The year was 1972 and little did the world know what was being brewed for it. Two opposing but equal musical forces, David Bowie and Iggy Pop, were about to unleash upon us all the snarling, bombastic wall of sound that is Raw Power. The two had met previously in 1971 in New York City and would later become label mates on MainMan/Columbia after Bowie invited Iggy Pop to England to record.

While in England, Iggy couldn't find anyone he felt up to the task of creating this beast so he brought back the Asheton brothers, Ron and Scott. Raw Power saw the Stooges back together after an initial break-up due to poor sales of the first two records and in-fighting. Rounding out the crew was James Williamson, whose blistering guitar work is still emulated today.

From the first few notes of Search and Destroy, the album's opening track, you know you're in for something dangerous. Williamson's guitar is like nothing else and splits your skull in two. With Search and Destroy's menacing lyrics (I'm a street walking cheetah/with a heart full of napalm/I'm a runaway son of the nuclear A-bomb) and even more aggressive vocals it sets you up for a ride you won't soon forget.

Gimmie Danger lulls you into a false sense that perhaps this could be a radio friendly rock album. How wrong you are!  Iggy's vocals and writing and The Stooges abilities were a far cry from the more popular music of the time such as Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon which was burning up the charts.

Your Pretty Face is Going to Hell and Penetration with their animalistic snarls, grinding vocals and FU attitude actually make you beg for more because you know you'll never experience this again. You just know you want more!

Raw Power gives it to you. Reminiscent of White Light White Heat, it's in your face, "Can you feel it?" Iggy asks. No, not asks, demands!

The bluesy and somewhat deranged I Need Somebody reminds you of all the people this album has influenced, from REM and Nirvana to The Damned, even the Sex Pistols. They're all in there, somewhere, slithering about and waiting to be born from this orgy of cool.

Shake Appeal  is slap yo' mama good. If Jerry Lee Lewis was planning a revolution, this is what is would have sounded like. Thumping, bombastic, loud and sexy, what more could you ask for?

Death Trip is by far the grittiest track on the album. This is what your parents were afraid of! This was the boy you weren't supposed to date and you knew it, but you couldn't help it.

It's easy to hear why, even though it had poor sales on its original release, this has become one of the most influential albums of all time. This is the must have album for any old school punk rocker or anyone looking to find out just what made the anti-disco age so damn cool. Raw Power is the reason Iggy has been called the "Godfather of Punk".

There are some great extras included in this double-CD package. Georgia Peaches, which is by far the most bootlegged version of an Iggy & the Stooges concert, is a gem. Also included are two additional studio tracks: Doojiman and Head On.

Original versions of the Bowie mixed Raw Power are LONG out of print and you'd be lucky as hell to find an original vinyl floating around on EBay for less than $50. For $16 the Legacy Edition 2 CD is well worth it. And at $70, the Deluxe Edition, with its 3 CDs 48-pg book, glossy cards and other assorted goodies is a downright bargain!

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