The highly anticipated new Iggy and The Stooges album ‘Ready to Die’, released on Fat Possum Records, arrived one week in advance, pleasingly surprising the tons of fans who were craving the new work of the Godfather of Punk and his band. The album will be officially released on April 30, but it is already available for streaming.

Many are doubtful when it comes to an old band reuniting or working on new material. The criticism of the old still doing what made it great is a characteristic of the current music scene. Iggy and The Stooges, with this new album, help to prove how wrong this attitude is. In an interview with Rolling Stone magazine, Iggy Pop explained the simple, and yet admirable, reason why the band decided not to just ride the train of eternal self-celebration, benefiting from the timeless fame acquired by creating one of the most influential albums of all time, ‘Raw Power’. Iggy Pop stated “I didn’t do this expecting to make money out of it. It’s a lot of work, but I felt it was something that had to be done. This is my teenage dream, having a band that makes records and plays gigs. That’s still the glory of it, and I wanted to honor the institution and honor the group.”

So basically, being in a band should lead to music making. Well said Iggy, and well done. ‘Ready to Die’ does not disappoint those who were expecting some real rock ‘n’ roll to be on the plate. With songs written by Iggy Pop and James Williamson for the first time after ‘Raw Power’, the album is straightforward and raw; the listener does not face an overly-polished work, rather a lesson on how rock ‘n’ roll should be played. It has something that many, although luckily not all, rock albums are missing lately: it sounds real.

The album presents a powerful dynamic which, although classical, here works perfectly. It moves from louder and harder tracks, such as “Burn,” “Ready to Die” and “Dirty Deal,” to some delicate ballads and intimate songs, such as “The Departed,” dedicated to the late Ron Asheton. The lyrics are also very dynamic; Iggy Pop takes a close look at the world around, the “Unfriendly World,” as the title of one of the tracks suggests. There is the description and criticism of some of current society’s issues (“Gun”) and of people’s feelings. Some of the tracks present deeply involving and reflective lyrics, which help to create an intimacy with the band’s sonority. Iggy Pop mixes in this album his hard and punk attitude with his emotional side, towards which he definitively opened the gate for fans through his latest solo album ‘Après’. Some other lyrics are instead very simple and careless, stressing an easygoing attitude pertaining to part of the early punk movement, which presented not only a social condemnation approach, but also an irreverent and ironic one.

‘Ready to Die’ is a powerful and pleasant album which needs no comparison to ‘Raw Power‘ since it plays a very different role in the band’s career and in the current music scene. It is easy to listen to and captures the listener’s attention right away. Nevertheless, it is possible to grasp more and more at every listen. It is a record which gives a lot to those who listen with open ears and an open soul.

Well produced and appreciable by those loving rock ‘n’ roll, it is a strong statement of presence by a band which has made history. The renovation operated by Iggy and the Stooges in ’Ready to Die’ starts exactly from the band’s roots. Iggy and The Stooges do not present a completely new sound, but rather refresh the original one, transforming it in an adequate and relevant sonority for the present. With ‘Ready to Die’ Iggy and The Stooges take their past and make it meet with the present without cheating on themselves.

Rating: EXCELLENT 4.5/5

Image credit: Iggy And The Stooges via Facebook

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After an extensive tour in 2012, Iggy and The Stooges have decided it is time to amaze their fans with a brand new album. ‘Ready To Die’ is the title of the upcoming album by the infamous proto-punk band, and it will be released on April 30 on Fat Possum Records. The band’s most famous record is ‘Raw Power’, the album that opened the ball for the punk movement that took shape in England and in the U.S.A., taking several different forms and shades.

‘Ready To Die’ will feature Iggy Pop as vocalist, guitarist James Williamson and drummer Scott “Rock Action” Asheton, with the addition of the great Mike Watt (who has already been touring with the band), filling in for the late Ron Asheton on bass.

Iggy and The Stooges announced the album in a video portraying Iggy Pop as a scarecrow, and featuring a sample of one of the new tracks. In the sample, all the adrenalinic and electrifying feelings usually exploding in Iggy and The Stooges’ music are retrieved, pushing the excitement for the upcoming event even more.

Iggy Pop, with his usual peculiar way of expressing his personality, explained the idea behind the album “My motivation in making any record with the group at this point is no longer personal. It’s just a pig-headed fucking thing I have that a real fucking group, when they’re an older group, they also make fucking records,” he says. “They don’t just go and twiddle around on stage to make a bunch of fucking money and go, ‘Ohh, it wouldn’t be as good.’ This is not the fucking Smashing Pumpkins, you know, we’ve got the bald guy and whoever. This is the key. The only thing I really have left to say is The Stooges are a real group.”

As if the album was not enough to satisfy the appetite of the fans, the band’s official website gives more good news. It reads “Iggy and the Stooges will begin the Ready To Die live assault shortly. Stay tuned for coordinates.” Iggy and The Stooges had already announced a number of live shows around the world for this year, but this statement hints an extensive presence of the band on the live stage in 2013.

In the year when Bowie announced a new album and Jimi Hendrix’s brand new material is going to be released on a new record soon, Iggy and The Stooges’ upcoming album fits like a perfect piece in the puzzle of musical greatness. Let us hope the White Duke follows the example of his buddy Iggy Pop and jumps on a world tour to amaze fans, who have been waiting for years. Furthermore, the ‘Lust For Life’ biopic, about David Bowie and Iggy Pop’s Berlin period, is on its way to the big screen. It is surely an interesting year for music.

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There is a difference between just playing music, and performing the love for music, for fans and for life. For the sake of simplicity, the latter concept can be expressed just by saying Iggy and The Stooges. The band from Detroit is unarguably one of the best things that ever happened to rock, and keeps on demonstrating it day by day, or better, date by date.

They did not spare any energy in giving themselves to the crowd during their performance at the Hard Rock Rocks The Square event that took place in Florence, Italy on September 27, organized by Hard Rock Cafe Florence. If the greatness of Iggy and The Stooges and their terrific performance on stage made the night an unforgettable one, important organizational issues downgraded this supreme experience.

Hard Rock Café organized the event to celebrate the restaurant’s presence in the main city of Tuscany, a thank you for “those who helped us rock,” as said in their words. At 8:00 p.m. the evening concerts started, with the performance of DESMA, winners of the “Battle of The Bands,” a competition organized jointly with FIAT and Virgin Radio to promote new talents. Maybe due to the anxiety of the important night, although containing potential, the band was not too catchy. DESMA is a very young band recently formed, which has plenty of time to completely mature its sound and live attitude. Although the band seemed not to yet have developed full awareness of its capabilities, it is an act to keep an eye on.

Who seemed to be perfectly fitting was the second opening band, The Cyborgs. It is an emerging Italian band who will embark on a European Tour starting next October. The Cyborgs play wearing welding masks and call themselves “0” and “1,” like in the binary code. They fed the excitement of the roaring crowd with a perfectly revisited good-old sound. Re-taking the roots of blues and rock and roll, they play hard and they play well, making the tradition of rock sound still fresh and new.

Finally the solemn moment of the protagonists arrived. Iggy and the Stooges took the stage introducing themselves with a biting “Raw Power.” The band played for about one hour and a half, giving the best performance a concert attendee could ask. Too bad for the acoustics though. From the front it was hard to hear the beautiful, profound, sexy and warm voice that characterizes Iggy Pop, while it was still possible to enjoy the impeccable sound of all the instruments. From further away instead, as reported by some concert attendees located there, even the instruments’ sound would fade away, resulting in a confused noise.

The square where the concert took place, located in the city center,  seemed to be a little too small for such an event with the crowd going wild and sometimes resulting in dangerous behaviors. Glass bottles and other sharp objects filled the place. There were many people who were clearly not able to handle such an event, being annoyingly drunk.

Iggy and The Stooges were fantastic, though. The infamous energetic spirit that possesses Iggy Pop during his live performances, making him jump, sing and dance, expressing his out-flowing love for his fans, had pervaded all the band’s members. Together they created the perfect frame for a historical rock concert.

Image Courtesyof Hard Rock Cafe Firenze

The band played “Raw Power,” considered by most as the first punk album in history, in its entirety, and added some tracks from “Funhouse,” “Open Up and Bleed,” and “The Weirdness,” in addition to some covers and the infamous “The Passenger.”

During the outstanding performance, Iggy Pop invited his fans to go on stage to dance and sing with him; people danced naked on stage, sang with their idol, kissed his feet. On his part, Iggy stage dived three times for the joy of those who were so lucky to catch and touch the rock god. He kept constant interaction with the crowd, talking to them, taking their hands and physically serving himself to them.

The band was the perfect expression of rock and roll, both in musical and stage performance. Iggy Pop is far away from his 65 years, and his voice too. Preserved as a sacred gift to earth, Iggy is still able to float on greatness. Mike Watt, even though always perfect, yesterday was astonishingly amazing, and as usual perfectly in sync with his mate Toby Dammit, who banged the drums as if it were the last concert in history. Guitarist James Williamson gave chills with his spectacular performance, and a very special mention has to go to Steve Mackay, who plays the sax so well that makes the listener think to be in heaven.

Although the need for higher attention to acoustic and safety aspects was evident, Hard Rock Café Florence surely gave fans one of the best acts on earth.

Main Photo Credit : Sophie Howarth

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Hard Rock Cafe is going to celebrate its presence in Florence, Italy, through a free concert that is destined to light up the end of the Italian summer season.

The event ‘Hard Rock Cafe Rocks The Square’ will take place on September 27 in Piazza Della Repubblica, Florence. Kicking off at 3:00 p.m. local time, the day will be entirely dedicated to rock music, with the presence of several bands, including emerging acts and DJs belonging to the major Italian radio stations at the moment.

The event will also see the participation of the Italian car brand FIAT; a FIAT car will be transformed into a guitar amplifier to spice up the day.

During the entire day, as usual for events promoted by Hard Rock Cafe, there will be a benefit fundraiser. The money will be dedicated to projects supporting children; in particular they will be donated to the Meyer hospital and to the Dynamo Camp.

One of the interesting acts that will take the stage is the rock blues band ‘The Cyborgs,’ who will embark on a European tour next October. The stage will also be shared with the winners of the recent Battle of the Bands competition: Desma. The classic-rock band based in Brescia, Italy, will open the night’s celebration at around 8:00 p.m., leaving the stage ready for the legendary band Iggy and The Stooges.

The proto-punk band Iggy and The Stooges is currently on tour bringing its original sound and astonishing energy with them. Performing in its entirety the historical album ‘Raw Power,’ considered by many as the first punk album ever released, Iggy and The Stooges’ shows are a load of adrenaline, love and beautiful music.

Currently composed of eclectic frontman Iggy Pop, Mike Watt at the bass, Steve Mackay playing sax, guitarist James Williamson and Toby Dammit banging the drums, Iggy and The Stooges has been demonstrating during this tour that they are still able to give the ultimate show.

Not much choreography is needed when the perfection of the performances that characterizes all the members of this band meets with the spectacular attitude and presence on stage of the infamous rocker Iggy Pop. Jumping around at his 65 years of age, Iggy Pop seems to dance with the perfection of the musical genius he shares with his band mates.

Performing an album that not only made history but which continues to be more relevant than ever almost 40 years after its release, the band seems to be destined to make people in Florence enjoy an enviable night. It is the perfect choice Hard Rock Cafe could make as a ‘thank you’ to the city they have been established in since 2011.

Image Courtesy of  NRK P3

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Iggy and The Stooges are delighting music lovers of the world with a tour that embraces both Europe and the U.S.. For those who think that age could be a problem for the Godfather of Punk and his mates, Iggy and Co. are happy to prove you wrong at their live shows.

Toonari Post had the chance to attend Iggy and The Stooges’ live performance at Greenville Festival, Germany, on July 29. The band headlined the last day of this brand new and very promising festival in central Europe.

Iggy and The Stooges started the performance with a roaring ‘Raw Power,’ the track that gives title to the infamous album of 1973, now considered by many as the first punk-rock album in history.

Although at the beginning of July, Iggy and The Stooges had to cancel their performance at Sofia Rock, Bulgaria, due to a foot injury Iggy Pop sustained last year, the singer did not refrain himself from giving it all during the performance at Greenville. As usual, he let the spirit of music guide and possess him during the entire performance, singing, dancing, and jumping, like a 20 year-old boy who just discovered how great music is.

The band, whose bass is brilliantly played by Mike Watts, reached an astonishing level of perfection during the performance. Iggy Pop, on his side, was able to capture the audience with his intriguing and hypnotic voice, taking them into the spiral of energy created by both the music and his presence on stage. He also accompanied some of the lyrics of the songs with mimics, and in more than one occasion, made an introduction to the songs by relating them to moments in life he had experienced, linking the tracks to their meaning and origin.

A featuring characteristic was the love shown by Iggy Pop to his fans. He looked at the audience with the same facial expression a child has on Christmas day; It was a mixture of joy, surprise, excitement and that kind of purity of emotions that children have. During the performance he expressed his and the band’s gratitude towards the fans for always supporting them and being nice to them. The fusion between the band and the audience reached its peak when Iggy Pop asked people to join the band on stage. A flow of thrilled people went on stage dancing, singing and hugging the icon.

The band played most of the songs from Raw Power, as well as some belonging to Fun House and a couple of covers. The performance was set to end after a very powerful performance of ‘No Fun,’ but Iggy Pop, saying he was “in the mood,” asked the organizers if they could play some more. They ended up adding three songs to the setlist, leaving the stage with a delighted and screaming crowd.

The level of passion in the live performance was extreme, which, accompanied by the level of professionalism of the band members, resulted in one of the best performances a music lover could possibly witness. Attending one of Iggy and the Stooges’ live shows makes you feel like having just witnessed the performance of a man and a band beyond legend.

Image Courtesy of   Jabzg

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The Godfather of Punk, Iggy Pop, recently announced the release of his new album, ‘Après,’ a record containing a diverse set of covers of mostly French songs, which will be available on May 9.

Iggy and The Stooges are set to tour Europe over the summer, carrying on stage over 40 years of experience on the music scene. The band re-released in 2010 ‘Raw Power,’ the band’s third album originally released in 1973. The record, though not receiving commercial success at the time of its first release, is considered a milestone of Punk’s development.

With ‘Après’ Iggy Pop, as a solo artist, decides to follow a different approach to music; this kind of experimentation is not new for the artist. The record follows the 2009 release ‘Preliminaires,’ Iggy’s successful English/French album. ‘Preliminaires’ contains flavors of country, blues, jazz and electro-pop, which rotate around the concept of human existence’s futility.

In ‘Après,’ the rock star seems to take a more personal approach; according to his website, Iggy Pop collected on the album some of the songs that have inspired him as a musician. Furthermore, for fans’ enjoyment, Iggy Pop explains in the album booklet about his personal choices, song by song, making his work even more authentic.

Iggy Pop briefly explained the reasons behind this album on his website

“All popular music forms of today get their strength from the beat. Rap, hip-hop, metal, pop, and rock producers will tell you that the beats they use imitate the human heartbeat and that is where the power lies. The feeling of listening to any of these forms is always some variation on excitement, but before the birth of the blues there was another form of popular song, in which the timing comes from the human breath and the feelings are much more about emotion.

These older ways of expression were known variously as bel canto, chanson, plainsong or just folk music. I’ve always loved this other feeling, one that is intimate, sometimes a little sad, and does not try to beat me on the head.

So I wanted to sing some of these songs myself, hoping to bring the feeling I felt as a listener to my listeners through my voice. Many of these songs are in French, probably because it is French culture which has most stubbornly resisted the mortal attacks of the Anglo-American music machine.”

The album will be available for purchasing on May 9, through vente-privee.com

Here is the track listing:

1. Et si tu n’existais pas (Joe Dassin)
2. La Javanaise (Serge Gainsbourg)
3. Everybody’s Talkin’ (Harry Nilsson)
4. I’m Going Away Smiling (Yoko Ono)
5. La vie en Rose (Edith Piaf)
6. Les Passantes (Georges Brassens)
7. Syracuse (Henri Salvador)
8. What Is This Thing Called Love? (Cole Porter)
9. Michelle (The Beatles)
10. Only the Lonely (Frank Sinatra)

Image Courtesy of   NRK P3

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