Not every 1970s rocker ended up dead or in the gutter. After several years as a guitarist with The Stooges, James Williamson decided to quit music and study math. For years he designed computer chips between colleagues who did not know about his illustrious rock past. And it was famous: that's how Williamson left a firm mark on Raw Power, perhaps the best album in The Stooges' catalog. For Ready To
… Die, Williamson is back to the old nest, even though he now looks like a timid Baptist minister. Very different from the eternal adolescent Iggy Pop, who for the cover of this album dressed up as a half-naked suicide bomber (including bomb belt). Fortunately, Williamson still has the characteristic venom in his guitar playing. This makes Ready To Die a fine revenge on the listless sounding The Weirdness (2007) on which a burnt-out Ron Asheston was still 'chief guitar'. It's not going to be as good as the old Stooges records, but the sixties are lighting up the old fire again. (PdK)more
