The history of rock ‘n’ roll is scattered with thousands of unheralded and unknown talents. In a perfect world, each of these obscure artists in service to the muse should be remembered for their perfect moment, as well. But a moment by definition is pretty short, and the trick is stretching out your one moment long enough for people to remember it. Iggy Pop, for example, successfully took the Stooges’ brief existence and rode the shockwave of their implosion long enough until he became known in many circles as the Godfather of Punk.
Of course, he was able to do that — after all, he was the frontman. But what ever happened to the rest of the Stooges, in this case Raw Power guitarist James Williamson? Like the Plymouth Barracuda, the Stooges’ were discontinued in 1974, possibly due to their own energy crisis caused by Iggy’s rumored drug usage. Williamson and Pop continued to worked on leftover Stooges’ material as well as newer songs, most of which eventually showed up as demos, live bootlegs and even an album, all released on smaller labels, but the sound quality was for the most part the inevitable early-‘70s analog bootleg blah.
Williamson eventually left the stage and studio, folded himself into his cloak of obscurity and became a computer and electronics engineer. In 2009, he was recalled to active rock ‘n’ roll duty upon the death of original Stooges’ guitarist Ron Asheton, and subsequently played on the Stooges’ 2013 release Ready to Die.
James Williamson’s latest addition to his musical resume is his new album Re-Licked, due for release October 29, 2014 on Leopard Lady Records. This 16-track project features modern-day recordings of rare Stooges’ and after-era gems like “I Got a Right,” “Open Up and Bleed” and “I’m Sick of You.” In reality, many projects based on the false premise that updated material makes for better product fail miserably, producing cut-out bin clutter. Re-Licked, however, is no relic — no walk down memory lane, no perfunctory performances, no attempt to simply generate royalty revenue for senior rockers.
We find the Stooges’ live touring band (Steve Mackay, Mike Watt and drummer Toby Dammit) playing these songs with the power and conviction of the originals. The difference is that this time the album is well recorded, so you don’t have to just imagine how rock solid this ought to sound. Instead, you can actually feel it.
Some might be disappointed there’s no actual Iggy anywhere. Not to worry: instead, Iggy’s vocals are recast by such notable rockers including Jello Biafra, Carolyn Wonderland, Alison Mosshart (the Kills, Dead Weather), Lisa Kekaula (the BellRays), Bobby Gillespie (Primal Scream) and others. Each vocalist contributes a perfect take to Williamson’s guitar attack and the hot, smokin’ band playing the hot, smokin’ classics.
In 1997, Iggy Pop attempted to remix 1973’s Raw Power, only to earn generally negative reviews. But Re-Licked succeeds in a way that the remixed Raw Power could never hope to do: It doesn’t render the songs how anyone thought they should have been, but instead presents them for what they are. Re-Licked is a great addition to James Williamson’s legacy and reinforces his place as one of rock ’n’ roll’s great guitarists. He’s a vintage Barracuda — ready to tear up the tracks and go screamin’ down the highway.
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