Wednesday, February 10, 2010

STOOGES "RAW POWER" REISSUED IN APRIL

It makes sense that right after The Stooges are finally inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and right after they reunited with former guitarist James Williamson, Sony Legacy will  be reissuing the band's sole album for that label, the classic 1973 Raw Power.

The album itself has a weird history. It was sort of the band's "reunion" album, and featured a different lineup.  Iggy Pop forced the late guitarist Ron Asheton to switch to bass, as he brought in Williamson to be the new guitarist. David Bowie mixed the album, much to the chagrin of many fans. For years there were "Bowie-free" bootleg Raw Power albums out there. Then, about ten years ago, Sony had Iggy remix it, and it does sound better (in my opinion anyway).

Now, they are putting out an expanded box set version of the album. The first disc contains the original Bowie mixes, which have been out of print ever since the aforementioned reissue. The second disc is the "Georgia Peaches" bootleg, which was a live concert recorded in 1973 in Georgia. It also includes two previously unreleased songs. Disc three has more unreleased tracks and a few remixed ones.  The box also comes with a doc about the album and a book. I think it's kind of annoying that it doesn't include the last Bowie-free remixed album, but I already have that.  I recommend you get that, and if you love it, check out this box set.

With Williamson back in the band, The Stooges are going to be playing Raw Power start to finish on their tour, which is cool, because they didn't play much of that on their recent tours, sticking instead with the first two albums which featured Ron Asheton on guitar, The Stooges and Funhouse.

2 comments:

Kent said...

Can't wait! Raw Power is one of my faves.

I published my, somewhat drunk, initial feelings for it on my blog if you need a diversion. . .

http://pirategeorge.wordpress.com/2009/05/08/gimme-danger-part-one/

B. Ives said...

ha ha, I enjoyed your take on the album. It is a classic. I do love the song "Raw Power." And I'm not a fan of Papa Roach, either.