It’s surprising how big of a leap The Stooges made from their self-titled debut to I. Ron Asheton’s guitar freakouts are sparser and not as wild as they would be on the next two albums, underselling the band’s raucous energy that made them such a notable act in rock music of the time. Iggy Stooge is also a less compelling vocalist. Like Asheton, his performance is more in line with typical ’60s garage rock of the time.

That’s not to say this is a typical ’60s garage rock album—it’s definitely several notches above most of them. This is clearly noticeable in the stellar first three tracks, though unfortunately the rest of the album would follow in ’60s garage rock tradition and have a bunch of weaker songs songs to fill up an album that would be used as a vehicle for the single. After “We Will Fall,” the rest of the songs are only notable for their high energy and lack the forceful riffs and all around stronger performances that are in “1969” and “I Wanna Be Your Dog.” It was also a nonsensical move to put the droning psychedelic rock epic “We Will Fall” as the third track. There’s little pacing to it and it would’ve made a better closer than “Little Doll,” which does nothing to stand out against the tracks before it.

This is absolutely an album worth hearing for the couple essential tracks and the fact it still remains a solid listen after. Plus, who isn’t interested in music history? But The Stooges’s debut album can’t compare to the ball-busting, groundbreaking Fun House or Raw Power—not in any sense.