IGGY AND THE STOOGES-RAW POWER LIVE:IN THE HANDS OF THE FANS

MVD AUDIO
2011
Listening to the reformed Stooges (Iggy Pop, Scott Asheton, James Williamson, Steve Mackay, Mike Watt) perform Raw Power live made me want to dust off my own vinyl copy of this original classic. Recorded at All Tomorrows Parties in Sept 2010 the band sounds as good as ever considering how long ago the original Raw Power was released. The group's third album Raw Power was originally released in 1973. All but completed ignored at the time the group would break up a few years later. While I'm sure mainstream press though The Stooges would fade away into obscurity the fact is that the band played such a vital rule in the formation of the punk scene. No one (Iggy himself included) would have expected the band to be looked back upon with a sense of awe. And surely no one could have seen Iggy Pop turning into a pop icon! I have my own love affair with the Stooges ("I Wanna Be Your Dog" being one of my favorite songs of all time!) that dates back to the golden age of tape trading. I have an old friend (Michael "Mike" Myers where are you my old McDonald's friend?) to thank for that. Who would have thought that The Stooges would have fit so well on a tape with the Butthole Surfers, the Godz, Blue Oyster Cult and Pink Floyd? What a time warp trip this has been for me. To think that now (or rather 2010 when this was recorded)we have The Stooges rocking out live better (if not louder) than ever is pretty cool. Just a great recording all around and a testament to the staying power of punk rock!