RAW Power – 50th Anniv. Legacy Edition

Listening to the 50th anniversary edition of this punk classic raises a few questions: How did I get this old? How did Iggy make it this long? But the one question I can answer definitively is how does this record stand up half a century later?

It still rules. With multiple alternate takes, mixes, and outtakes, Raw Power is still a blast, that sounds best when you blast it. The additional live tracks, recorded in Atlanta, Georgia in 1973 convey the live Iggy experience of the period, and flesh out the perspective of this record nicely. This is an original DIY production to be sure.

Bruce Dickinson joins Iggy for engineering and producing credits, and it’s clear they took as much care as you can take on a punk record to make sure this iconic pressing is preserved for all time. Everyone else needs to write Iggy Pop a check.

-Jeff Dorgay