Gears of Rock

By Jonathan Zuckerman
Contributing Writer

You’d think with no opener, the main act would play a pretty long set. However, after making us wait for an hour and a half, The Stooges only gave us a measly seventy five minutes of music. Their set was packed with so much intensity though that it could hardly be considered a let down. There wasn’t a single dull moment and I left the venue completely satisfied.

That venue was Terminal 5 and this show took place on August 8th. The Stooges are one of the most no-frills bands ever. They keep their stage as stark as possible. All you see is a drum set flanked by two huge walls of amplifiers. No grand entrance for them. A flash of blond hair and Iggy Pop himself was there, just as you've always pictured him and in incredibly good shape for 61.

The set drew mainly from their self-titled debut album and its follow-up Funhouse. It hasn’t changed very much since they reunited in 2004. Iggy still invited the audience on-stage for “Real Cool Time” and “No Fun” only this time the security formed a wall around him so no one could get too close. Those overzealous guards couldn’t keep him from regularly hurling himself into they audience, they just fished him out as quickly as possible.

Towards the end of the set they changed things up a bit. Thankfully they played “Search and Destroy” which they had been avoiding due to the fact that it was originally recorded with a slightly different line-up.  That was the only song off of the Raw Power album though. They also performed the somewhat surprising “I Got a Right” which closed the main set. Only two songs were played from their reunion album The Weirdness and that’s probably a good thing. It’s not that they aren’t good songs but they don’t live up to the classics which are what everyone really wanted to hear anyway.

The Stooges were never ones for big surprises and flashy stage shows. It didn’t matter to me at all though. There were a few moments during the show when I couldn't help but think to myself, “This is what Rock and Roll really is." Their music is very primal. The songs are simple and repetitive but absolutely not boring and there's Iggy, completely consumed by the sound and barking out brilliantly basic lyrics like, “Skull Ring/Fast cars/Hot chicks/Money." Watching him dance and sing, one feels like they are in the presence of a modern shaman of all things cool.

The show may sound like nothing out of the ordinary but these days music that pure and genuine is unordinary. The opportunity to see true legends like these doing what they do best is a special experience no matter what. I still don’t understand why they play “I Wanna Be Your Dog” twice but I definitely had a real cool time myself and I think the rest of the audience did too.

Bob Dylan is a timeless treasure. Mountain are not. Both of these facts are abundantly clear on Masters of War, Mountain’s new album of Dylan covers. As bad as this album is, it can’t diminish how amazing of a lyricist Dylan is. It’s a shame those lyrics are wasted here.  

My problem is not that they are taking on someone as lofty as Bob Dylan. His songs are covered all the time by artists who will never live up to him. The versions basically just suck and Mountain sound very outdated. For those of you who don’t know, Mountain are the band that did “Mississippi Queen.” That song came out in 1970. I have no idea what they have done since then but apparently they haven’t come too far.  

For all intents and purposes the music would be considered southern rock. It’s pretty heavy and is strongly influenced by the blues. Musically it has nothing to do with modern music. The band make a few attempts to sound current but they just end up sounding silly. The first track is a heavy take on the acoustic protest song ““Masters of War.” It’s one of the better tracks comparatively but still comes up short. It doesn’t matter how loud the guitars are or how heavy the drums are; it still can’t match the power of Dylan’’s quieter version. On the second verse the unmistakable voice of Ozzy Osbourne is heard. Unfortunately you can also hear the tons of effects being used to keep his voice on key. Not much on this album is better. 

Dylan did dabble in the blues so there were a few songs that don’t sound completely ridiculous in Mountain’s hands. “Serve Somebody” and Everything is Broken” rock hard and Mountain actually do that well. These songs are dragged down mainly by Leslie West’s voice which sounds like he has been eating his cigarettes. That weathered voice plagues almost every song here. “Mr. Tambourine Man” is positively awful. It’s hard to listen to West belt out “In the jingle jangle morning I’ll come followin’ you” without cracking a smile. “Highway 61 Revisited” is equally horrible. While listening to I started to wonder when Kid Rock was going to come out bust a rhyme or something. Furthermore, I have never been listening to “Blowin’ in the Wind” and thought to myself “ this could really use some crunchy guitar licks.” They do offer a light version of the same song at the end of the album but it isn’t any better than the heavy version.  

The absolute worst song on “Masters of War” is drummer Corky Laing’s solo version of “Like a Rolling Stone.” I am not lying, there are only drums and vocals on this track. Laing speaks some of the most famous lyrics ever written over some stupid drumbeat. Why on earth would anybody think that would be a good idea? This is one of the greatest songs of all time and it is just reduced to mockery. 

If the thought of southern rock Dylan delights you and if you wish the 70’s never ended then buy this album. Otherwise don’t come close, unless you want to laugh at it. This is not a good album. “Mississippi Queen” was a good song and that will forever be Mountain’s legacy. Dylan however will continue to reign supreme in spite of awful albums like this one.