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'{{Otheruses|Raw Power (disambiguation)}} {{Infobox album| <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject_Albums --> Name = Raw Power | Type = [[Album]] | Artist = [[The Stooges]] | Cover = StoogesRawPower.jpg | Released = February 1973 | Recorded = September 10 – October 6, 1972 at CBS Studios, London | Genre = [[Glam Rock]]<br>[[Protopunk]]<br>[[Punk Rock]] | Length = 34:00 | Label = [[Columbia Records|Columbia]] | Producer = [[Iggy Pop]] | Reviews = *[[Allmusic]] {{Rating|5|5}} [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:e95uak6k5m3l link] *''[[Blender (magazine)|Blender]]'' {{rating|5|5}} [http://www.blender.com/guide/back-catalogue/52515/raw-power.html 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]]'' <small>(Not Rated)</small> [http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/thestooges/albums/album/192794/review/5942090/raw_power link] * ''[[Spin (magazine)|Spin]]'' {{Rating|9|10}}<ref name="Spin">Weisbard & Marks, 1995. p.378</ref> * ''[[Sputnikmusic]]'' {{rating|4|5}} [http://www.sputnikmusic.com/album.php?albumid=2557 link] | Last album = ''[[Fun House (album)|Fun House]]''<br/>(1970) | This album = ''Raw Power''<br/>(1973) | Next album = ''[[Metallic K.O.]]''<br/>(1976) | }} '''''Raw Power''''' is the third album by American [[rock music|rock]] band [[The Stooges]], released in 1973. ''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 fan-base that included many younger musicians who would go on to help create the [[punk rock]] genre in the mid- to late-1970s and experience commercial success, making ''Raw Power'' one of the most important [[proto-punk]] documents of its era. ==The recording history== After their first two albums, ''[[The Stooges (album)|The Stooges]]'' (1969) and ''[[Fun House (album)|Fun House]]'' (1970) were released and were commercially unsuccessful, the group broke up. Singer [[Iggy Pop]] had signed on as a solo artist to [[MainMan Management]], who also handled British singer [[David Bowie]]. The band was in disarray: they had officially broken up, bassist [[Dave Alexander (musician)|Dave Alexander]] was fighting [[alcoholism]], and singer [[Iggy Pop]]'s heroin addiction was escalating prior to Bowie's intervention. However, Iggy was determined for a reformation. After signing to [[Columbia Records]], he was sent to London to write and record an album with his new collaborator, guitarist [[James Williamson (musician)|James Williamson]]. Pop insisted that his fellow ex-Stooges [[Ron Asheton]] and [[Scott Asheton]] participate in the recording sessions. Williamson played all the guitar parts, Ron Asheton was relegated to bass guitar (having played lead guitar on the first two Stooges albums), and Scott Asheton played drums. Pop said that Columbia executives insisted on two [[Ballad (music)|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. Unfortunately, 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 suddenly refused. When MainMan informed Pop that if the album 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 Music Charts|Billboard]]'s Pop Albums chart. The group continued touring for about a year, but Columbia dropped their contract and The Stooges broke up. ==Legacy== [[File:Iggy & the Stooges - Rough Power.jpg|right|150px|thumb|'''Rough Power''']] 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. In 2003, the album was ranked number 125 on ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' magazine's list of [[The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time|the 500 greatest albums of all time]]. Singer and guitarist [[Kurt Cobain]] from the grunge band [[Nirvana (band)|Nirvana]] wrote in his ''[[Journals (Cobain)|Journals]]'' numerous times that this was his favorite album of all time. [[Johnny Marr]] of [[The Smiths]] has also stated Raw Power as his favorite album.{{Citation needed|date=July 2009}} [[Henry Rollins]] had the words "Search and Destroy" tattooed across his shoulder blades.{{Citation needed|date=July 2009}} [[Steve Jones (musician)|Steve Jones]] from the [[Sex Pistols]] mentioned in an interview that he learned to play guitar by taking [[Speed (drug)|speed]] and playing along to ''Raw Power''.{{Citation needed|date=July 2009}} 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.{{Citation needed|date=June 2009}} ==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=Iggy}} In 1997 [[Columbia Records]] invited Iggy Pop to [[remaster]] 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 sublabel [[Legacy Recordings]] as factors that led him to go through with the new master. On the other hand, some fans — guitarist [[Robert 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<ref>[http://www.furious.com/perfect/quine.html Robert Quine interview- Perfect Sound Forever<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>. 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 [[loudness war|loudest album ever]], 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 remastered version. Williamson: {{cquote|I personally think [the remastered ''Raw Power''] sucked. I gotta tell ya that I like the IDEA of what he tried to do, and I talked to him about it, and there's a lot of factors involved, but at the time, none of us liked Bowie's mix, but given everything, Iggy, when he went in to mix it, he found out that the guy who had recorded it originally had not gotten a lot of level on certain things, like the bass and drums, especially the bass, so he didn't have a lot to work with. Then Iggy, on his mix, he left a bunch of guitar stuff on there that probably shouldn't have been left in, and just odds and ends. Bowie's not my favorite guy, but I have to say that overall, I think he did a pretty good job. [http://www.i94bar.com/ints/james1.html] }} Asheton: {{cquote| [[Don Fleming (musician)|Don Fleming]] goes, "You know what? When Iggy's ''Raw Power'' mix comes out, I'll bet you're gonna go -- we always used to say how bad the original David Bowie mix of ''Raw Power'' was -- Fleming's going, "When you hear Iggy's mix, I guarantee you're gonna say, 'Man, remember that great mix that David Bowie did?'" So I heard it, I got the advance copy from his manager, and listened to it. Then I called Fleming and I'm going, "Gee, Don, I just listened to Iggy's mix of ''Raw Power.'' Man, I sure loved that old David Bowie mix. Was it ever great."...Basically, all that Iggy did was take all the smoothness and all the effects off James [Williamson]'s guitar, so his leads sound really abrupt and stilty and almost clumsy, and he just put back every single grunt, groan, and word he ever said on the whole fuckin' soundtrack. He just totally restored everything that was cut out of him in the first mix, and I thought, Damn, I really did like the old mix better. [http://www.i94bar.com/ints/asheton2.html] }} In 2006 the album was reissued on 180-gram virgin vinyl by Columbia, retaining the album's original mix rather than Iggy Pop's new remix. This edition was mastered by Rob LoVerde. In 2008 Sundazed Records released the album on on 180-gram vinyl. This pressing also used the original mix. ==Covers== The album's songs have been frequently [[Cover version|covered]]. Prominent versions include the [[Dictators (band)|Dictators]]', [[Red Hot Chili Peppers]]', [[The Dead Boys]]'s, [[Shotgun Messiah]]'s, [[Def Leppard]]'s cover of "[[Search and Destroy (song)|Search and Destroy]]"; [[Guns N' Roses]]'s cover of "Raw Power" (title track) on ''[[The Spaghetti Incident?]]'' and [[Ewan McGregor]] covering "Gimme Danger" for the film ''[[Velvet Goldmine]]'', a movie telling the story of a character based around [[David Bowie]]'s [[Ziggy Stardust]] during the 1970s [[glam rock]] era. "Gimme Danger" was also covered by [[Frank Black]] for the game [[Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2]] [[Johnny Marr]] has stated that the guitar intro to "Gimme Danger" was the main inspiration for his own Smiths composition "Hand In Glove" - the similarity is quite evident. The Smiths' singer [[Morrissey]] is also an admirer of "Search and Destroy" - he once described it as "a very LA song...A great song."<ref>[http://www.morrissey-solo.com/content/interview/kroq/bladept4.htm KROQ interview, 7/6/97, Morrissey-solo]</ref> ==Track listing== All songs written by [[Iggy Pop]] & [[James Williamson (musician)|James Williamson]]. ===Side one=== # "[[Search and Destroy (song)|Search and Destroy]]" – 3:29 # "Gimme Danger" – 3:33 # "Your Pretty Face Is Going to Hell" – 4:54 (originally titled "Hard to Beat") # "Penetration" – 3:41 ===Side two=== # "Raw Power" – 4:16 # "I Need Somebody" – 4:53 # "Shake Appeal" – 3:04 # "Death Trip" – 6:07 == Personnel == * [[Iggy Pop]] - vocals * [[James Williamson (musician)|James Williamson]] - guitars * [[Ron Asheton]] - bass, backing vocals * [[Scott Asheton]] - drums ==Recording credits== ===Original 1973 version=== Recorded at CBS Studios, London.<br/> Originally mixed by [[David Bowie]] at Western Sound, Hollywood ===1997 reissue=== Produced and remixed by [[Iggy Pop]] at [[Sony]] Studios, New York.<br/> Executive Producer: Bruce Dickinson<!--This isn't the Iron Maiden guy, so don't wikilink to him--> ==References== {{Reflist}} ==Notes== *{{cite book | last= Weisbard | first= Eric | coauthors= Craig Marks | title= Spin Alternative Record Guide |publisher= Vintage Books |year= 1995 |isbn= 0679755748 }} {{The Stooges}} [[Category:The Stooges albums]] [[Category:Columbia Records albums]] [[Category:Legacy Recordings albums]] [[Category:Glam rock albums]] [[Category:Proto-punk albums]] [[Category:Albums produced by David Bowie]] [[Category:1973 albums]] [[da:Raw Power]] [[es:Raw Power]] [[fr:Raw Power]] [[it:Raw Power (The Stooges)]] [[pl:Raw Power]] [[pt:Raw Power]] [[ru:Raw Power]] [[fi:Raw Power]] [[sv:Raw Power]]'