The Stooges
By late 1970, Williamson joined The Stooges as a second guitarist. He performed his first gig with the band on December 5, 1970. The band were by then struggling with drug problems and a lack of commercial success, and despite the injection of Williamson's considerable talent and enthusiasm, the Stooges couldn't overcome their difficulties, Williamson stating that "I got hepatitis and moved back to Detroit and basically the band completely dissolved". Many of the demo recordings made during this period were belatedly issued as vinyl singles or EPs, including the proto-punk tracks "I Got A Right" and "Gimme Some Skin".
In 1972 David Bowie offered Iggy Pop and James Williamson a chance to record in London, and, having failed to find other suitable musicians, they invited the Asheton brothers to join them, with Ron moving from guitar to bass. Williamson co-wrote all the songs with Iggy and played all the guitar parts for The Stooges' classic 1973 album Raw Power. He played louder and raunchier than almost anybody at the time, with a jagged high-energy approach. Williamson stated that 'I was a very emotional guitar player, so I always played that way. That's how we felt, so that was what it sounded like'.
Williamson's explosive and aggressive guitar playing on Raw Power has often been cited as a major influence on the emerging punk scene in the mid-seventies. In fact, Williamson's influence goes well beyond that, with Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr stating 'I'm his biggest fan. He has the technical ability of Jimmy Page without being as studious, and the swagger of Keith Richards without being sloppy. He's both demonic and intellectual, almost how you would imagine Darth Vader to sound if he was in a band.'
Read more about this topic: James Williamson (musician)