Fans of sweaty, greasy garage wailing were pleased as punch when in 2003 Iggy Pop reunited with Ron & Scott Asheton to reform their legendary psychedelic sludge-fest known as THE STOOGES. Along with Funhouse sax man Steve Mackay and Minuteman Mike Watt, the new Stooges played Coachella, released a horrible album, and toured the world fairly non-stop until Ron's tragic death from a heart attack this January.
In some ways, this seemed to put an end to one of the most topsy turvey careers in rock. However, there were some of us who wondered why the party had to end especially since so many fans of The Stooges had been disappointed by the almost complete absence of Raw Power, the boy's seminal 1973 screecher featuring James Williamson on guitar, Ron on bass, Scott on drums and David Bowie occasionally behind the boards. This lineup, more commonly known as Iggy and the Stooges, continued to tour until it imploded in a cloud of brown junk and derivative clunkers. Williamson and Pop continued to work together on and off through the end of the decade, at which point Williamson left the music business to pursue a career in electronics.
In a recent interview with The Australian, a (ahem) Australian online newspaper, Mr. Pop stated “I had a meeting in LA last week with James (Williamson). It was the first time we had seen each other in 30 years. So we talked about doing something together. Raw Power would be the repertoire.'' Pop said that while the original Stooges ended with Asheton's death, “there is always Iggy and the Stooges, the second growth of the band''.
Williamson had stated that he would certainly join The Stooges onstage if they were EVER inducted into the Rock-N-Roll Hall of Fame but didn't seem confidant about a full reunion. Let's hope he's changed his mind.
While we wait, Iggy is releasing a new Tom Waits-esque jazz inspired album called Preliminaires at the end of May.
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