Have Some Fun: Live at Ungano's (Live at Ungano's, August 17, 1970)

Album review

In the summer of 1970, after a shambolic set at the Goose Lake Rock Festival in their native Michigan, the Stooges put together a new lineup as they prepared to hit the road in support of their second album, Funhouse. Zeke Zettner, previously part of the Stooges' road crew, became their new bassist, and second guitarist Bill Cheatham was brought aboard to reinforce the primal guitar work of Ron Asheton. With vocalist Iggy Pop, drummer Scott Asheton, and sax player Steve MacKay joining the new recruits, the band headed to New York City for a three-night stand at Ungano's, a rock club in Manhattan. Danny Fields, the legendary behind-the-scenes figure who signed the band to Elektra Records, brought a portable tape recorder to the show on August 17, 1970, and Have Some Fun: Live at Ungano's is a suitably raw document of the Stooges in full flight. Sounding taut and feral, the band rips through six songs from Funhouse before bringing the set to an explosive conclusion with the spontaneous "Have Some Fun"/"My Dream Is Dead." Have Some Fun is one of the few live recordings documenting the Stooges during the period when Ron Asheton was lead guitarist. While the fidelity leaves something to be desired, the force and intensity of the performance make this a must for anyone wanting to hear the Stooges when they were the most dangerous band in rock.

© Mark Deming /TiVo