Raw Power

1	Search and Destroy 3:30
2	Gimme Danger 3:33
3	Your Pretty Face Is Going to Hell 4:54
4	Penetration 3:41
5	Raw Power 4:16
6	I Need Somebody 4:52
7	Shake Appeal 3:04
8	Death Trip 6:07

Barnes & Noble

Apart from being known as one of the two most poorly mixed but still great albums in rock history (the other being the Stones' Exile on Main Street), the Stooges' 1973 release, Raw Power, is the noise that inspired nearly everybody who played in a first-generation Pistols-era punk band -- in part, because this was the first record to make manifest rock's latent confusion between sex and death. The Stooges' sound is brutal and beautiful, as are their songs (has there ever been a more seductive plaint than "Gimme Danger"?), and despite David Bowie's problematic production, the breakneck tempos and careful layers of overdubbed guitars give it a sheer visceral kick that has never been equaled by even the most extreme of contemporary punkers. If you doubt that, check out the authorized 1997 remix, supervised by Iggy himself, which should have been retitled Even Rawer Power. Steve Simels

All Music Guide

In 1972, the Stooges were near the point of collapse when David Bowie's management team, MainMan, took a chance on the band at Bowie's behest. By this point, guitarist Ron Asheton and bassist Dave Alexander had been edged out of the picture, and James Williamson had signed on as Iggy's new guitar mangler; Asheton rejoined the band shortly before recording commenced on Raw Power, but was forced to play second fiddle to Williamson as bassist. By most accounts, tensions were high during the recording of Raw Power, and the album sounds like the work of a band on its last legs -- though rather than grinding to a halt, Iggy & the Stooges appeared ready to explode like an ammunition dump. From a technical standpoint, Williamson was a more gifted guitar player than Asheton (not that that was ever the point), but his sheets of metallic fuzz were still more basic (and punishing) than what anyone was used to in 1973, while Ron Asheton played his bass like a weapon of revenge, and his brother Scott Asheton remained a powerhouse behind the drums. But the most remarkable change came from the singer; Raw Power revealed Iggy as a howling, smirking, lunatic genius. Whether quietly brooding ("Gimme Danger") or inviting the apocalypse ("Search and Destroy"), Iggy had never sounded quite so focused as he did here, and his lyrics displayed an intensity that was more than a bit disquieting. In many ways, almost all Raw Power has in common with the two Stooges albums that preceded it is its primal sound, but while the Stooges once sounded like the wildest (and weirdest) gang in town, Raw Power found them heavily armed and ready to destroy the world -- that is, if they didn't destroy themselves first. Mark Deming