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Charted:

April 28, 1973


Rating:

4.375 (average of 8 ratings)

Genre:

proto-punk rock


Quotable:

--


Album Tracks:

  1. Search and Destroy
  2. Gimme Danger
  3. Your Pretty Face Is Going to Hell
  4. Penetration
  5. Raw Power
  6. I Need Somebody
  7. Shake Appeal
  8. Death Trip

Sales (in millions):

sales in U.S. only --
sales in U.K. only - estimated --
sales in all of Europe as determined by IFPI – click here to go to their site. --
sales worldwide - estimated --


Peak:

peak on U.S. Billboard album chart 182
peak on U.K. album chart --


Singles/Hit Songs:

  • Search and Destroy (6/73) --

Awards:

Mojo Magazine’s 100 Greatest Albums Q Magazine’s Top 100 Albums One of Rolling Stone’s 100 Greatest Albums of All Time One of VH1’s 100 Greatest Rock & Roll Albums of All Time.

Raw Power

Iggy Pop & the Stooges

Review:

“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.” MD

“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.” MD

“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.” MD

“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.” MD


Review Source(s):


Related DMDB Link(s):

previous album: Fun House (1970)

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Last updated March 28, 2011.