Review Summary: "I am the world's forgotten boy, the one who searches and destroys."
The 1970’s are typically regarded as the glory days of the punk music scene. Bands like The Sex Pistols and The Ramones busted down the doors and are usually glorified to have started this overly-aggressive and, at many times, overly-political musical revolution. However, before there were The Sex Pistols, The Clash, The Ramones, or anybody that was considered remotely “punk,” there were The Stooges. Led by the startling, unconventional Iggy Pop, The Stooges created one of the most hostile, violent catalogs of music in a mere three studio albums spanning four years. With songs like “1969,” “I Wanna Be Your Dog,” and “LA Blues,” they created the proto-type for what would become punk music: the new style of music as well as its attitude. While their self-titled debut and “Fun House” are both considered to be excellent albums in their own rights, “Raw Power” conveys The Stooges at the height of their powers and at their most dangerous. With a new lineup, (Ron Asheton switching over to bass, James Williamson added as new guitarist), constant alcohol and drug abuse and seemingly endless amounts of distortion, The Stooges managed to create an atom-bomb equivalent of a record.
The opening ten seconds of opener “Search And Destroy” depicts how entire LP will be: heavily distorted, fuel-injected mayhem. Throughout the album, The Stooges play as if they’re trapped in a corner, desperately attempting to fight their way out, and come out guns-blazing. While Ron Asheton sets the tone with a sludgy bass-line and Williamson follows suit with a slashing guitar riff, Iggy Pop immediately inserts himself into the fray of “Search And Destroy” and takes over the song, barking with a raw intensity rarely matched. Pop is a wonder on “Raw Power,” never ceasing to slow-down, almost as if he’s running on diesel fuel. At times he sounds like a crazed wild man working with a demon. Sometimes he sounds like a whispery bluesman and at other times it’s as if he’s prepared to rip someone’s head off. Pop’s vocal performances can be deemed both awe-inspiring and absolutely frightening.
“Gimme Danger,” a slow-paced acoustic blues song compared to “Search And Destroy” still manages to possess its own elements of viciousness. The plucking of the acoustic guitar somehow sounds nasty and threatening in its own way and the song eventually picks up in intensity about halfway through the song until Pop screams the line “Gimme danger little stranger” over and over again behind Williamson’s chaotic electric guitar by the end.
The two greatest tracks on The Stooges third studio effort are also their most violent and alarming. “Your Pretty Face Is Going To Hell” is close to five minutes of atomic fury, refusing to allow its listeners to compose themselves as they are taken on an out-of-control ride through hell. It’s about as close to riot-inducing as it gets for The Stooges. The entire band works together to create havoc on this track. Williamson provides the blistering, slashing guitar work, Ron Asheton delivers the driving bass, brother Scott Asheton contributes thunderous drums, and Pop roars and croons his way through the track, sounding as though he’s just trying to make it out of the recording alive. Never have The Stooges sounded so anarchic. The title track is yet another raw, energetic track that greatly suits its name. Pop continues to sing with an unnerving power behind the distorted grooves of the Asheton brothers and the screeching guitar riffs of Williamson.
Although never reaching any sort of commercial success, the influence of “Raw Power” cannot be understated. Its importance to punk music has been seen for decades, beginning with punk’s two most famous prize-children: The Sex Pistols and The Ramones. By creating some of the most chaotic pieces of music at the time, Iggy Pop and The Stooges provided the framework for what would be a musical revolution towards the later years of the decade. Punk music can thank The Stooges for punk music.
