Raw Power
Encyclopedia
Raw Power is the third studio album by American rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...

 band The Stooges
The Stooges
The Stooges are an American rock band from Ann Arbor, Michigan first active from 1967 to 1974, and later reformed in 2003...

. Though not initially commercially successful, Raw Power gained a cult
Cult following
A cult following is a group of fans who are highly dedicated to a specific area of pop culture. A film, book, band, or video game, among other things, will be said to have a cult following when it has a small but very passionate fan base...

 fanbase in the years following its release and, like its predecessor (1970
1970 in music
- Events :*January 3**Davy Jones announces he is leaving the Monkees**Former Pink Floyd frontman Syd Barrett releases his first solo album The Madcap Laughs....

's Fun House), is generally considered an influential forerunner
Forerunner
-Religious:*Forerunner, title of St. John the Baptist, forerunner of Jesus*Jesus in Islam, forerunner of Muhammad *Shaykh Ahmad, forerunner of Bábism *Sayyid Kazim Rashti, forerunner of Bábism...

 of punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...

.

Recording history

After their first two albums, The Stooges
The Stooges (album)
The Stooges is the self-titled debut of the rock band The Stooges. It was released in August 1969 and peaked at number 106 on the Billboard album charts. Two songs, "I Wanna Be Your Dog" and "1969", were released as singles. It is widely considered as one of the best proto punk albums...

(1969) and Fun House (1970) were released to little commercial success, the Stooges were in disarray: they had officially broken up, bassist Dave Alexander was fighting alcoholism
Alcoholism
Alcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...

, and singer Pop's heroin addiction was escalating prior to the intervention of David Bowie
David Bowie
David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...

. Iggy later recalled, "Very few people recognized the quality of the Stooges' songwriting, it was really meticulous. And to his credit, the only person I'd ever known of in print to notice it, among my peers of professional musicians, was Bowie. He noticed it right off." Iggy relocated to London, having signed on as a solo artist to MainMan Management (who also handled Bowie) and Columbia Records
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...

. In London, Iggy was to write and record an album with James Williamson, who had joined the Stooges as a second guitarist in late 1970. After they couldn't find a suitable English rhythm section, Williamson suggested that former Stooges Ron Asheton
Ron Asheton
Ronald Frank Asheton was an American guitarist and co-songwriter with Iggy Pop for the rock band The Stooges.Asheton is ranked as number 29 on Rolling Stones list of 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time....

 and Scott Asheton
Scott Asheton
Scott "Rock Action" Asheton is an American musician, best known as the drummer for the rock band The Stooges...

 fly over and participate in the recording sessions. With Williamson already on guitar, Ron, the group's founding lead guitarist, was relegated to bass, while Scott took up his usual position behind the drum kit.

Iggy said that Columbia executives insisted on two ballads, one for each side of the record; these two were "Gimme Danger" and "I Need Somebody." The album was recorded in London's CBS Studios, from September 10-October 6, 1972. Iggy produced and mixed the album by himself; unfortunately, his botched first attempt mixed most of the instruments into one stereo channel and the vocals into the other, with little regard for balance or tone quality. Tony DeFries
Tony DeFries
Tony Defries is a British former record producer and pop manager, and more recently inventor.DeFries worked in the 1960s music scene with such figures as Mickie Most, Allen Klein, before turning his attention to David Bowie...

, the head of MainMan, informed Iggy that the album would be remixed by David Bowie. Iggy agreed to this, claiming that "the other choice was I wasn't going to get my album out. I think DeFries told me that CBS refused to release it like that, I don't know," 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, Western Sound Recorders, in October 1972. According to Iggy, the mixing session took place in one day:
Bowie later recalled:

Initial response

Raw Power was released (in America in May 1973 and in the UK the following month) as an album by "Iggy and the Stooges," contrasting with the group's first two albums, credited to "The Stooges." The album sleeve comprised a photograph of Iggy taken by rock music photographer Mick Rock
Mick Rock
Mick Rock is a British photographer best known for his iconic shots of rock and roll legends such as Queen, David Bowie, Syd Barrett, Lou Reed, Iggy Pop and The Stooges, The Sex Pistols, The Ramones, Joan Jett, Talking Heads, Roxy Music, Crossfade, Thin Lizzy, Motley Crue, and Blondie...

. The songs "Search and Destroy" and "Shake Appeal" were both released as singles (the album's title track was released as a single in Japan only). Despite rave reviews, 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. The Stooges were also dumped by MainMan - Tony DeFries lost patience with the band after the large sum of money he advanced to them was bankrolled on drugs. The Stooges broke up in February 1974. After spending time in a drug-fueled stupor in L.A. - and later rehab at the UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute - Iggy Pop re-joined Bowie's entourage, and emerged as a solo artist in 1976.

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.

Singer and guitarist Kurt Cobain
Kurt Cobain
Kurt Donald Cobain was an American singer-songwriter, musician and artist, best known as the lead singer and guitarist of the grunge band Nirvana...

 of the band Nirvana
Nirvana (band)
Nirvana was an American rock band that was formed by singer/guitarist Kurt Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic in Aberdeen, Washington in 1987...

 wrote in his Journals
Journals (Cobain)
Journals is a collection of writings and drawings by Kurt Cobain, lead singer and guitarist of the grunge band Nirvana. Though the content is undated, it is arranged in an approximation of chronological order, starting with a letter Cobain wrote to Dale Crover in 1988, and ending with a rant about...

numerous times that this was his favourite album of all time. Johnny Marr
Johnny Marr
Johnny Marr is an English musician and songwriter. Marr rose to fame in the 1980s as the guitarist in The Smiths, with whom he formed a prolific songwriting partnership with Morrissey. Marr has been a member of Electronic, The The, and Modest Mouse...

 of The Smiths
The Smiths
The Smiths were an English alternative rock band, formed in Manchester in 1982. Based on the song writing partnership of Morrissey and Johnny Marr , the band also included Andy Rourke and Mike Joyce...

 has also spoken highly of Raw Power, commenting on James Williamson's guitar playing on the album: 'I'm his biggest fan. He has the technical ability of Jimmy Page
Jimmy Page
James Patrick "Jimmy" Page, OBE is an English multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and record producer. He began his career as a studio session guitarist in London and was subsequently a member of The Yardbirds from 1966 to 1968, after which he founded the English rock band Led Zeppelin.Jimmy Page...

 without being as studious, and the swagger of Keith Richards
Keith Richards
Keith Richards is an English musician, songwriter, and founding member of the Rolling Stones. Rolling Stone magazine said Richards had created "rock's greatest single body of riffs", and placed him as the "10th greatest guitarist of all time." Fourteen songs written by Richards and songwriting...

 without being sloppy. He's both demonic and intellectual, almost how you would imagine Darth Vader
Darth Vader
Darth Vader is a central character in the Star Wars saga, appearing as one of the main antagonists in the original trilogy and as the main protagonist in the prequel trilogy....

 to sound if he was in a band.' Former Smiths frontman Morrissey
Morrissey
Steven Patrick Morrissey , known as Morrissey, is an English singer and lyricist. He rose to prominence in the 1980s as the lyricist and vocalist of the alternative rock band The Smiths. The band was highly successful in the United Kingdom but broke up in 1987, and Morrissey began a solo career,...

 is also an admirer of "Search and Destroy" - he once described it as "a very LA song...A great song." Henry Rollins
Henry Rollins
Henry Rollins is an American singer-songwriter, spoken word artist, writer, comedian, publisher, actor, and radio DJ....

 had the words "Search and Destroy" tattooed across his shoulder blades. Steve Jones
Steve Jones (musician)
Stephen Philip "Steve" Jones is an English rock guitarist, singer and actor, best known as guitarist and founding member of the punk rock band the Sex Pistols.-Childhood:...

 from the Sex Pistols
Sex Pistols
The Sex Pistols were an English punk rock band that formed in London in 1975. They were responsible for initiating the punk movement in the United Kingdom and inspiring many later punk and alternative rock musicians...

 mentioned in an interview that he learned to play guitar by taking speed and playing along to Raw Power. Cee Lo Green cited Raw Power as one of his favorite albums. "The album seems like it’s all done in one take. 'Let's do that one, leave it, just try something else'. With his energy on stage, it seems as if the studio was just destroyed after that album - or at least you'd like to believe that".

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. Of the Rough Power release, Iggy has remarked that "what David and I came up with at these sessions was better than that."

Accolades

  • Mojo
    Mojo (magazine)
    MOJO is a popular music magazine published initially by Emap, and since January 2008 by Bauer, monthly in the United Kingdom. Following the success of the magazine Q, publishers Emap were looking for a title which would cater for the burgeoning interest in classic rock music...

    put it in its list 70 from the 1970s: Decade’s Greatest Albums.
  • Kerrang!
    Kerrang!
    Kerrang! is a UK-based magazine devoted to rock music published by Bauer Media Group. It was first published on June 6, 1981 as a one-off supplement in the Sounds newspaper...

     named it 36th most influential album of all time.
  • Pitchfork
    Pitchfork
    A pitchfork is an agricultural tool with a long handle and long, thin, widely separated pointed tines used to lift and pitch loose material, such as hay, leaves, grapes, dung or other agricultural materials. Pitchforks typically have two or three tines...

     named it the 83rd best album of the 1970s.
  • In 2003, Raw Power was ranked number 125 on Rolling Stone
    Rolling Stone
    Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...

    magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time
    The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time
    "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time" is the title of a 2003 special issue of American magazine Rolling Stone, and a related book published in 2005.Related news articles:...

    .

Remix

In 1996, Columbia Records invited Iggy Pop to remix
Remix
A remix is an alternative version of a recorded song, made from an original version. This term is also used for any alterations of media other than song ....

 the entire album for re-release on CD. Iggy says in the liner notes that had he declined, the studio would have remixed it without his blessing. Iggy 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 sublabel Legacy Recordings
Legacy Recordings
Legacy Recordings is Sony Music Entertainment's catalog division. It was founded in 1990 by CBS Records under the leadership of Jerry Shulman, Richard Bauer, Gary Pacheco and Amy Herot to handle reissues of recordings from the vast catalogues of Columbia Records, Epic Records and associated...

 as factors that led him to go through with the new mix, which was undertaken at New York's Sony Music Studios in 1996. The remixed edition of Raw Power was released on April 22, 1997. In album's accompanying liner notes, Iggy states the following:
On the other hand, some fans — guitarist Robert Quine
Robert Quine
Robert Wolfe Quine was an American guitarist, known for his innovative guitar solos.A native of Akron, Ohio, Quine worked with a wide range of musicians, though he himself remained relatively unknown in comparison...

 among them — felt the new remix was as unfaithful to the material as the original 1973 mix, and further criticized the audible digital distortion in the new mix. 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
Loudness war
The loudness war or loudness race is a pejorative term for the apparent competition to digitally master and release recordings with increasing loudness.The phenomenon was first reported with respect to mastering practices for 7" singles...

, reaching RMS of -4 dB, rare even by today's standards.

James Williamson and Ron Asheton have both stated that they prefer Bowie's original mix of the album to Pop's remixed version.

Williamson:
Asheton:
In 2002, Bowie said that his original mix of Raw Power is "the version I still prefer over the later remix – it has more wound-up ferocity and chaos and, in my humble opinion, is a hallmark roots sound for what was later to become Punk
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...

."

The Masters Edition

Sony
Sony
, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....

 Legacy Recordings
Legacy Recordings
Legacy Recordings is Sony Music Entertainment's catalog division. It was founded in 1990 by CBS Records under the leadership of Jerry Shulman, Richard Bauer, Gary Pacheco and Amy Herot to handle reissues of recordings from the vast catalogues of Columbia Records, Epic Records and associated...

 released a deluxe version of Raw Power on April 13, 2010. Raw Power: The Masters Edition contains David Bowie's original Raw Power mix, a live soundboard recording from Atlanta in October 1973, and liner notes written by authorized Stooges biographer Jeffrey Morgan
Jeffrey Morgan
Jeffrey Morgan is a Canadian writer, musician, photographer, and poet who lives in Toronto, Ontario. Morgan is best known for being the authorized biographer of both Alice Cooper and The Stooges.-CREEM:...

.

Live performances

In May 2010 Iggy Pop, James Williamson, Mike Watt
Mike Watt
Michael David Watt is an American bassist, singer and songwriter.He is best known for co-founding the rock bands Minutemen, dos, and Firehose; , he is also the bassist for the reunited Stooges and a member of the art rock/jazz/punk/improv group Banyan as well as many other post-Minutemen...

, Scott Asheton and Steve Mackay
Steve MacKay
Steve Mackay is an American tenor saxophone player, best known for his participation on The Stooges' second album Fun House.-The Stooges:Mackay was familiar to The Stooges from his work in Detroit's avant-rock pioneers, Carnal Kitchen...

 performed Raw Power in its entirety as part of the All Tomorrow's Parties
All Tomorrow's Parties (music festival)
All Tomorrow's Parties is a music festival which takes place at Camber Sands holiday camp in East Sussex and Butlin's holiday camp in Minehead, Somerset, England....

-curated Don't Look Back
Don't Look Back (concert series)
Don't Look Back is a yearly series of concerts in which London based promoters All Tomorrow's Parties ask artists and bands to play one of their seminal albums live in its entirety...

 series.

Covers

The album's songs have been frequently covered
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...

. Prominent versions include the Dictators', Red Hot Chili Peppers
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Red Hot Chili Peppers is an American rock band, formed in Los Angeles in 1983. The group's musical style primarily consists of rock with an emphasis on funk, as well as elements from other genres such as punk, hip hop and psychedelic rock...

', The Dead Boys
The Dead Boys
The Dead Boys were an American punk rock band from Cleveland, Ohio. Among the first wave of early punk bands, the Dead Boys were initially active from 1976 to 1979, briefly reuniting in 1987, 2004 and 2005.-Formation and 1970s punk rock era:...

's, Shotgun Messiah
Shotgun Messiah
Shotgun Messiah were a glam metal band originally from Sweden; they crossed over to industrial rock music during the early 1990s.-First Era, 1985-1991:...

's and Def Leppard
Def Leppard
Def Leppard are an English rock band formed in 1977 in Sheffield as part of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal movement. Since 1992, the band have consisted of Joe Elliott , Rick Savage , Rick Allen , Phil Collen , and Vivian Campbell...

's cover of "Search and Destroy
Search and Destroy (song)
"Search and Destroy" is a song by American rock band The Stooges, recorded for the group's third album Raw Power . Lead singer Iggy Pop said that he pulled the title "from a column heading in a Time article about the Vietnam War." In 1997, "Search and Destroy" along with the rest of the songs on...

"; Guns N' Roses
Guns N' Roses
Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band, formed in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, in 1985. The band has released six studio albums, three EPs, and one live album...

's cover of "Raw Power" (title track) on The Spaghetti Incident? and Ewan McGregor
Ewan McGregor
Ewan Gordon McGregor is a Scottish actor. He has had success in mainstream, indie, and art house films. McGregor is perhaps best known for his roles as heroin addict Mark Renton in the drama Trainspotting , young Jedi Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Star Wars prequel trilogy , and poet Christian in the...

 covering "Gimme Danger" for the film Velvet Goldmine
Velvet Goldmine
Velvet Goldmine is a 1998 British/American drama film directed and co-written by Todd Haynes. The film tells the story of a pop star based mainly on David Bowie's 'Ziggy Stardust' character and is set in Britain during the days of glam rock in the early 1970s.Sandy Powell received another Academy...

, a movie telling the story of a character based around David Bowie
David Bowie
David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...

's Ziggy Stardust during the 1970s glam rock
Glam rock
Glam rock is a style of rock and pop music that developed in the UK in the early 1970s, which was performed by singers and musicians who wore outrageous clothes, makeup and hairstyles, particularly platform-soled boots and glitter...

 era. "Gimme Danger" was also covered by Frank Black
Frank Black
Black Francis is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. He is best known as the frontman of the influential alternative rock band Pixies, with whom he performs under the stage name Black Francis. Following the band's breakup in 1993, he embarked on a solo career under the name Frank Black...

 for the game Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2. A cover of "Search and Destroy" by Emanuel
Emanuel
Emanuel, Emmanuel, Emmanuil or Immanuel , may refer to:-People:Royalty* Emanuel I of Portugal * Emanuel II of Portugal * Victor Emmanuel I of Savoy...

 also appeared on the soundtrack to Tony Hawk's American Wasteland
Tony Hawk's American Wasteland
Tony Hawk's American Wasteland, abbreviated to THAW, is a video game that was released for the PS2, Xbox, Xbox 360, Nintendo GameCube and PC on October 18, 2005. Part of the Tony Hawk series, the game was developed by Neversoft and published by Activision.The PC version of the game was ported and...

. Additionally, a cover of the album's namesake track "Raw Power" is performed by Romeo Delta in Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty.

Track listing

All songs written by Iggy Pop
Iggy Pop
Iggy Pop is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. Though considered an innovator of punk rock, Pop's music has encompassed a number of styles over the years, including pop, metal, jazz and blues...

 & James Williamson

Side One

  1. "Search and Destroy" – 3:29
  2. "Gimme Danger" – 3:33
  3. "Your Pretty Face Is Going to Hell" – 4:54 (originally titled "Hard to Beat")
  4. "Penetration" – 3:41

Side Two

  1. "Raw Power" – 4:16
  2. "I Need Somebody" – 4:53
  3. "Shake Appeal" – 3:04
  4. "Death Trip" – 6:07

Deluxe Edition

Disc two - Georgia Peaches (Live at Richards, Atlanta, GA, October 1973)
  1. "Introduction"
  2. "Raw Power"
  3. "Head On"
  4. "Gimme Danger"
  5. "Search And Destroy"
  6. "I Need Somebody"
  7. "Heavy Liquid"
  8. "Cock In My Pocket"
  9. "Open Up And Bleed"
  10. "Doojiman" (outtake from the session for "Raw Power")
  11. "Head On" (Rehearsal Performance from CBS Studios rehearsal tape)


Disc three - Rarities, Outtakes & Alternatives From The Raw Power Era
  1. "I'm Hungry"
  2. "I Got A Right"
  3. "I'm Sick Of You"
  4. "Hey, Peter"
  5. "Shake Appeal"
  6. "Death Trip"
  7. "Gimme Danger"
  8. "Your Pretty Face Is Going To Hell"


Bonus DVD
  • Documentary by Morgan Neville
  • Live performance footage from Festival Planeta Terra, Sao Paulo Brazil - November 2009

Personnel

  • Iggy Pop
    Iggy Pop
    Iggy Pop is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. Though considered an innovator of punk rock, Pop's music has encompassed a number of styles over the years, including pop, metal, jazz and blues...

     - vocals
  • James Williamson - guitars
  • Ron Asheton
    Ron Asheton
    Ronald Frank Asheton was an American guitarist and co-songwriter with Iggy Pop for the rock band The Stooges.Asheton is ranked as number 29 on Rolling Stones list of 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time....

     - bass, backing vocals
  • Scott Asheton
    Scott Asheton
    Scott "Rock Action" Asheton is an American musician, best known as the drummer for the rock band The Stooges...

     - drums

Original 1973 version

Recorded at CBS Studios, London.

Mixed by David Bowie
David Bowie
David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...

 at Western Sound, Hollywood

1997 reissue

Produced and remixed by Iggy Pop
Iggy Pop
Iggy Pop is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. Though considered an innovator of punk rock, Pop's music has encompassed a number of styles over the years, including pop, metal, jazz and blues...

 at Sony
Sony
, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....

 Studios, New York.

Executive Producer: Bruce Dickinson

2010 reissue

Remastered version of original David Bowie mix along with a second disc of unreleased live tracks and soundchecks. Also released was a deluxe edition consisting of three CDs, one DVD, one 7", a booklet and a pack of photo prints.

Alternate versions

  • "Search and Destroy" (UK Album Version / Alternate Mix)
  • "Gimme Danger" (7" Extended Version) - 6:04
  • "I Need Somebody" (7" Extended Version) - 5:25

External links

  • IggyAndTheStoogesMusic.com Rarities, outtakes, & alternates from Raw Power. Includes Raw Power video short featuring Iggy Pop, Henry Rollins, Johnny Marr, James Williamson, Chrissie Hynde, and Clem Burke.
  • Iggy and the Stooges Raw Power Podcast Podcast series pays tribute to new Rock & Roll Hall of Fame members, Iggy & the Stooges, and their 1973 album, Raw Power. Jon Langford (The Mekons, Waco Brothers) hosts this four part series on how this seminal album was made, and how it influenced future generations of punk rockers.
  • Iggy & The Stooges, "Raw Power (Legacy and Deluxe Edition)" by Billboard
    Billboard (magazine)
    Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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