After the release of Raw Power, The Stooges broke up again, drug problems nearly ruining the lives of everyone involved, especially Iggy, who checked into rehab to kick the “needle and the damage done.” It would be four years later that Pop would hook up once again with Bowie and record his two huge solo albums in one year, The Idiot and Lust for Life. Sinewy Iggy, silver haired, low slung leather pants to show off his abs, was the poster boy, and still somewhat is, for rockstar heroin chic. Throw in the fact that the Ramones were directly influenced by the Stooges, and you have four entire genres that can be traced back to the band! Does this mean that Iggy is the great grandfather of modern rock and roll? I would argue that yes, Iggy & the Stooges are probably one of the most influential bands in history. “I Need Somebody,” the Detroit blues number could easily be seen as an influence for many Detroit bands to come including the punk / blues duo the White Stripes. Then take the guitar riff of “Penetration,” which resembles some of the guitar work found in songs by Motley Crue and other hair / glam bands of the early eighties (Interesting Note #1: Iron Maiden’s Bruce Dickinson was the executive producer for the reissue!).
#Raw power album free#
The music in the song is like a precursor to Neil Young’s “Rockin’ in the Free World,” a tune and artist often credited with being the godfather of grunge. Take “Gimme Danger,” a song in which Pop trades in the raspy screams for a crooning baritone. For Raw Power, as most people who own it know, this is not the case. To begin an album so strong usually means that the rest of the album is secondary to the opener, usually a single. “Search And Destroy” is one of the more famous album openers of the seventies. Even with its flaws, Raw Power is one of the most aggressive albums ever put to vinyl, tape or CD. To this day, even after the remastering by Pop, many music aficionados still consider the drums to be too understated. Pop actually produced the album, but Bowie’s handling of the mix caused a stir as every instrument was made to sound thin and tinny. With the album came a name change, Iggy taking top billing over the rest of the Stooges now featuring James Williamson on guitar with Ron Asheton moving to bass after the death of Dave Alexander. The band broke up only to be urged to reunite at the behest of one David Bowie, who mixed what was to become both a controversial and, in my opinion, more influential album, Raw Power.
The Stooges‘ two previous albums, the eponymous debut and the critically acclaimed Fun House, were hugely influential albums and the reigning opinion on the advent of proto-punk. I was introduced to “the world’s forgotten boy” that day, and discovered one of the most dynamic figures in rock and roll history. Raw Power was the first Stooges album I owned. I followed the usual backtracking techniques that most people employ, finding the Stooges in a roundabout way through Nirvana, David Bowie and the Ramones. I went on with my life, oblivious to some of the best music recorded, racking up albums in the eighties and nineties, hearing the bands influenced by those before them, but never the progenitors. I didn’t know Pere Ubu from Black Uhuru, Led Zeppelin from Iron Butterfly, nor was I at all versed in anything resembling punk. Even though I was born in the early seventies, there was a time when I didn’t know all that much about seventies music.
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