Search - Iggy Pop, Stooges :: Raw Power (Mlps)

Makes the Sex Pistols Sound Like the London Symphony Orchest

Frederick Baptist | Singapore | 09/07/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Few albums truly live up to their titles and this one is truly full of rawness and power! Think of the Ramones and the Sex Pistols but only much more raw and much, much more loud! If you can even think further back, in tracks like "Shake Appeal" you'll hear heavy influences of Little Richard too. It's a shame the man is so under-rated as if anyone is responsible for rock, punk and even metal music at least in influencing the genres from the very start, both Little Richard and Chuck Berry have got to be ranked number one and two respectively. The album's not too long time-wise but I suppose that's okay because there's only so much raw power the average guy, myself included, can take at one sitting without wanting to go break something. "Penetration" is the only track that sounds remotely like you could play it to your parents without them thinking you were completely flipped but overall, this is one great punk rock album that ranks up there with "Never Mind the Bollocks" as classics and standards of the genre. Iggy's remastering has made it sound a lot more palatable without sacrificing any of the menace and edge of the original sound enough for anyone to seriously complain about it. In my mind, this is the better-sounding version anyways.



The remastering job is well done though which means the sound quality is very good considering the job was supervised by Iggy himself, we have the assurance that this is what the man himself would want us to hear. Now this version of the album comes in a very well designed mini-lp sleeve replica with good quality cardboard and fine detailed representation of the original lp sleeve down to the inner sleeve design too. It also includes a 16-page booklet printed on glossy paper which contains an excellent interview with Iggy himself done by Arthur Levy. There is also a tiny square "Iggy Raw Power" sticker as well as an insert with all the lyrics in both English and Japanese. As far as mlps designs go, this one ranks among the best and I wish all mlps releases can be this good. Great packaging, great sound quality makes this great value as well.



Highly recommended for fans of in-your-face punk and definitely worth the "upgrade"!"