- Raw Power
Infobox Album | Name = Raw Power
Type =Album
Artist =The Stooges
Released = February, 1973 (US) June, 1973 (UK)
Recorded =September 10 -October 6 ,1972
CBS Studios, London
Length = 34:00
Label = Columbia
Producer =David Bowie (original version)
Iggy Pop (1997 version)
Reviews =
*Allmusic Rating|5|5 [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:e95uak6k5m3l link]
*Robert Christgau (1973: B+, 1997: A-) [http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?id=3055&name=Iggy+and+the+Stooges link]
*Pitchfork Media (10.0/10) [http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/record_review/20979-raw-power-with-the-stooges link]
*"Rolling Stone " (Not Rated) [http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/thestooges/albums/album/192794/review/5942090/raw_power link]
* "Spin" Rating|9|10Weisbard & Marks, 1995. p.378]
Last album = "Fun House" (1970)
This album = "Raw Power" (1973)
Next album = "Metallic K.O. " (1976)"Raw Power" is a 1973 album by American
protopunk groupThe Stooges .The third studio album by The Stooges, "Raw Power", was largely ignored upon its release, and the group broke up in obscurity a few years later. However, it was embraced by a small, rabid fanbase that included many younger musicians who would go on to help create
punk rock in the mid-1970s, making "Raw Power" one of the most important protopunk documents.Background and recording history
The Stooges had formed near
Detroit, Michigan in the late 1960s. Their first two albums, "The Stooges" (1969) and "Fun House" (1970) were similarly unsuccessful, and the group broke up.Singer
Iggy Pop had been signed as a solo artist to MainMan Management, who also handled British singerDavid Bowie . The band was in disarray: they had officially broken up, bassist Dave Alexander was fightingalcoholism , and singerIggy Pop 's heroin addiction was escalating prior to Bowie's intervention. However, Pop was determined for a reformation.Signed to
Columbia Records , he was sent to London to write and record their album with his new collaborator, guitarist James Williamson. Pop insisted that his fellow ex-StoogesRon Asheton andScott Asheton participate in the recording sessions. Williamson played all the guitar parts, Ron Asheton switched to bass guitar (having played guitar on the first two Stooges albums), and Scott Asheton played drums.Pop said that Columbia executives insisted on two ballads, one for each side of the record. These two "ballads" were "Gimme Danger" and "I Need Somebody", both much more ominous and menacing than traditional ballads.
Pop produced and mixed the album by himself. Pop's botched first attempt mixed most of the instruments into one stereo channel, and the vocals into the other. Mainman demanded that the album be remixed, but Pop refused. When MainMan informed Pop that if "Raw Power" were not remixed by Bowie, the album would not be released, Pop agreed, but insisted that his own mix for "Search And Destroy" be retained. Due to budgetary constraints, Bowie remixed the other seven songs in a single day in an inexpensive Los Angeles studio.
"Search and Destroy" and "Shake Appeal" were both released as singles.
Initial Response
Sales of "Raw Power" were weak, and the album peaked at #182 on Billboard's Pop Albums chart. The group continued touring for about a year, but Columbia dropped their contract and The Stooges broke up.
Legacy
Despite its weak initial reception, the reputation of "Raw Power" grew tremendously in subsequent years, and the album's volume and ferocity became benchmarks against which later albums were measured. RS500|125
Singer and guitarist
Kurt Cobain from the grunge band Nirvana wrote in his "Journals" numerous times that this was his favorite album of all time.Johnny Marr ofThe Smiths has also stated Raw Power as his favorite album.Henry Rollins has the words "Search and Destroy" tattooed across his shoulder blades.Low-fidelity copies of Pop's original mixes circulated among fans for years. In 1995, a selection of these original mixes was released by
Bomp Records as "Rough Power". Fans and critics generally agreed that the original mixes were interesting, but not necessarily superior to Bowie's efforts.Remastering
Quote_box|width=40%|align=right |quote="Everything's still in the red, it's a very violent mix. The bottom line is that this is a wonderful album but it's always sounded fragile and rickety, and that band was not fragile and not rickety. That band could kill any band at the time and frankly can just kill any of the bands that built on this work since, just eat any of those poodles"
source=IggyIn 1997
Columbia Records invited Iggy Pop toremaster the entire album for re-release on CD. Pop says in the liner notes that had he declined, the studio would have remastered it without his blessing. Pop cited longtime encouragement from fans and peers, the existence of "Rough Power", his distaste for how the original 1989 CD release of "Raw Power" sounded, and the fact that Columbia were going to release the new mix on its sublabelLegacy Recordings as factors that led him to go through with the new master. On the other hand, some fans — guitaristRobert Quine among them — felt the new remaster was as unfaithful to the material as the original 1973 mix, and further criticized the audible digital distortion in the new mix [ [http://www.furious.com/perfect/quine.html Robert Quine interview- Perfect Sound Forever ] ] . In the reissued CD's liner notes, however, Pop points out that one of his intentions in doing the new mix was to keep audio levels in the red (which would deliberately cause such distortion) while at the same time making the music more "powerful and listenable". This new version is arguably the loudest album ever, reaching RMS of -4 dB, rare even by today's standards.The album was recently reissued on 180-gram virgin vinyl by Columbia, retaining the album's original mix rather than Iggy Pop's new remix.
Covers
The album's songs have been frequently covered. Prominent versions include the Dictators',
Red Hot Chili Peppers ',The Dead Boys 's,Shotgun Messiah 's,Def Leppard 's cover of "Search and Destroy";Guns N' Roses 's cover of "Raw Power" (title track) on "The Spaghetti Incident? " andEwan McGregor covering "Gimme Danger" for the film "Velvet Goldmine ", a movie telling the story of a character based aroundDavid Bowie 'sZiggy Stardust during the 1970sglam rock era. "Gimme Danger" was also covered byFrank Black for the gameGhost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 Track listing
All songs written by
Iggy Pop & James Williamson.ide one
# "Search and Destroy" – 3:29
# "Gimme Danger" – 3:33
# "Your Pretty Face Is Going to Hell" – 4:54 (originally titled "Hard to Beat")
# "Penetration" – 3:41ide two
# "Raw Power" – 4:16
# "I Need Somebody" – 4:53
# "Shake Appeal" – 3:04
# "Death Trip" – 6:07Personnel
*
Iggy Pop - vocals
* James Williamson - guitars
*Ron Asheton - bass, backing vocals
*Scott Asheton - drumsRecording credits
Original 1973 version
Recorded at CBS Studios, London. Originally mixed by
David Bowie at Western Sound, Hollywood1997 reissue
Produced and remixed by
Iggy Pop atSony Studios, New York. Executive Producer: Bruce DickinsonReferences
Notes
*cite book
last= Weisbard
first= Eric
coauthors= Craig Marks
title= Spin Alternative Record Guide
publisher= Vintage Books
year= 1995
isbn= 0679755748
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