UMUR
"Ready to Die" is the fifth full-lengthh studio album by US hard rock/proto punk act The Stooges. The album was released through Fat Possum Records in April 2013. It´s the successor to "The Weirdness" from March 2007. Guitarist Ron Asheton died in January 2009 and has been replaced by former The Stooges guitarist James Williamson, and "Ready to Die" also sees the return of saxophonist Steve Mackay, who was brifly a member of The Stooges in 1970. Asheton´s death paved the way for a return of Williamson, as the two didn´t have a great relationship and couldn´t play together, after the former several times through the years accused the latter of stealing his position as the the band´s guitarist and main composer on The Stooges third album "Raw Power" (1973). Asheton felt relegated as he didn´t have much say in how the songs were written and arranged on "Raw Power" (1973) and he was left playing bass instead of guitar.
Judging on the quality of the material and the performances on "Ready to Die" compared to the material and performances on The Stooges 2007 comeback album "The Weirdness", where Asheton was the main composer and guitarist, Williamson comes out on top through, as the quality of the tracks is higher on "Ready to Die" and the performances have more bite and attitude. I don´t want to disrespect the dead, but that´s just how it is...
There´s the right rawness, power, and energy in the 2013 garage rock version of The Stooges, and Iggy Pop sounds more potent here than on the 2007 album, and even (mostly) hits the notes. The occasional Use of saxophone is also a great addition to the band´s sound (although it only appears on a few tracks). It´s of course obvious that The Stooges aren´t young men anymore and the wildman energy of the early releases aren´t present here, although some tracks still rock pretty hard, but with maturity comes experience and songwriting variation ("Sex & Money", "Unfriendly World", "The Departed" are examples of tracks which stick out), and "Ready to Die" is overall a both well written, well performed, and well produced release (produced by Williamson). A 3 - 3.5 star (65%) rating is warranted.