James Williamson
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James Williamson

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The thing is, the term ‘legacy’ suggests the band belongs to an immutable past. Meanwhile, last month, surviving Stooges guitarist James Williamson released Re-Licked, which is made upof songs he co-wrote with legendary Stooges vocalist Iggy Pop shortly after the release of the band’s seminal 1973 record Raw Power.

To create Re-Licked,Williamsonteamed up with current Stooges members, bassist Mike Watt, drummer Toby Dammit and saxophonist Steve Mackay. More importantly, the album features an assemblage of estimable guests taking on the vocal parts originally penned by Iggy Pop.

“When I went to ask people, ‘Are you interested in doing this?’ people just jumped at the chance to do it,” Williamson says. “I was so pleased by the responses. Alison Mosshart flew from London to California to do her tracks. It was really great from that perspective. That comes across on the album – the enthusiasm from these singers, and from the musicians too.”

Re-Licked isn’t simply a covers record. Other than scrappy studio demos and live bootlegs, prior to now these songs hadn’t been properly caught on tape. Thus, Williamson endeavoured to preserve the songs with the fidelity they deserve.

“We were quite prolific in those days anyway and I think the music reflected our evolution as a band and songwriters,” he says. “I think this album is a tribute to the songwriting of Iggy and myself, more than anything else.”

It’s safe to assume the majority of the featured vocalists – who include Bobby Gillespie, Mark Lanegan, Ariel Pink and The Bellrays’ Lisa Kekaula – have learned a thing or two from The Stooges. By teaming up with a number of younger musicians, Williamson effectively put The Stooges in direct contact with their own legacy.

“The fact that these singers are all influenced by The Stooges is a side effect of me looking for singers,” he says. “The people that I was introduced to and who made sense on these tracks, it just so happened that they also had a very strong background in influence from The Stooges.”

Re-Licked kicks off with former Dead Kennedys frontman and provocateur Jello Biafra tackling Head On The Curve. It’s a thrilling introduction, which has Biafra barking lyrics like, “Motherfuckers trying to run my world” with striking urgency.

“When he heard about this project he demanded to sing on Head On the Curve,” Williamson recalls.“He always had listened to [1974 live recording] Metallic KO growing up, so that was the essential version in his mind. I had no idea what to expect, but when I heard him sing it I was like, ‘Oh my God.’ He had 35 years to think about it, so he was ready.”

The youngest vocalist on the record is Mario Cuomo from burgeoning US garage punkers The Orwells. Performing with The Orwells, Cuomo’s already gained a reputation as being an explosive frontman. His unhinged performance approach shows remnants of Iggy Pop’s frenzied onstage attack. Understandably, Cuomo was a tad overwhelmed to participate in this project.

“He came in and he was a huge Stooges fan, but he’s so young that he was a little bit awe-struck,” Williamson says. “It took me a little while to calm him down and get him in the right frame of mind to really deliver that song. He did I’m Sick of You and he did a fantastic job on it.

“Some of these people would act like I’m some kind of a sacred being or something,” Williamson continues. “I’m like, ‘No, thank you for coming here and singing on my track or playing on my track.’ That’s the farthest thing from my mind. I’m really impressed with what these people were doing.”

Of course, the burning question is where in the devil is Iggy Pop? While Williamson claims Iggy is on the record “because he co-wrote all these songs,” that doesn’t explain the absence of his inimitable vocals. Last year, The Stooges released a record of all new material, Ready To Die.Williamson explains that prior to that album they contemplated recording the songs from Re-Licked.

“We decided against it,” he says. “When we bring out a new Stooges album everybody compares it to Raw Power. So if we came out with this album, which is really the successor to Raw Power, it would be obvious comparison between the young Stooges and the old Stooges. We just didn’t want to go there. I’m happy with that album, I’m quite proud of it in fact. It’s very good and I thought Iggy stepped up and did a good job with the lyrics, and the singing.”

Even without Iggy Pop’s peerless frontman flair, on Re-licked Williamson and co. dish out ten tracks of searing rock’n’roll. With the record in the can, Williamson feels he’s at last fulfilled his duty to these 40-year old compositions.

“I just cringed every time I would listen to those bootlegs knowing what good songs they are. This was my opportunity to right that wrong and I did it and I’m very, very pleased with it.”

BY AUGUSTUS WELBY