MoFi The Stooges The Stooges (180g 45RPM 2LP)

The Stooges: The Birth of Raw Power

Released in the same week as Woodstock in 1969, The Stooges landed like an alien transmission — abrasive, defiant, and utterly unlike anything else of its time. Where others preached peace and love, Iggy Pop, Ron Asheton, Scott Asheton, and Dave Alexander delivered primal noise, industrial rhythm, and youthful disillusionment straight from Detroit’s gritty streets. Initially dismissed as “loud, boring, tasteless, and childish” by Rolling Stone, the album would later earn a place on the magazine’s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list — its once-derided chaos now recognised as the genesis of punk rock.

Definitive 45RPM Audiophile Reissue

To celebrate Elektra’s 75th anniversary, Mobile Fidelity presents a numbered-edition 180g 45RPM 2LP set, sourced from the original ¼” / 15 IPS analog master tapes and cut through the DSD 256 transfer chain. Pressed at Fidelity Record Pressing and housed in a Stoughton tip-on gatefold jacket, this is the first time the album has been available at 45RPM speed — yielding enhanced separation, realism, and visceral energy. Every fuzzed-out riff, cavernous reverb, and snare crack leaps from the speakers with electrifying clarity.

Sound and Fury, Captured in Full

From the metallic grind of “1969” to the infamous snarl of “I Wanna Be Your Dog”, the sound is physical and unrestrained — raw guitars drenched in overdrive, drums pounding with industrial precision, and Pop’s sneering vocals cutting through the din. The record’s primitive minimalism and DIY spirit — shaped by homemade instruments and on-the-spot improvisation — give it a tactile authenticity that still feels dangerous half a century later.

A Primal Statement of Intent

Produced by John Cale of the Velvet Underground, The Stooges defied convention at every turn. Three tracks — “Real Cool Time,” “Not Right,” and “Little Doll” — were developed spontaneously in the studio, while “We Will Fall” stretched beyond ten minutes in hypnotic defiance of radio norms. Yet it’s the brutal simplicity of “No Fun” and “I Wanna Be Your Dog” that cemented the band’s legend — songs so elemental and infectious they’ve been covered by generations of artists.

A Legacy That Still Vibrates

More than 50 years later, The Stooges remains a blueprint for rebellion — a record that broke rock down to its rawest form and rebuilt it into something wild, vital, and alive. This Mobile Fidelity reissue captures that spirit in uncompromising fidelity, preserving every ounce of distortion, menace, and swagger that made the album a turning point in modern music.