Yahoo! Music Review

Released on 12/03/07
Label: Virgin

It's been said - and with no little justification - that you should never go back to a previous lover. The passion, mystery, thrill of discovery and sheer visceral thrills that made a relationship tick in the first place will never be rediscovered. If you want to keep that going you have to work at it over a concentrated and prolonged period of time. Otherwise there's only heartache and pain to be re-acquainted with. And so to The Stooges: rightly hailed as one of the most important things to have ever happened to rock music.

They, second only to The Velvet Underground, not only broke the mould but showed what could be done with the power of imagination and rejecting accepted norms and sensibilities. By spitting in the face of the doomed peace'n'love movement and focussing on the disillusion of the disenfranchised courtesy of some of the most moronic yet exciting riffs and expressive lyrics ever committed to posterity, The Stooges sealed their place in history.

Granted, the level of stupidity, narcotics and internecine warfare that became their undoing derailed their glorious masterplan but what was left behind signposted what rock music could achieve. Just ask Nick Cave. So why is "The Weirdness" - The Stooges' first album of new material since 1973's "Raw Power" - such a disappointment? Given their explosive comeback with the recent "Funhouse" performances, where they still managed to show bands a third their age how things should be done, the level of excitement generated by news of an album of new material was totally justified.

The problem lies in the fact that The Stooges have nothing left to say. One of rock's greatest lyricists, Iggy Pop has become a parody of himself; "Trollin'" finds The Ig on the hunt for girls but there's no subtly there, no universal truisms or insights. "ATM" concerns itself with the hassles of a cash machine while the casual sexism of "She Took My Money" is pretty hard to swallow. The closest we get to The Stooges of old is "My Idea Of Fun", which rails against the politically bankrupt while wisely steering away from naming specific culprits.

But, as displayed on "Greedy Awful People" and "The End Of Christianity", Ron Asheton's guitar work is perfunctory at best, although thankfully brother Scott is no slouch behind the drums. Most disappointingly, Steve Albini's recording skills are pretty much non-existent. Where once he infused recordings with a raw sharpness, now we find politeness. So, anyone wishing to explore the joys of The Stooges is advised to go back to the beginning, work your way up to "Raw Power" and check out the numerous bootlegs out there. Even better, see them live, because "The Weirdness" does nothing to add to their formidable legacy.

    by Julian Marszalek