Easy Action レコード& CD

Review: Not to be confused with the 12th studio album by Mary J. Blige, or any of the other records with 'London Sessions' in the title (and there will be many, many), it's now 50 years since Iggy Pop and his Stooges sat down to record the now-legendary LP, Raw Power, with sessions taking place (you guessed it), in London. Logically, this extended player collates some of the best versions that didn't make the final cut into one place, and as such is definitely a must for diehard fans and collectors.

Not that others should be put off in anyway. We'd still recommend getting a copy of the original as it was intended to be released. The players designed it that way. But this is also a well-worth owning piece of punk rock history, with unrelenting, unpolished, uncompromising and unapologetic noise sounding as infectious today as it did back then.

Review: Definitely one for The Stooges Geek Den, or whatever the inner circle of fans is actually called (let's face it, probably not that). A Fire of Life doesn't actually contain any songs that we're not already familiar with, but it's how the songs were recorded that makes all the difference here. Each was captured directly into one mixing desk or another during the band's original iteration, back when guitarist Ron Asheton was still playing guitar.

Some of these were studio sessions, others live shows, all of them remind us of their unbridled and unfettered talent. Spread out across two vinyls, we have all the big anthems from the first two albums, with many not just re-recorded but full-blown alternative versions of tracks. Released to coincide with the now-legendary 1972 King's Cross concert (another in-the-know fact that will appeal to many), it's a special edition to behold.