Raw Power Box Advance copies

It seems as though several folks around these parts (Nervous Norvus, Perdu and maybe a couple of others) have secured advance copies of this. I have, as well. It seems we ought to have one thread for this and so here it is.

I've only given it a cursory listen so far and I am knocked out by it. I started out with the live CD. I, like most of you, own countless bootlegs of the 1973/1974 shows. I also saw them at the Whisky in Hollywood around a dozen times. This CD is just unbelievable. After endless hours listening to the boots my first reaction was - WOW, this band had a drummer? You can hear all of the instruments clearly. There are some guitar/amp connection problems that make for a lot of buzzing and shorting out of JW's Les Paul for the first song or two and some microphone problems towards the end but this is just quibbling.

The band is as tight as you'd ever hear them - they were taped professionally on a night that they were really on! For a band as powerful as they undoubtedly were; they were capable of real restraint. This made the parts where they cranked it out all the more amazing. This band was as tight as I've ever seen or heard them this night. The Asheton Bros. lock into the groove over and over and, as a good rhythm section should, allow the rest of the band the freedom to just play without worrying that the bottom might fall out. This was a very well rehearsed band.

The rarities disc and the other non live, non remastered Raw Power tracks are enlightening. It would seem that, though you've heard many of these tracks before, these were taken from the master tapes. The quality of tracks like I Got A Right and I'm Sick of You seems much higher than before. I have not done an A/B test between versions (though, trust me, I will) but my memory tells me that these are better sounding versions. The two tracks from the so called Embassy Reels don't seem as different as I'd thought or hoped they would be and I didn't hear a great difference in the Japanese single versions. Again, I want to stress that I haven't given any of these a really good critical listen. Mostly what I did was listen to the live CD and keep saying things like Daaaaamn, Whoa, Jeeeezus, etc.

Enough from me. I have to go to work. Any other thoughts on this? Let's collect them all here.

I agree that the Japanese single doesn't sound much different, I'd have preferred the American 45 version of Penetration which is quite different (it's been re-issued by Sundazed).
Also, the CD's are rather short, why not include Gimme Some Skin, Scene of the Crime and Tight Pants if they're going to use I'm Sick Of You? Minor points, I know. Also, the Richards gig was four or five nights (I attended two of them), are there more tapes?

Okay, I have only heard Doojiman as of this minute. I expect I will have an advance in the next few days. and will be able to elaborate on the rest. I do have a great anticipation that this package will be very much worth the waiting.

At present ,I can only speak about Doojiman and I must say, I was not impressed with it.

Any other opinions???

I was wondering, could anyone with one of these advanced copies post some pics of the artwork? Thanks.

G, F#, E wrote:

I was wondering, could anyone with one of these advanced copies post some pics of the artwork? Thanks.

The artwork is not finished. I have contributed one item. The dvd is not finished either. The Atlanta show and a couple of the out takes are worth the price of aqdmission.

nitebob

larry fine wrote:

The band is as tight as you'd ever hear them - they were taped professionally on a night that they were really on! For a band as powerful as they undoubtedly were; they were capable of real restraint. This made the parts where they cranked it out all the more amazing.

That is the sign of a really great band. The best example of this in MY collection I can think of is on Lou Reed's Take No Prisoners LP. On Street Hassle, the band slowly starts to heat up, rising to a simmer and just lies in wait. As Lou calls out to the audience just before the final verse, "You know what it's called? Bad Luck," Moose Boles blasts into his bass solo, followed by the rest of the band, and they climax as Lou rolls into the final verse, with the backup singers and Moose holding the band together and all the instruments blasting in every direction.

You guys really have us amped for this set's release.

I posted all the promo copy here as soon as I received it. I still think the Japanese single mixes have more "clarity" to my damaged ears.

It came to me listening today that the Bowie mix makes more sense on this new Legacy mastering; that it sounds like it was done on purpose, rather than there being something lacking in execution. I also noticed that there are virtually no cymbals on this record in either mix, and that the high-end of Bowie's mix is taken up completely by the screech of Iggy's vocals and James' guitar(s). (The '97 Iggy mix is a free-for-all). Ron's bass is definitely heard better in the new mastering. The drums remain tribal and somewhat undermixed, though curiously not much more undermixed than in Iggy's '97 attempt. Waveforms show that the Bowie mix here is not nearly as loud as the two tracks from Iggy's on disc three. Actually, the occasional peaks may be as loud, but the mix remains dynamic in that sense and, since there are no drum peaks, not limited or compressed sounding IMO. The live album is nice but I'm curiously underwhelmed by it. It's a much better live recording than we've ever heard from this band before, but the effect isn't all that different. James' guitar remains somewhat undermixed and the overall effect is thin. I would have bought an underground copy of it, so I guess it's worth having, and for those without the likes of Metallic KO, even more so. As for the extras, the best thing here is the remix or remastering of Head On from the CBS rehearsals. It sounds far better than on Heavy Liquid or other past releases. I wish we could have had all the '73 material released like this. I Got A Right perhaps sounds a bit more dynamic than in past releases (an alternate mix perhaps), while I'm Sick of You sounds exactly the same. The "new" outtakes are not much. I'm Hungry is the basic track of Penetration without the lyrics. I suppose it sounds interesting to hear a regular, professional mix of this song to know what the entire album would have sounded like if it had been mixed that way. All in all, I prefer Bowie's more "creative" take. Hey, Peter is a nice Williamson riff and Iggy doing a take-off on Hey, Joe ("where you going with that sandwich in your hand"). The other "extras" on disc three are disposable. If I had a complaint it would again be that there could have been more '73 rehearsal songs included, or even previously released '72 material like Gimme Some Skin instead of the songs from the "Embassy Reels."

This, of course, is a lot of inside baseball. The re-release is spectacular. The rest is details.

Great review, Teddy.

So, am I reading everyone right that this is actually a REMIX, as opposed to a REMASTER?

Teddy,

I agree with almost everything you have stated.

I wanted to comment on afew of the things you said. First, the mix of "Head On" is just incredible. Since I attended those rehearsals, it has been increasingly frustrating for me to hear all the versions of this on the many bootlegs. All the live boot versions pale in comparison to what I heard at Columbia. To finally hear this as it was intended to be, is pure joy.

The other comment you made about being "curiously underwhelmed" by the live gig floored me. I am the exact opposite. I love, love, love this gig. If I ever forget ,even for a second, why I love this band so much, I shall just put this on and I will be reminded. I saw all the Max's gigs and this is the closest I've heard to how they sounded at that time.

It makes me laugh to hear a couple of times from the audience "Iggy, I want your body" and the version of "Open Up And Bleed" is so real and emotional, it almost brings me to tears remembering it being performed. My opinion only, there is nothing thin about this.

For me, this recording itself is worth the price of admission! I have not seen most of the artwork and nobody has seen the DVD, but I think the avid fan as well as the more casual listener will be happy with this set. There is something for everybody.

Natalie

Amen to that, Natalie.

It is not a remix. It is a much better mastering of the original mix. It sounds like there have been EQ adjustments but, interestingly, the essential character of the mix is unchanged, especially the guitars. There is more bottom to the sound but somehow there is no bass "cloud" masking the high end. Iggy's vocals sound better than they ever have, and Ron's bass has gained focus and power. The record is still strange. It doesn't not sound like the sort of standard live band mix that Iggy seems to have attempted. But now it works better than it ever did.

Natalie -- perhaps my expectations were too high for the live record after hearing such good things. It's far better than any previous live '73-'74 tape but there's something hollow about the mix. I too saw both a summer and fall show at the Whisky and they were fabulous. On the Atlanta record, everyone sounds great individually (certainly puts paid to the image that the Stooges were inept or too wasted -- they all sound very strong, including Iggy, who is commanding) but it somehow doesn't come together in a proper soundstage to my ears. Head On, on the other hand, kicked my ass.

Maybe I just haven't listened to the live disc loud enough!

Quote :

Hey, Peter is a nice Williamson riff and Iggy doing a take-off on Hey, Joe ("where you going with that sandwich in your hand")

27 april seems so far away >.<

Oh and it will be good if they remastered Mettalic KO too (good speed, track's order you know what I mean).

Oh and it will be good if they rematered Mettalic KO too (good speed, track's order you know what I mean)
I second that! Someone must have access to the actual original tapes surely?

Cheers,

R

Teddy,

I'll be very interested to know when you play it louder, if your opinion is altered!

Richard,

Michael has the original tapes just as he recorded them. I spoke with him yesterday and as of then, there have still been no offers from anyone about them.

Natalie

This thread made me laugh, remastering and cleaning up Metallic KO is like polishing a turd, its great BECAUSE it sounds like that. Do you want to hear the glass smashing in quadrophonic stereo? Metallic KO is the Stooges Stalingrad and in my opinion there greatest record, I vote for leaving it alone. You have to excuse me I also think the Soldier is Iggy's best solo record, these opinions have made me an outcast LOL

Thanks for that info Natalie.
Amazing, isn't it? Michael Tipton still has the original tapes from the Stooges last show and no-one wants to use them!! That's just crazy.
Cheers,
Richard

And Krugersoldier - I also love the Soldier album. I wouldn't go so far as to say it's Iggy's best, but it is certainly under-rated and overdue for reassessment.
And anyway, there's nothing wrong with being an outcast!!
Cheers,
R
ps - can you imagine Metallic KO in surround sound??? That would be freaky for sure!

Where can I pre-order this at ? I can't find a good link in the US ? How did so many ppl get advanced copies ? lol. Is the atlanta show really a soundboard ?

JESUS_LOVES_THE_STOOGES wrote:

How did so many ppl get advanced copies ? ?

I was wondering that too! Seems like there's a lot of advance copies floating around...

Teddy,

Another comment on what you said. Yes, this gig should put to rest any of the myths that the Stooges were ever inept or too wasted to put on a great show, especially in the 73 time frame.

That was always one of the amazing things about them. They got on the stage and gave everything. Each one of them gave it all. Iggy was never so wasted that he could not perform any times I saw them. Somehow, he always reached inside and when it counted, he came through every time.

Natalie

Correct the mythology then: there's one tale in the non-tabloid book that the only other time there was professional soundboard recording set up by CBS, it was blown by the singer having taken too much of an unknown quantity, then being heaved bodily onto the stage by roadies, then collapsing in a babbling heap for 15 minutes of non-singing. Makes for a colorful story, but not a good recording.

Pertinent quote from a girl rocker (not Courtney) who shall remain nameless "I'm a musician, of course I like to get fucked up."

Just Pre-ordered The Raw Power box.
Looking forward to this one..!

adams66 wrote:

Michael Tipton still has the original tapes from the Stooges last show and no-one wants to use them!! That's just crazy.
Cheers,
Richard

Carlton from Easy Action has stated on this forum that he was all set to include a remastered version of the final show on Heavy Liquid, but his plans were kiboshed by a legal threat from Marc Zermatti of Skydog. Don't know whether this would have been from the original Tipton tapes or not but I would presume so.

tompa67 wrote:

Just Pre-ordered The Raw Power box.
Looking forward to this one..!

Where did you place your order?