98. Raw Power — Iggy and the Stooges

To enjoy this album you have to come in as a believer in Iggy and the Stooges.

You cannot infer their greatness from the evidence, i.e. the albums. If you’ve decided that Iggy Pop is cool, then the records are irrelevant.

It’s more that we take for granted that they are great, and these are the only documents that they happen to have left us. It’s like seeing some old sportsman doing his thing. Bill Tilden, for instance, is, according to Wikipedia, “often considered one of the greatest tennis players of all time.” I’m not saying that he isn’t. He probably is! But you can’t get that from watching videos of him playing.

Notes on the Songs

Search and Destroy: good, though sounds like the opening from act 2 of a musical set in the Vietnam War.
Gimme Danger: OK. Sounds like the Doors. I don’t think we’re allowed to like the Doors, are we?
Your Pretty Face Is Going to Hell: Poor. Just because it’s recorded so badly doesn’t make it good.
Penetration: Silly, adolescent. Iggy Pop was 27.
Raw Power: Rubbish. Hard to see why a grown man would listen to this. Can something be good if you only think it’s good before your cerebral cortex has fully developed? Are the Stooges just the Iron Maiden it’s OK to like?
I Need Somebody: good intro. Best song. Points to his solo career. Although he only has two songs, a fast one and a slow one.
Shake Appeal: So disposable I can’t believe they included it.
Death Trip: Like a shit version of the Doors. But even worse. And for nearly six minutes.

The album is chaotic, but not in a way that points to anything.

A useful question for this album’s fans: what would a shit version of Raw Power sound like? How would it be different? What would need to be change for you not to like it?

Is it better than Rumours?

No. It is not better than Rumours.

Standout track for the Spotify Playlist:

I Need Somebody

Next up: Odessey And Oracle by The Zombies

Originally published at 100greatestalbumsrevisited.home.blog on January 18, 2019.