Tag: 1973

Iggy and the Stooges’ “Raw Power”

Cover of The Stooges' album "Raw Power"

This week, I have been listening to Iggy and the Stooges’ third album “Raw Power” from 1973. I received my introduction to the Stooges six months ago with their second album “Fun House.” I loved them then, and I loved this album two. At the point of writing and recording this album, The Stooges were officially broken up with alcohol and drug problems. Pop started “Raw Power” as a solo album, but ultimately enlisted former Stooges drummer Scott Asheton and bassist Ron Asheton. They are joined by guitarist James Williamson.

There are three mixes out there, the original release mixed by David Bowie, a 1997 release mixed by Iggy Pop, and a 2012 Record Store Day remaster of the Iggy Pop mix. My copy of the album is the CD version from 1997. Everything sounds more present, despite being compressed violently. It is loud. Mostly he’s pulled back the guitar a little while pushing forward the bass and vocals. Raw power by Iggy and the Stooges. You can feel the equipment is in pain from having such rock n roll pushed through it at such high levels. From what I’ve heard of the Bowie mixes, I agree they are thin, but I also feel the Pop mix is too hot. It’s as if he created a better mix, and then pushed the master level up all the way.

Search and Destroy

The Stooges jump right into the album with rocker “Search and Destroy.” The song kicks off with drums, bass and fuzz guitar. Already loud. After a couple opening bars, Pop sings “I’m a street walking cheetah with a heart full of napalm…” The band provided tremendous influence on rock n roll music, especially punk rock of the late 70s and beyond. This song certainly left a mark. To list all of the bands that have covered “Search and Destroy” would be ridiculous. Some noteworthy covers include the Sex Pistols, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, EMF, Skunk Anansie, and Def Leppard. An interesting thing to note about these covers is how faithful they are to the original. These bands admire more than the songwriting, the sound and attitude of the Stooges excites.

Gimme Danger

As if to prove immediately that they have variety, the second song opens with picked acoustic guitar in the left channel. Bass guitar and drums join in the center, with some sort of melodic percussion instrument in the right channel. Pop’s sings with his naturally course voice a slower melody. He takes on some of The Doors‘ singer Jim Morrison’s swagger as he takes the listener on a trip into the darkness. The lyrics take on some of Morrison’s style: “Say, gotta gimme danger, wild little stranger. Honey, gonna feel my hand; Swear, you gonna feel my hand!”

Penetration

A celeste plays a pretty ascending line of notes in the Stooges’ track “Penetration.” It provides a balance by contrast to the menacing fuzz guitar and Pop’s growling and hissingly wicked vocals. The guitar is primarily a repeated muted monophonic riffs on the E minor chord. This constant repeated riff with no real chord progression feels like unresolved constant travelling on a nightmare ride.

He drives these short lines like an empty narrative list of regrets or confession. It’s not clear, but it’s not pleasant.

Every night at town
Every night at town
I’m going now
Going now
I pulsate
Purify me
Purify me
Take a lay
Take away
Paralyze
Penetration

The Wailers’ “Catch a Fire”

Cover of The Wailer's album "Catch a Fire"

This week, I’ve been listening to Bob Marley and the Wailers’ fifth album “Catch a Fire” from 1973. Caribbean music was only just starting to get noticed by the rest of world. This great album combined with an international tour, drove the band and reggae into world-wide fame.

The closest thing to reggae we listened to in my house growing up was Eddy Grant’s “Electric Avenue.” In my late teens, I actually gave some reggae a listen. I was intrigued by the heavy use of syncopation. Attempts to emulate the strumming patterns on guitar challenged me. It wouldn’t be until my mid-twenties that my girlfriend’s music collection gave me a decent introduction to the music of Bob Marley and the Wailers. I came to appreciate his music and stop simply associating it with hippies and stoners. This was real, passionate and sincere music with immediate socio-political concerns. There was more rebellion here than just some smoke.

Concrete Jungle

The Wailers open the album with “Concrete Jungle.” Marley sings about Moving from Jamaica to an American city to find the big city life to just as oppressive, only in a different way. While the song definitely reggae, there’s something about the sound and rhythms that also remind me of Stevie Wonder’s funk. This could be an intentional incorporation of the music of American cities, or perhaps just a cross-pollination of genres in the early 1970s.

The song follows a I-I-vi-IV chord progression for the verses and the chorus, with a I-IV pre-chorus. The rhythms are particularly interesting to me. The way guitar is used is one of the defining features of the genre. The guitar is firmly a member of the rhythm section. Short syncopated percussive claps of guitar chords emphasize the upbeat. A quick stroke of the pick hits these strings and they are immediately muted preventing the chords from ringing out. The Wailers will often use two electric guitars.. on that plays on the eight-note upbeat and the other adding an additional hop by playing an adjacent sixteenth note.

The bass guitar rests a lot more than we often hear in rock and pop music. There will be a deep bass note on the first beat of the measure, with a waking melodic groove until the third beat and then rest. While in most of the music I listen to will have the kick drum emphasize the first and third beat of each measure, that is not the case here. There is still often a snare or timbale on the second and fourth beat, but not always.

Stir It Up

Probably my favorite song on the album is the mellow “Stir It Up.” The Wailers released this song as a single in 1967. A cover of the song by Johnny Nash had found success internationally in 1972, leading to The Wailers joining him on an international tour. For this album, they re-recorded the track. The “Catch a Fire” version starts with an up-beat double-sixteenth chop pattern. A Moog synth provides a deliciously modulated pad that provides the memorable sound of the track.

The song follows a basic I-I-IV-V chord progression throughout. The muted electric guitar keeps the syncopated rhythm pattern. A Clavinet supports the guitar with its equally percussive chops. A percussive bass groove hits the first and second beat then rolls through rest of the bars rising. During the verses, the bass takes more rests, hitting that first beat still, providing a restrained lower end. And while all of this might seem like it’d be chaotic in description, its actually very smooth and relaxing.

Overall, I was disappointed when I started with this album, because I was hoping for songs like “Redemption Song.” Now, I see that that is from a much later album. However, after a week, many of these songs grew on me. They have strong melodies and accompaniment. There are hooks throughout that I found myself singing throughout the day when not listening to the album.