How dare they charge this much for such poor content!?
Prog Fan | Houston, TX | 02/27/2007
(1 out of 5 stars)
"I noticed that Mr. Case beat me to the punch on this one, but I am going to add my voice in agreement to his on this box set.
I was excited when I first saw this offering, as another of my favorite artists, Frank Zappa, had done a similar effort with his "Beat The Boots" box sets. These sets were released in order to, well, "beat the bootleggers" (who derive income from work that doesn't belong to them) at their own game - FZ cleaned up the sound on the bootlegs, re-packaged them and released them in several sets at cut-rate prices. They made a fine addition to his authorized catalog.
Along comes this Iggy Pop set which appears to do the same - but don't be fooled, these recordings almost universally stink, to the point of being unlistenable. No cleanup has been done - I found myself giving up in mid-play on most of the six discs.
This is a shame - the song selections on here are superb - I was at a few performances from these tours, and would have loved to have heard decent versions of this material. Not happening with this set.
Money-grubbing record companies have released more than a few Iggy titles of questionable quality, but this is by far the biggest rip-off of them all. At the list price of this set, a fan shoud expect MUCH more than it delivers.
In summary, STAY AWAY FROM THIS LIKE THE PLAGUE. And SHAME on the record company that released this dreck."
This is a Very Poor CD Set !
James Case | Cooper City, FL. United States | 02/19/2007
(1 out of 5 stars)
"The expensive "Where The Faces Shine" CD set is truly unacceptable.
It sounds as if it was recorded using a circa 1970's personal cassette recorder by a common concert-goer at several of Iggy's early concerts.
You can trust me on avoiding this offering!
I will return my order to Amazon in a few days."
FLAWLESS Iggy.
monday night by satellite | Los Angeles, CA. United States | 04/10/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"You have the studio albums, right? Some you love and some sound a little stiff, I get it.
As we all know Iggy Pop and his gravity-defying music are a much different animal onstage. You may have even seen Iggy in concert in the late 70's.... no?
Here's a glimpse into it.
It's not perfect but your ears will adapt to the fascination pretty quickly.
The quality... not quite as bad as my fellow reviewers are moaning about and compared to the versions I own these are in fact cleaned up and do sound better.
I almost went as far as to say "they really do not seem to get the concept"..... glad I didn't!
This box set looks good - fantastic booklet featuring some very candid liner notes from the assorted touring musicians, Iconic Iggy portraits we have not seen and hours of punk rock insanity! Uh oh, too Entertainment Weekly, huh?
I enjoyed the different band lineups and ever-changing set lists while noticing how the energy never falters. Added Bonus:
You WILL sit up and take notice every time "Lust For Life" kicks in which is a certain thrill you are not going to get from the brand new pro-tools-polished release from any number of studded belt, spikey hair "punk rock" clowns from MTV.
We all know Iggy was insane a good part of the time and the legendary excess comes through loud and clear on all 6 discs - many over 70 minutes in duration. If Iggy were that nuts then what of David Bowie who sits in on keyboards for one of the shows? OK that was a bit too Rolling Stone but at least I didn't say "Godfather Of Punk" for the 700th time.
Of course the word "bootleg" carries a stigma while "IGGY BOOTLEG" is pure gold to me (GET IT FOR HIS STAGE RAPS ALONE. REALLY, ASK ANYONE.)
Compare the price to other 6 disc sets and it's not too bad considering. Considering all the other crap you've bought and hated.
True this is bootleg (see there's the scary word again, put the kids to bed) quality but nearly impossible finding everything here. I haven't until now.
I have never seen a bad Iggy Pop show and from these late 70's/early 80's performances have yet to hear one.
It does not make you any less of an Iggy fan if you decide against purchasing.
But it is SOOOOOO COOOL!
rb
"
Track Listings (85) - Disc #1