You Don't Want My Name, You Want My Action: The Missing Link (Live 1971)

This four-CD box documents as many live shows by an otherwise unrecorded lineup of Iggy and the Stooges, circa 1971. In the wake of the commercial failure of their magnum opus Funhouse, the group's original lineup split up. Some members would stick around for 1973's Raw Power, at which point the story ended for real. But in between, there were some really lean years, as captured here. It's worth bearing in mind that the Stooges were not a popular band during their original lifespan. They got coverage in the rock press, but they sold neither albums nor tickets in any significant amount. Anyway, the music. This lineup of the Stooges is one that actually should have gotten into the studio — it's an awesome two-guitar force with both Ron Asheton and James Williamson cranking out the riffs at top volume, unknown bassist Jimmy Recca holding down the low end, and Scott Asheton pounding out minimalist rhythms with nail-gun simplicity and force. These are audience recordings of 40- to 45-minute sets, with the same core repertoire every night — songs that never made it onto any Stooges studio album, like "I Got a Right," "You Don't Want My Name," "Fresh Rag," and "Big Time Bum." The performances are savage, less psychedelic than the band had been only a year before; the addition of James Williamson's stinging, post-Chuck Berry guitar brought a whole new level of aggression to the Stooges sound, and the bootleg sound only makes it more so. Pop's voice, usually the dominant element on his albums, is buried in the mix here, to the point that he sounds like Jon Spencer sometimes. This may seem on its surface like a specialists-only item, but its raw power (so to speak) makes it worthwhile for any fan of Iggy Pop or punk rock in general.