Iggy and the Stooges- Raw Power Review (Legacy Remaster)

[lolbears123]

'They almost disembowled themselves on every track' haha!

[Wurmzilla]

dude you are so spot on... when I bough the 97 remix and put it into my discman with trembling hands outside the record store years ago I almost had a total breakdown walking down the street. It is unbelievably superior to everything, not to mention the bowie mix.

[AntifreezeTeetotaler]

Bowie's and Iggy's respective mixes seem to be opposites. One is a bit too subdued and flat, whereas the other is loud and muddy. But it's almost appropriate that even the mixing of the album is in extremes.

[ri394]

in the latest legacy edition mixing, i can't even hear the rythem guitar. the vocals and lead guitar are way too loud. the rythem guitar is too quiet and the bass is non-existent.

[HyenaJourno]

@ri394 That's because there is not rhythm guitar, asshat.

[donwantstobesedated]

Am I the only one who likes Iggy's mix? Yes?

Okay then.

[DavySolaris]

I've gotta say, I really think think Iggy's mix is shite.But the problem is, so's Bowie's.The Bowie mix is pretty awful for the reasons you covered, by I think the Iggy mix is just stupid. It's unbearably loud. I'm a huge opponent of the "loudness war",but not in "that" way-I love a bit of grit,I love records that are overdriven in that analogue way, but there's a big difference between that and the wall of...satic Iggy produced.Raw Power still needs a great mix to do justice to a classic album.

[bigswellmusic]

Embassy mixes with Bass, drums and rhythm guitar you can actually hear do it for me. Bowies mix is flat with no definition and Iggys remaster just pushed the levels through the roof. The '97 remix is great if you're used to music as mixed for the 90's. But just making it loud does nothing for the music.

[elementz1986]

"Musical sausage"....I gotta admit, you make some pretty good metaphors.

[Worldaccording2Doug]

I think the problem with the mix was in the recording. The boys were left to their own divises and therefore didn't capture or rather leave enough room for a "remix". It is what it is, over the top. It doesn't matter who you put in the chair because Iggy and James were pushing themselves and not doing a good job recording. The Bass is almost out. Your commentary is far too long.  It doesn't really matter and I do agree with you that Raw Power is a monumental album.

[HyenaJourno]

I bought Bomp! Records' Rough Power on vinyl when I was a teenager shortly after hearing the '97 Iggy mix on CD, and I remember feeling ripped off, thinking the songs sounded almost exactly the same on both. I didn't realize then the significance of the similarity between those albums - they may sound so similar, but they both sound so much different, and so superior, to the Bowie mixes. My favorite song on the album is Gimme Danger, but the Bowie mix seems to completely obscure its greatness.

[raiman]

I hate you... Seriously.... With a fucking passion bro. 

[robbee23]

Ron Asheton should have done the remix, he's done great studio work.

[keyehaw]

@robbee23 I like the 97 remix - done by Iggy.

[Paspiedreamcast]

The remaster is the loudest album of all time. Louder than Metallica's Death Magnetic.

[axeline]

Totally agree. 97 remix is the most rough version.

[xella45]

This guy is a twat! What the fuck have you done hipster slime?

[DrVenkman90]

Huzzah! Spent so much time in the music shop today trying to figure out which mix to get and I got the Iggy mix! Yay!

[333kingston]

hmm its kind of confusing. or maybe im dumb

[SuperStrik9]

Out of curiosity theneedledrop, what's your opinion of Iggy's first two solo albums? The Idiot and Lust For LIfe. I personally LOVE those two albums.

[Pandemonium44]

I had the Iggy mix and I though it was awesome, always have to pull down the volume, it is so freaking loud. Then I heard Search And Destroy bowie mix, I thought what the hell is this? The sounds is so low. And I found out about the different mixes and I must say I love iggy's mix. Rules. 

[Wacke666]

I love The Stooges' first two albums, but I've had a hard time getting into this - mainly because of the (Bowie) mixing. I will check out Iggy's own or the Rough Power version. Thanks for this review, it was great!

[rustedandcrusted]

This nerdledrop guy is such a f_ing loser. The weirdness at least has the original stooges lineup unlike RP which has Asheton playing Bass instead of guitar and Williamson playing all the guitar. Iggy is a f-ing liar when he says RA was my best friend. He treated RA and SA like shit in the period between Funhouse and RP. Fuck Iggy Plop and fuck this loser review.

[afuckhead1]

yeah i bought the new version and i could not hear the drums unless i consentrated real hard

[VoodooFlintstone]

get the vinyl version, problem solved.

[maliciousRainDog]

I grabbed this remaster at the record store, I am a big Iggy & The Stooges fan, and I love this album--but this remix is very horrible: the guitars muffle things up in parts, it may be as distorted or more as Tom Waits' Real Gone. I am very disappointed in this remake, Iggy must comprehend the phrase 'in the red' in a complete opposite. I plan to buy that deluxe with all of that what not included, HOPING it finally--at least digially, brings this album justice

[Viciousmf]

just realized when i saw lock, stock, and two smoking barrels when i was 16 was the first time i heard a stooges song.

[stephenmyers99]

97' version is the f**king bickies...u can take that 1 to the bank.

[pat976]

"sound was not pretty"? Since when the Stooges are 'PRETTY"??? lol !

[sirlordwhitman]

Sucks. I prefer the Bowie Mix. Iggy threw everything into the red to where the guitars sound overdriven. And a piano was thrown in 'Penetration'

[dummytree]

@sirlordwhitman I think the piano is pretty good. But I do prefer the Bowie mix, it's strange (and I prefer the vocal take of "Gimme Danger" that's on the original Bowie mix). "Rough Power" is pretty bad. It's the original mix sure, but taped from a radio etc. Sounds pretty poor.

[emojesusfreak22]

Why doesn't Brendan O'Brian mix it? He turned PJ's sloppy mix of Ten into a lean rock machine. Imagine what he could do with Raw Power!

[afuckhead1]

i really wanna hear the rough power mix becuse the stooges are a punk band and there sound should bleed out of the stero

[freebretth]

I just received my copy of the Legacy Edition in the mail over the weekend. And I have to agree 100% with your review. Thanks for some entertaining analysis!!

[Slmjm884]

I liked the Iggy mix better IMO. I WANNA HEAR TEH GUITARS!!

[daddyrollingstone]

I used to not like the Bowie mix........But I love it now.....

[TheHendrixLegend]

Man, you really hit the nail on the head with this review. I like how you obviously didn't base the review on the actual songs (because it's a remaster, not the original) and instead focused on the sound quality and comparing it to the other mixes. I personally am a fan of Iggy's mix over the others as well. This review is a great way for long-time fans to get into other versions, new fans to learn about the different mixes, and everyone else to learn that "Raw Power" rules. Exceptional job

[courtesan69]

the Legacy Edition Bowie mix is the definitive mix of this album and beats the Iggy grunge mix hands down......

[weggles]

I really like the 4xLP re-issues that Sonic Youth has been doing. Some interesting stuff on those.

[gotham61]

I still think that we haven't heard the end of this. The Bowie mix leaves a lot to be desired, but at least it's listenable, whereas the Iggy mix is not.

It seems like Iggy treated a digital signal level like you would an analog signal, and the result is almost constant gross digital clipping, not the nice saturated fat distortion you get from overdriven analog. How this actually made it to production I'll never know.

By the way the original was on Columbia, Legacy is the Sony reissue label.

[Rednospunk]

Hey theneedledrop, what's the best mix of this masterpiece in your opinion?

[AlanMcB]

In my own world "The Weirdness" doesn't exist aswell.

[bourgeoisdrum12]

can you please review the new remastered version of the stooges first album

[pat976]

@bourgeoisdrum12 dude ,just get it !!! Do you need any convincing that the Stooges ABSOLUTELY RULE ??? C'mon !

[Flipper79able]

Why would you not count the weirdness as a Stooges album? Ooohhh I get it. Your one of those types of people that holds on too tightly to the past. Why not count "The Weirdness" it was written by the original members? I know your type......you'll probably love The Weirdness in ten years.....it will just take a while to seep into your ridged mind.

[Theehannle]

@Flipper79able No I don't totality hate the Weirdness. The vocals on the Weirdness was not the best of Iggy. Ron still rocks, Scott is still drumming hard, and the rest is not bad, I just though Iggy did not have the dynamic vocals he was known for. A lot of their live stuff was like that, but they did have good shows.

[GrossOut16]

"In my world, The Weirdness doesn't exist."

HAHAHA! Mine as well.

[Theehannle]

Iggy Pop and the Stooges. Best band ever. They make the Sex Pistols look like a boy band. I hate the fact that the production value of this album was never great. But it is great. I do think this deserves a 5/10, iggy's mix is better.

[jimmyjazz82391]

I gotta say Iggy's mix. It's the first mix I heard of Raw Power, it's got more attack, more punch, it's far superior to Bowie's, which is very muddy and washed out, not to mention the vocals overpowering everything else at times. I wish the Iggy mix could be on vinyl.

[AverageCabbage]

@jimmyjazz82391 uhm dude, i think u mean bowie's version is better, cause in iggys reraped version it's very hard to hear the drums, let alone hear any part of the bass, it's what you call pure shit mastering aka loudness war

[jimmyjazz82391]

@AverageCabbage That's the beauty of it. It's 100% punk rock. It's gonna sound like crap to some/most people. And loud is what the album was intended to be. It was meant to be pure rock 'n roll energy, not this example of expert mastering. The Iggy mix brings out everything good that we missed in the Bowie mix. The drums are there, you just gotta listen for them. The bass, I'll give you that, but clear bass is virtually undetectable in regular records anyway.

[AverageCabbage]

@jimmyjazz82391 I'm afraid punk rock doesn't necessarily mean crap mastering or.

I can understand what iggy pop wanted to do, but he clearly had no idea how to master in the first place. Just check the comments by robert quine etc. Where there is no quiet, there can be no loud. Mastering is as simple as that.

But I'm afraid iggy is also too stupid to realize that if one wants a loud album one should turn up the master volume and not distort the whole cd.

[AverageCabbage]

@jimmyjazz82391 and by the way: RocknRoll is defined by the driving rythmn of the drums. It's mutilated to such an extent , that's it hard to hear any drumming on " Gimme danger"

[jimmyjazz82391]

@AverageCabbage The point is it's Raw Power the way Iggy intended it to be. It's the Raw Power CBS didn't want us to hear, and I think it's great.

[emojesusfreak22]

I think Brendan O'Brian should remix this record. He made Pearl Jam's "Ten" SO much better and more hard hitting, and I'd love to see what he'd do to this record.

[TheInvisibleCollege]

Thank god for you, sir. I always wanted a better version of raw power, and now I can turn to the iggy mix.

[tzutzutzu]

All listen links down

youtube is celestial

NOT

[nogoodbastid]

how does it make gg allin look like a kitten? the fact that iggy was not actually dangerous?

[garments]

I have the first pressing of Raw Power on vinyl from 1973, on the track 'search and destroy' the bass is prominent and there is reverb on the snare drum, - every version I have ever heard since bares no comparison to this one. This is the original 'Bowie' mix, what has happened to the reverb on the snare drum for the last 39 years??? I can upload some of the track if you would be interested to listen!

[garments]

I have the first pressing of Raw Power on vinyl from 1973, on the track 'search and destroy' the bass is prominent and there is reverb on the snare drum, - every version I have ever heard since bares no comparison to this one. This is the original 'Bowie' mix, what has happened to the reverb on the snare drum for the last 39 years??? I can upload some of the track if you would be interested to listen!

[ALPQZM654]

Couldn't agree with you more, I think Williamson nailed it when he said the power of the songs at the end of the day over power the mixes. Basically Bowies mix and Iggys mix are at opposite extremes. Check out the Easy Action box set You Don't Want My Name - You Want My Action. Incredible stuff, As beautifully packaged it is I wish they had done the Raw Power re-issue.

[SonofMrPeanut]

Not much drum penetration in Penetration? Uh-oh!

[jumpkenny]

I love you, too. P.S. GET ME A JOB!!!!!

[Threecreation]

Fun House <3

[shmeaves]

great review!! I'm younger and don't know the stooges stuff that well, is this your favorite album of theirs? what do you think is their best stuff? <3

[tsrzine]

For what it's worth, I highly enjoyed the "deluxe" reissue of "Faith" from The Cure.

[JGCSOUND]

the Adventures of Pete and Pete

[msampson3d]

Musical Sausage is my porn name.

[ALPQZM654]

@msampson3d If you have the 80'S cd this isn't really that different, the packaging & presentation is great though. The "remaster" is a let down for me.

[jneudy]

I prefer the bowie mix, because of shear listen ability. Is this a worthy improvement over the 80's cd? Also, I'll say that I detest the new renovations to the cover art. The removal of text and the color changes plead to be iconic and the Stooges never tried to be anything.

[punk100000000]

Iggy Pop and The Stooges were one of my first punk bands when I was listening to classic punk songs like from "Rancid", "The Causluties" and "The Ramones" and things like that. I am a big fan of the Iggy Pop and The Stooges whether there seprate or together. There one of the inspirations behind my band.

[FlashFace]

Great review. The best album EVER!!!

[oldhacks]

@sushigoat the idiot is my Fav

[jadedhellspawn]

Got super lucky when I was younger. I remember being in high school and walking down a street with shops in LA. Upon hearing Penetration coming out of some dingy record store, I was blown away. It was 1997 and I picked up that Iggy mix. Raw Power is easily in my top 25 list of favorite albums.

[SirPlacenta]

I've always thought that the music on this album was great, but none of the mixes come anywhere close to satisfactory for me. Gotta say though, I like Rough Power the best.

[SirPlacenta]

Except for the drums. The drums are way too quiet on all of them... I guess that's probably my biggest qualm.

[cornpopsandacid]

they should let Eno have a go at it.

[Weirdalexo]

what the f*ck is a mofo 10? hehehe

[futureprimitivex]

i love you.

[theneedledrop]

@futureprimitivex and i, you.

[dhfhdfhd]

Finally some good weather in ami land :)

[kingreich22]

I enjoy this channel a lot. Thanks for the very interesting and articulate reviews. We need more people like you.

[tonks1988]

wow you can really feel the difference. You are right. Iggy's mix is way better.

[Funkylicious420]

i really wanna hear this bowie version, becuase this is the version that so many people have listened to from since it came out to when the iggy mix came out. When the iggy mix came out, so many people already loved this album and it was great, so i wanna hear it the way they did

[theneedledrop]

@Funkylicious420 Totally, dude. Hear both of 'em, and try to get a hold of the Rough Power version, too. It's interesting to hear what the record execs turned down, heh.

[puffyrock2]

Top notch review. I previously only owned the Iggy remix and while I didn't have any problems with the mix, the amount of compression was simply too much for me. I couldn't get through more than a couple songs at a time. I like this Bowie mix much more. The instruments seem to breathe more, there is clarity in place of distortion, so to speak. Both mixes are flawed, this the Bowie one really connected with me more.

[sifatshams1]

'i am the world's forgotten boy, the one who searches and DESROYS!!!!'

[wuz352]

I knew you'd come around on the Iggy remix a bit. The Bowie mix's interesting, but... Iggy's mix is so much better.

[sifatshams1]

The Stooges are one of my favorite bands ever. Not just within punk, but music in general. There's only one other band that sounds as genuine and authentic as Iggy's band, and that's the Velvet Underground. I totally agree that Iggy's mix is far superior to Bowie's, and i'm not even gonna bother with this 'deluxe edition.' I'm just glad they didn't do all this 'remix' bullshit with their first 2 albums. Anyway, listen to The Stooges, people. They're not only good, they're good FOR you.

[ignoranttwat]

I saw The Stooges before Ron Asheton died. Some of you didn't.

[theneedledrop]

@ignoranttwat Great jorb.

[TomBandfield]

The '97 remix is the only one I have ever heard/owned, and yes it's, well, the clues in the title :P One of the most blistering, viscerally thrilling rock albums ever recorded :D

[od666666]

I love Iggy! Great review man!

[crackrocksteadyman]

This album is Punk Rock. Period.

[theneedledrop]

@crackrocksteadyman Hell yeah it is!

[sindefeatist]

IGGY and STOOGES ARE FUCKING AWESOME!!!!

[theneedledrop]

@sindefeatist Fuck yeah they are!

[sinistermoon]

Excellent video man! When it comes to mixes and such, I like to get the original master recordings on vinyl. Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon Original Master Recording is AMAZING! I really like Iggy on the Repo Man soundtrack. I honestly liked GG Allin's cover of I wanna be your dog better than Iggy's original lol. Oh and the song High On You is awesome.

[touretteEd2]

I can't stand Iggy mix because it gives me a headache every time I try listen to it (everything on RED?). So naturally, I prefer the Bowie mix. Amazing album for sure, but it is frustrating how it doesn't a proper mix that actually sounds "balanced".

[mambo4dude]

musical sausage, lol, now ive got a name for my band

[theneedledrop]

@mambo4dude tell me if it works out, bro.

[radio667]

Great Review and Epic opening !! My Ultimate fan boy dream would be to have Bowie and Iggy mix this cd . I believe the best version would come out of this collaboration.

[theneedledrop]

@radio667 I dunno. I think the Bowie mix could have ended up being the definitive one if Bowie just had more time to mix it, ya know? Sucks he only had a day.

[attaxwrongnes]

ugh a watered down version of raw power? no thanks, haha . im lucky i got that '97 version

[baumbart99]

"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. The proof's in the pudding." - Iggy Pop about the 1997 remix.

[farizben123]

I like fun house man, my main reason is "down on the street", thats how you're meant to start an album hahaha

[mike23335]

re re re release heheheh

[theneedledrop]

@mike23335 i can't wait 'til they reissue / remix / remaster this album again in 10 yrs.

[CarrotBallSquash]

Bowie's mix isn't very good, but Iggy's is absolutely vile. The actual sound of instruments is indiscernable via digitally clipping. Iggy thought digital clipping was the same as analog distortion, which is absolutely not the case, and the result is one of the most horrendous things I've ever heard. And I love the Stooges first two records to death. The 1997 version couldn't have been what Iggy intended because digital distortion didn't exist in '73. Ron Asheton is my hero, so Bowie mix FTW

[theneedledrop]

@CarrotBallSquash Did he intend for it to be digitally distorted, can't say. I'm sure he wanted it to be loud, noisy, and assaulting, though. If you listen to the rough power mixes, you here that indiscernible bleeding, though. Another thing that shows is so much of the distortion actually comes out of the recordings themselves. Almost as if the recording of the instruments was clipping before effects and EQing even came into question

[uphillracer]

hey man, thanks for interesting me! seriously, i was always deterred by this album because i heard some songs quite a while ago and what really hassled me was the shitty sound.. i might give it another try.. dont like punk that much though... anyway

[theneedledrop]

@uphillracer If you still can't get into this album because of the noise, The Stooges' first two albums are still big winners in my book, and the sound is much better. I highly rec Fun House.

[IndieWalrus]

i got the '97 version about 3 years ago- it blew my mind! & it still does! i'm not buying the reissued version- i have the debut stooges album too, but strangely i've never heard 'Fun House'

[theneedledrop]

@IndieWalrus Fun House is great. Down On the Street! T.V. Eye! Essential tunes!

[juaneto88]

Coincidence?I was not aware of this re-re-issue of this album and just recently acquired Raw Power(this week!)

Thanx for another Review of awesomeness Mr Fantano..TND 5ever!

[theneedledrop]

@juaneto88 Lulz! You just bought the Iggy mix this week!? Hilarious!

[chronicas420]

iggy pop is my hero man great review

[dpowanator]

love the stooges. but i had no idea about all the different versions of this album.

[oldhacks]

NObody gets that ITS SUPPOSED TO SOUND LIKE CRAP. Crap = Raw,

thats what happens when punk meets pop. confusion.

the high end guitar. the treble assault. it's deliberate. its part of the art.

[SushiGoat]

@oldhacks I disagree, most of the Clash's best moments have pretty impressive mixing. Raw=The Music, not the mix.

No one would eat sushi if they thought it tasted bad, right? (and no, im not obsessed with sushi, I got my name from a random word generator)

[oldhacks]

@SushiGoat Dont compare the stooges to the fucking Clash/pearljam. PLEASE!

[SushiGoat]

@oldhacks never said anything bout Pearl Jam...... and the same is true for all the classic punk/garage-bands, "the Idiot" by Iggy had a great mix but still a raw feeling, I think sound is important to this kind of music!

[theneedledrop]

@oldhacks Harsh sound is intended, clearly. I just thing the LP probably would have sounded a lot better if Bowie had more time originally. Though I'm feeling the loud distorted guitar, I see no reason for Bowie to have pretty much left the drums on the scrap heap. Drums can be pretty assaulting, too.

For me, Iggy's version is the definitive assault.

[oldhacks]

@theneedledrop I like the original. its crappy punk rock. the way god intended.

[theneedledrop]

@oldhacks Remember, Bowie's mix is not the original. Iggy's mix is the original. :-p That's the messier more punk rock version, heh.

[STm0vies]

Very informative, thanks a lot. Definitely gonna be checking out Iggy's version.

[theneedledrop]

@STm0vies Yes, I do like his mix better, but try the Bowie mix if you end up hating it. People are pretty split on the whole thing, but I just love how loud, noisy, and bloody the Iggy version is.

[oldhacks]

everybodies talkin shit on this one. I say if its iggy. its worth releasing/owning.

og vinyl is always top dog.

good review. resubscribed.