Death Trip
Iggy and the Stooges, 1972–74
Michael S. BegnalThe definitive history of the influential Raw Power era of Iggy and the Stooges.
Raw Power by Iggy and the Stooges is arguably the most aggressive, dynamic album in rock history, and inarguably one of the most influential. Looking past the myths and into the true story of the Stooges, Michael S. Begnal illuminates the creation of this recording in the context of the cultural zeitgeist of the early 1970s, the American War in Vietnam and the ways in which punk rock came snarling into existence. Death Trip uncovers lost archives and stories, drawing on new interviews with Stooges guitarist James Williamson and pianist Scott Thurston, and sheds fresh light on the band’s creative process. This is an in-depth, definitive account that will challenge the assumptions of even the most knowledgeable Stooges fan.
The definitive history of the influential Raw Power era of Iggy and the Stooges.
Raw Power by Iggy and the Stooges is arguably the most aggressive, dynamic album in rock history, and inarguably one of the most influential. Looking past the myths and into the true story of the Stooges, Michael S. Begnal illuminates the creation of this recording in the context of the cultural zeitgeist of the early 1970s, the American War in Vietnam and the ways in which punk rock came snarling into existence. Death Trip uncovers lost archives and stories, drawing on new interviews with Stooges guitarist James Williamson and pianist Scott Thurston, and sheds fresh light on the band’s creative process. This is an in-depth, definitive account that will challenge the assumptions of even the most knowledgeable Stooges fan.
-
'
Scholarly, overflowing with detail, supremely well researched and written with genuine enthusiasm and an impressive depth of historical insight, Death Trip documents The Stooges’ journey from post-Elektra dead end oblivion to their miraculous resurrection as Iggy & The Stooges in London in the summer of 1972 . . . Anyone who considers Raw Power to be one of the defining albums of the ‘70s and the savage harbinger of the sound and attitude of punk needs this book.
'Shindig!
-
'
With scholarship rather than machismo, intelligence rather than bluster, Michael S. Begnal gets to the heart of the Stooges’ lortuous and lonely road to Raw Power: one of the greatest albums ever made.
'Jon Savage, author of England’s Dreaming: Sex Pistols and Punk Rock
-
'
A kaleidoscopic study that criss-crosses and brilliantly illuminates the Stooges’ second act. Michael S. Begnal brings together the methodology of a scholar with the enthusiasm and knowledge of a life-long fan. Death Trip will enthral, inform and entertain die-hard and casual devotees alike as it elucidates, through the story of Raw Power, the lost history of punk before the Ramones and the Sex Pistols.
'Peter Stanfield, author of The Yardbirds
Introduction: Rock’n’Roll, the War in Vietnam, and Punk in the Early 1970s
1: Origins of a Style
2: The Stooges in London
3: The Making and Meaning(s) of Raw Power
4: Raw Power Response
5: Opened Up and Bleeding
Conclusion: Aftermath and Afterlives
References
Sources
Partial Stooges Discography
Acknowledgments
Photo Acknowledgments
Index
Michael S. Begnal teaches rhetorical and creative writing. His previous books include The Music and Noise of the Stooges, 1967–71: Lost in the Future (2022).