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Rating: The number of compilations released over 30 years to satisfy the ever-growing number of Stooges fans is incalculable, but this frantic search for the "most obscure and unknown track" of the legendary Detroit band hasn't always produced memorable results, quite the opposite...
I found "Wild Love" at a stall and, having confirmed that it contained all unreleased tracks (to my ears), I bought it for the ignoble sum of 15 Euro. Having shelled out a rather substantial amount for a compilation of outtakes, my expectations were quite high, also because I feared I had made a fool of myself as the gullible/romantic who buys every trashy item with the name of his favorite band. Unfortunately, that was exactly the case. I went home and unwrapped my purchase: the cover is incredibly ugly and the interior, embellished with a photo of Iggy, offers a brief and trivial track by track description of the songs (to be avoided like the plague). All the songs were recorded with James Williamson and in formation, so the sound should closely resemble the sick glam of "Raw Power."
I insert the CD and press play: for exactly 66:23 minutes, I am struck dumb with astonishment and remorse of what I have done. The recording quality is good and the playing technique is not bad but God, what's missing is the passion: where has the flood of incandescent notes that was the strength of Funhouse gone? Where have all the raucous adolescent screams vanished to? The pathos of "Gimme Danger"? Where?
The album comes off as a huge jam session made up of blues improvisations and covers of rather famous artists (Dylan, Yardbirds). The tracks are performed to perfection; Williamson highlights his guitar talent and the Asheton brothers put in the work with the rhythm section, but Iggy sings like a chained Pitbull, a clumsy and senseless imitation of the chart-toppers he never was. Mind you, there are some good tracks ("Til The End Of The Night", "I Came Out From Nowhere") but the overall sound is bewildering: "Wild Love" could be used as background music for a family dinner it's so fake.
The talk, therefore, is the usual: the album would be good if it weren't by the Stooges, because picking tracks here and there to turn a wild R'N'R band into a reassuring blues ensemble is unfair and grotesque. I therefore recommend finding the individual tracks on the internet, avoiding a purchase that leaves a bitter aftertaste.
(I'm sorry that my first review is a negative one, but the disappointment burns strong)
Tracklist
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