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March 28, 2024


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Iggy & The Stooges
Open Up And Bleed! (Bomb! Records)

By: Gary Pig Gold

There's certainly been no shortage of Great Lost Stooges Albums floating around these past twenty-some-odd years, but only those bearing the good Bomp logo honestly deserve your attention. Open Up And Bleed! is a proud part of the label's "Iguana Chronicles", and it features a veritable treasure trove of post-Raw Power recordings that in retrospect can be viewed as the band's joyous who-gives-a-flying adieu to all they were, and of course should've been. The June 1973 CBS Studios rehearsals herein come off as oddly Faces-esque, thanks no doubt to Bob Sheff's raggedy keys, but not to worry: R.Stewart never ever touched rock this hard and true. "Cock In My Pocket", the song that would soon launch a thousand punk bands, sounds as if the cock in question that day belonged to none other than Chuck Berry Himself, and it's an equally midsection-warming treat to hear the Ig cheerlead his troops through a bluesy, boozy "Cry For Me". The remaining club shots, mainly audience recordings of refreshingly dubious fidelity, capture the band in all their Skippy-covered glory, and the disc closer, "She Creatures Of The Hollywood Hills", suggests what those Doors could've done with a guitarist like James Williamson on board. So, if you're smart enough to already be one of the converted, here's one truly fine hour to add to your hopefully-already-bulging collection. As for the rest of you poor souls, better pray the latest Stooges Reunion rumors are true for once so you can finally sample all the raw power and glory first-hand.
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