The Stooges
Fun House
scum stats: limited to 450 numbered copies, this is copy number 311
The Electric Recording Company. Love 'em or hate 'em...they're there.
Charging a premium for flat cut master with no equalization, compression, or any other processing.
You know, there was a similar hi-fi recut of this in the massive 50th anniversary boxset, but my ears could not tell the difference. In spite of that, I plunked down the dough for this one because, well, it's "Fun House."
First complaint: the "letter-press style" sleeve fails to have any indentation/impression that exists on the other ERC titles I have (Love and the White Stripes). Slight bummer.
Second complaint: the disc should really be shipped outside of the jacket. this gatefold is painfully close to a seam split over here.
Sound: I mean, it sounds like "Fun House." I didn't find anything revelatory here, but I also blew out the best of my hearing about 20 years ago, so I've always just figured audiophile stuff was a level with which I'd be unable to comprehend. Maybe the bass is a little bit more pronounced? I dunno.
Hey Ben-
You have the only three ERC titles that interested me 😊Love to compare collections someday! When I met Jack at the Paramount symposium at the NYPL I showed him a book of Chicago Defender ads that he (and the NYPL!) had never seen! So who knows… 😉
Just came across a Youtube video of Mike McCreedy, Mark Arm, Duff McKagan and Barrett Martin as Raw Power (Iggy and Stooges cover band) doing a roof top concert in Seattle. Amazing stuff. We need Jack to do a impromptu roof top concert somewhere.
Thanks for the honest review. For the money, these releases do not seem to live up to the hype…
This is one of the greatest albums ever made.
I do have one album by ERC. That is White Stripes “White Blood Cells”. I do not feel my sound system is capable to get the whole audiophile gratification, but it was number 13 of 333 and thought my daughter may get rich after I’m dead and gone. ERC is doing some magical stuff, and I may purchase more if TMR allows them to do their magic again. I only purchase new stuff from TMR as most of my collection is on 78RPM. TMR got me after the American Epic project, and I have followed you ever since. Thanks for all you do for the new artists, the old artists and the historical items in your catalog.
It’s a wonderful contradiction (in my opinion) when albums that aren’t exactly known for being hi-fi (or even ones considered to be lo-fi) get reissued in ways like ERC reissues. It’s like seeing a Jackson Pollock painting through a hi-res photo or preferring to see it in person. The higher clarity of the format doesn’t particularly make the painting as a whole “more complete” or “more defined,” but the nuances of the work of art become more clear. The human-ness becomes more in focus.
… That’s worth it….. Right?
Really appreciate the candor on this. I have a few of ERC’s release (including the White Blood Cells and recent Bill Evans New Jazz Concepts releases). Hoping my system is enough to enable the difference to shine through for the spend. Was close to snagging this but didn’t last minute. Still love to support ERC for what they are creating.
Honestly, I had never heard of The Stooges until I purchased the Live at Goose Lake you all put out. This is the only record I have of them so I will have to take your word for it. I plan to get more from them, but I am still trying to find all the past TMR releases I missed out on before I found you all. This is the fun part of collecting! Can’t wait to see some new stuff come to the Vault and to the webpage. I can’t get to Nashville and/or Detroit every day; my wife would kill me. Thanks for the review, you make it very easy to choose which artists I buy when my wife gives me my allowance. :) Thanks!!!