It was said that Rock-n-Roll was a fad and it would not last. Amusing to look back on in hindsight, Rock has been around for over seventy years, and while not nearly as popular as it was even a decade ago, it is still marching on. A form of music that will most likely never die, the art form has undergone many shifts over the years. Leaping back in time to better understand it, 1969 was a pivotal year in the genre’s history.
With the mood of the United States shifting amid fatigue from the Vietnam War, August 1969 saw one of the largest music festivals ever held in Woodstock, NY. Around the same time, a band called The Stooges released its debut album. Inspired by the likes of The Doors, The Stooges are arguably among the first Punk Rock bands, before anyone even knew what it was. Harnessing a raw, Garage Rock sound (like bands such as The Castaways or The MCoys, showcased in the mid-1960s), The Stooges were pioneers and influencers for a generation to follow.
Releasing their self-titled debut on August 5, 1969, through Elektra, Vocalist Iggy Pop, Guitarist Ron Asheton, Bassist Dave Alexander, and Drummer Scott Asheton worked with the Velvet Underground’s John Cale as producer, putting together eight tracks you couldn’t ignore. Extremely minimalist in its approach, this album is so unpolished and dirty that it sounds like you are in the band’s rehearsal space as they record. Significantly different than what other bands were doing at the time, songs like “1969,” the iconic “i wanna be your dog,” and “no fun,” were highlights, but who can overlook the absolutely startling “we will fall” that haunts you to your core.
Dismissed by many critics at the time of release and not commercially successful (even though it broke into the US Billboard Top 200), The Stooges has gone on to achieve legendary status, earning accolades such as being called one of the greatest albums of all time by Rolling Stone Magazine. Zipping by under 35 minutes (which would become a staple abbreviation duration for future Punk Rock albums), chances are you are either intimately familiar with The Stooges, or you can recognize the album by the classic album cover alone. Whatever it might be, this is an album everyone needs to hear at least once, and now in 2025 there is a multiple chance to own it on vinyl yet again.
Interesting to find it reissued several times in the same year, first in July, Rhino released it as part of the Elektra 75 as a single LP. This was followed by MoFi’s release of it as a 2LP 180-gram 45 RPM edition on October 24th. Joining these, on October 31st, Rhino also put out a whiskey-colored vinyl as part of the Rocktober 2025 series.
Looking at the eye-catching limited edition whiskey-colored Rhino release for Halloween 2025, this aesthetic adds something to it all as you spin it on your record player. Matched with the original eight tracks and classic artwork from the 1969 edition, it is good to have options, and this one is not bad at all. That is why Cryptic Rock gives Rhino’s whiskey-colored Rocktober 2025 reissue of The Stooges 4.5 out of 5 stars.
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