There's something menacing crawling out of my speakers every time I play Raw Power. As Search and Destroy kicks in, the pressure on air particles becomes unbearable.. As Nick Kent puts it - 'still the meaniest-eyed, coldest-blooded tour de force ever summoned up in a recording studio.'
The version I'm listening to is the legacy edition - which was remastered by Iggy Pop himself: at -4db it is the loudest heavy-rock record ever to be released. This is the second time Iggy tried his hands on the recording's tapes: the first time was in 1972, but he had to subside to record labels pressure and let David Bowie remix if he ever wanted his baby to be available in shops for public consumption. Not that the label was expecting to make any money out of it..but at least they wanted the last word on content listenability and packaging design. The Iggy Version can be described in his own words: 'Look!That's not in the red, why isn't that meter in the red? That should be over there in the red with the rest of those meters!'
Many critics hated the new release, citing digital distortion throughout the record. I'm not usually in favor of heavy mastering and I think all this discussions about loudness war are going nowhere: a track needs to breathe and a sound wave representation shouldn't look like a long homogeneous tube - unless that's what you're really looking for, or like Merzbow and other Noise Artists, who sometimes during mastering look for digital distortion on purpose.-
I got to say that I'm really enjoying this version in spite of all the above critics, but I'm looking for the Vinyl of the original mix for comparison. I also found out that there's a new legacy - doesn't legacy usually means what someone is remembered for? ..Forever? - 2010 edition of the David Bowie mix. I'll leave you with Iggy's point of view on this messy mixing epic: 'I don't think you can beat David's mix,it's very creative. But this is just a simple, straight band mix of a powerful band'.
If you want to know more about Raw Power, the best way is just blasting it off your speakers! ..whichever version of the record you've got!The LOUDest the BETTER. If you don't have it..
A someone stOOle it from you..
A something pretty big escaped to your aural senses
The version I'm listening to is the legacy edition - which was remastered by Iggy Pop himself: at -4db it is the loudest heavy-rock record ever to be released. This is the second time Iggy tried his hands on the recording's tapes: the first time was in 1972, but he had to subside to record labels pressure and let David Bowie remix if he ever wanted his baby to be available in shops for public consumption. Not that the label was expecting to make any money out of it..but at least they wanted the last word on content listenability and packaging design. The Iggy Version can be described in his own words: 'Look!That's not in the red, why isn't that meter in the red? That should be over there in the red with the rest of those meters!'
Many critics hated the new release, citing digital distortion throughout the record. I'm not usually in favor of heavy mastering and I think all this discussions about loudness war are going nowhere: a track needs to breathe and a sound wave representation shouldn't look like a long homogeneous tube - unless that's what you're really looking for, or like Merzbow and other Noise Artists, who sometimes during mastering look for digital distortion on purpose.-
I got to say that I'm really enjoying this version in spite of all the above critics, but I'm looking for the Vinyl of the original mix for comparison. I also found out that there's a new legacy - doesn't legacy usually means what someone is remembered for? ..Forever? - 2010 edition of the David Bowie mix. I'll leave you with Iggy's point of view on this messy mixing epic: 'I don't think you can beat David's mix,it's very creative. But this is just a simple, straight band mix of a powerful band'.
If you want to know more about Raw Power, the best way is just blasting it off your speakers! ..whichever version of the record you've got!The LOUDest the BETTER. If you don't have it..
A someone stOOle it from you..
A something pretty big escaped to your aural senses
B you've never heard that something called ROCK landed on our little planet sometime ago.. bringing some good things and.. lots of bad things. well....
RAW POWER GOOD!!!
Yeaaaahhh! Great review Zoo. You made me want to listen to the album again
ReplyDeleteand again
and again
and again
..er..I think the copy I'm listening to is actually yours!!
ReplyDeleteIf you got a superhuman urge to listen to it as soon as possible I'll send it to you by DHL straight away!! thanks for all the great music you left in my custody. This is the bad-ass shining shit of the lot! so yep!
I'll keep listen again
and again
and again
and again