10 Perfect Punk Albums That Changed Rock Music History
9. The Stooges: Raw Power (1973)
They don't call Iggy Pop the Godfather of Punk for nothing.
He is the embodiment of punk rock, everything Sid Vicious did, Iggy did first. The raucous antics of Johnny Rotten, paled in comparison to Iggy. He didn't have an agenda, other than to play rock 'n' roll... , and if you didn't like it, you could go f*ck yourself. His wild man energy both fuelled, and was fuelled, by the wall of heavy guitar sounds omitted by his group.
The Stooges are considered one of the most influential pioneers of what became punk, grunge and garage rock. Their live shows were infamous for Pop's onstage antics, the buzz around them was more about the spectacle of it all, rather than the music, however. Back when they were releasing their initial albums, they received far less favourable attention from critics.
The critics were using an unfair base level to judge this stuff by. Most rock groups were delivering highly polished and masterfully produced records. The Stooges threw all that out the window. Raw Power sounds like it was recorded live, on half decent equipment, given a a quick mix and called done... , and it's great.
You want the unbridled excitement of MC5, combined with the moody mystery of the Doors? Then stick on Raw Power.