Raw Power - The Stooges

I have the Raw Power album on one side of an old compilation cassette which I put together for listening to in the car and for some reason the Stooges seem to be on permanent repeat. With this in mind it was high time I sat down to listen to the album in one hit on CD, and it certainly lives up to its name! The record is a lot rawer, more aggressive and more guitar oriented than previous Stooges output and the more rock than punk direction suited. Much of the albums writing is tremendously rebellious and there is a good degree of variation within the set too which is something the group have maybe lacked in the past. Conversely, the more ...  Read the complete review

‘Raw Power’ pretty much says it all about this album. Raw Power; Iggy howling over James Willamson’s distorted and jagged guitar playing, creating an apocalyptic rock landscape to be reckoned with. But let me go back a little, The Stooges had already knocked out some genre busting albums on the Elektra label (The Stooges, in 1969, and Fun House in 1970) and provided stark contrast to the musical set of the moment. On the one hand you had peace and love, and all the bands that went with it – and on the other you had the likes of The Stooges, with Iggy – almost certainly a certifiable madman, and 100% crazed junkie straight out the ...  Read the complete review

This probably lays claim to being the best rock album of all time. It is flawless. It oozes rock from its pores; just look at the song titles 'Search and Destroy', 'Your Pretty Face is Going to Hell', 'Death Trip' - this is what rock songs should be called - just as all hip-hop songs should all be called 'Get Ur Freak On'. It is arguable that without this album, much modern music would not exist. You wouldn't have acts like Oasis, Primal Scream or Death in Vegas, without Iggy and 'Raw Power'. Admittedly he is also responsible for Linkin Park, Blink 182 and the Offspring, but we can't hold him responsible for that. ...  Read the complete review