"Raw Power" Millennium Edition

Xenu · Postby **Xenu** » Fri Mar 25, 2005 7:42 pm

What is this? Is this the original mix of the album? Because I've been having absolutely zero luck tracking that particular CD down...

MK · Postby MK » Fri Mar 25, 2005 11:25 pm

Try here under used:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/ ... 82-4203106

You may want to contact villagemusicworld to make sure it's the Millenium Edition. $8.98 is a good deal.

Crummy Old Label Avatar · Postby **Crummy Old Label Avatar** » Sat Mar 26, 2005 12:03 am

Yeah, does anyone here have the Columbia CD of the original mix of Raw Power? I kick myself thinking about how many times I passed that over. Now they're all gone, and that horrid remix covers the world.

Come on, we need a FLAC of this!

MK · Postby MK » Sat Mar 26, 2005 12:15 am

Never mind the original Lp mix, what about the "original" Iggy Pop mix? Anywhere you can get this in decent quality?

I've got the "Nude & Rude" comp, and those Bowie mixes SUUUUUUUUCK.

Ess Ay Cee Dee · Postby **Ess Ay Cee Dee** » Sat Mar 26, 2005 12:21 am

Beatlesfan03 · Postby **Beatlesfan03** » Sat Mar 26, 2005 12:46 am

Strangely enough up until recently, I could find the original Raw Power CD used quite frequently. It has mysteriously stopped popping up as of late.

Even more strange, I never see the remix used. I think remix is cool if you're looking to bring a headache on quickly, but I'm more than happy with my original mix on vinyl.

Crummy Old Label Avatar · Postby **Crummy Old Label Avatar** » Sat Mar 26, 2005 1:03 am

MK wrote:Never mind the original Lp mix, what about the "original" Iggy Pop mix? Anywhere you can get this in decent quality?

I've got the "Nude & Rude" comp, and those Bowie mixes SUUUUUUUUCK.

Wasn't there some Bomp! album of this called Rough Power? I still say that the Bowie mixes are the best ones, though.

But no one here has the original Columbia CD? You can't even find one used at Amoeba in San Francisco.

Crummy Old Label Avatar · Postby **Crummy Old Label Avatar** » Sat Mar 26, 2005 1:09 am

Here's that Rough Power CD on ebay. Never heard this thing. Ron Asheton mixes. Hmmmmmmm:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 81633&rd=1

And here's the original Raw Power CD. Wonder how high it will go? I won't bid on it, Xenu, so it's yours to pursue (really). And, uh, if you get it, can I, uh, have a, you know, a FLAC? Pretty please?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 81930&rd=1

Dob · Postby **Dob** » Sat Mar 26, 2005 10:10 am

To me, it's strange to hear folks say anything positive about the original mix, let alone elevate it to top status. For many years, it seems that most Iggy fans did nothing but bitch about the Bowie mix of that album and demand a proper remix. Iggy was never fond of the original mix either, IIRC.

I hated the original mix then and I hate it now. Before the remix came out, I rarely played Raw Power...I usually found myself reaching for the first album or (especially) Fun House when I wanted to hear the Stooges. The remix may have its problems, but at least the album now has some balls. Is it that you guys despise the remix so much that you like the wimpy original mix by default? If that's the case, why did you dump the original...or is this preference something that you only realized later? I dumped mine as soon as the remix was available and never looked back.

Ess Ay Cee Dee · Postby **Ess Ay Cee Dee** » Sat Mar 26, 2005 10:46 am

Beatlesfan03 · Postby **Beatlesfan03** » Sat Mar 26, 2005 11:03 am

I was a big fan of the remix when it came out because like you said, it finally gave the album some balls. Maybe it's with age or whatever but I eventually grew to loathe the remix. As said in my earlier post, towards the end of my time with the remix CD, it was really good for getting a headache quick and that was about it.

The original mix sucks as well but back to the age thing but I guess that I'm perhaps a tad more fond of it since it was all I knew prior to the remix. Plus the vinyl I have is mint and so I felt the remix was not needed anymore.

Along with Ess Ay, I'd be open to a good & proper dynamic remix.

Dob · Postby **Dob** » Sat Mar 26, 2005 2:07 pm

Well I just pulled out the remix, gave it a listen, and re-read the booklet where Iggy talks about the album at length.

His main complaint is with the regular CD, which he claims sounds worse than the original vinyl (I haven't heard it, but I wouldn't be surprised if the vinyl was better). Also, Iggy blames the crappy board for the way the album sounds...he likes the things that Bowie did. At about the time the remix was done, he again heard his original mixes (the Rough Power boot) and now likes that mix least of all -- even though he loved it back in 1973. I've also heard those mixes and they didn't thrill me, but I don't know if I'd agree with Iggy that the Bowie mix is better.

To be fair, my main complaint with the original mix isn't so much with the style of the mix, but with the thin sound quality, which would be consistent with Iggy's claim that the mixing board was bad. But Iggy seems a bit too deferential to Bowie in his comments, and I suspect that what he really thinks may be different.

The distortion on the remix doesn't bother me much, as I perceive it to be the artist's intent, kind of like with the Sonics. In some of the quieter moments, like at the end of Gimme Danger, Iggy's voice has a nice tonality and spaciousness -- so the recording itself appears to be good. Perhaps I would've gone for a cleaner sound, but Iggy seems to have gotten exactly what he wanted.

Crummy Old Label Avatar · Postby **Crummy Old Label Avatar** » Sat Mar 26, 2005 3:28 pm

Do you think that the problem with the remix CD is more of a mastering problem than anything to do with the remix itself?

I'll give the remixed CD another listen. Let's see how far I get before the headache sets in (it usually takes about, oh, 24 seconds). Iggy's mix would have some merit if it wasn't a chopped up, distorted mess. At the time, the Raw Power remix was the LOUDEST CD out there, and we all know where that led. I'd actually argue that Iggy destroyed his own remix by mastering the disc to painful, blatantly distorted sound levels.

Both James Williamson and Ron Asheton always loathed the Bowie mix, but were forced to admit that Iggy's remix made the Bowie version sound acceptable. I agree with this. Iggy destroyed those guitar lines and buried the bass even further than Bowie did. (Who would've thought that was even possible, but Iggy managed it.) This could be a mastering problem, though. I really don't know.

I've never heard a CD of the Bowie mix, only the original vinyl. To further muddle the waters, I've read that the UK and US original mix Raw Power CDs are different masterings, and supposedly the UK version is the best-sounding one. Anyone know anything about this?

Well, it's been years since I've listened to the remix CD. I'm going to give it a spin this afternoon and see how it strikes me now.

MK · Postby MK » Sat Mar 26, 2005 4:12 pm

If they had cut down on compression, by at least half, the remix would've been perfectly fine by 'audiophile' standards.

Crummy Old Label Avatar · Postby **Crummy Old Label Avatar** » Sat Mar 26, 2005 5:00 pm

MK wrote:If they had cut down on compression, by at least half, the remix would've been perfectly fine by 'audiophile' standards.

I agree, although I'm allergic to the term "audiophile".

What I'm now wondering about the remix is whether that gruesome amount of compression is actually on the final reel (i.e. - Iggy's doing during the remixing), or if that was something added (or compounded) during the mastering of the actual CD.

I believe a vinyl version of the so-called "millennium edition" (for that is what Iggy calls his remix) was released a couple years ago. I wonder if that sounds less compressed/distorted than the CD?

I don't know why I care about this, but it fascinates me nevertheless.