an audience tape.) This is not something that can be enjoyed even casually, nor even by those with exceptionally forgiving and scholarly ears. For the Baltimore show especially, the vocals are tinny and pretty incomprehensible, while the overall sound is blurry and cacophonous. Sure, this is a document of Iggy and the Stooges as they sounded at the time, with surpr

Iggy & The Stooges: Iggy Pop (vocals); James Williamson (guitar); Ron Asheton (bass); Scott Asheton (drums).