![]() ![]() The band’s manager Tony Defries forced them to allow David Bowie to remix the album in order that it could be released. Iggy Pop mixed the record, but apparently didn’t understand the equipment he was working on. Much like the photo of him on the cover he seems to perform with a proverbial thousand-yard stare, a kind of intense focus that is unbreakable despite the debauchery present all around.Īfter the recording, the band didn’t fare any better than they did before. The album closes with “Death Trip,” whose guitar and syncopated beats almost predict the post-punk stylings of Wire or, to a lesser degree, Gang of Four. This is followed by “Shake Appeal” which brings back the rock, but now the bridge runs from fifties rock bands on one end with the B-52s and Ramones on the other. And here some of The Door’s influence that was present on the earlier Stooges album returns but the difference in the guitar work remains. “I Need Somebody” seems to serve as a bridge between the Stones and Elvis on one side and Danzig’s metallic solo career on the other end. It, along with “Gimme Danger”, were originally written to fulfill the record label’s demand for two ballads, yet they hardly feel like ballads the way we think about them now. “I Need Somebody” is a slower bluesy number. The density of the guitars serves as a prelude to punk and hardcore to come and arguably heavy metal as well. “Raw Power” hits deep with a physicality that short-circuits the conventional. What The Stooges lack in refinement they more than makeup for in swagger. The title track then emerges midway through the album and brings to mind the Rolling Stones’ “Rocks Off” in a more atavistic form. Pop grunts and growls his way through the song, trying to not kill the mood with a more over-the-top vocal. The main riff wouldn’t sound out of place on an early ZZ Top record but a repetitive keyboard line lends the song a unique feel. “Penetration” returns to more groove-oriented territory. Iggy & The Stooges Raw Power: 50th Anniversary Legacy Edition, Columbia/Legacy 2023 The riffs are a raucous boogie, but the vocals spit venom. Meanwhile, “You’re Pretty Face is Going to Hell” sounds like a party thrown in honor of spite. Pop’s vocal leans more towards the hypnotic but rather than being soothing it comes across as menacing. “Gimme Danger” follows and attempts to take the foot off the gas but by the time the chorus arrives, the intensity has returned. ![]() ![]() The song itself, with a title that prods at the still-fresh wounds of the Vietnam war, possesses a feral quality and illustrates rock and roll at its most dangerous. “Search and Destroy” opens with big, gritty guitar chords that threaten to drown out the rest of the band. His guitar is bigger, filling in all the available sonic space. By moving Ron Asheton to bass, a change he was reluctant to make, Williamson was able to put a more personal stamp on the music. The line-up couldn’t be denied and the group was christened Iggy and The Stooges.ĭespite consisting of all former Stooges though, the sound on Raw Power is different. Eventually, the former Stooges Ron and Scott Asheton were flown over from the states and the band was complete. Pop and Williamson struggled to find suitable bandmates in England. He had enlisted James Williamson, the former second guitarist for The Stooges, but had not assembled a band beyond that. The recording sessions were originally intended to be for Iggy Pop’s solo debut. The leadup to the recording of Raw Power found the band in shambles, basically already broken up. While the band’s self-titled debut and follow-up Funhouse only hinted at the nascent genre’s intensity, their third album Raw Power, released on February 7th, 1973, became a foundational album not only for punk but a classic release for rock music as a whole. There is no consensus when it comes to the origins of punk, but if The Stooges didn’t invent the genre they certainly would have. ![]()
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