Turn it Down!: Third Man unearths historic set from The Stooges

Last week, City Pulse’s cover story told the tale of the Goose Lake International Music Festival. Held over three days under a hot August sky, the lineup included Rod Stewart and the Small Faces, Chicago, Ten Years After, Flying Burrito Brothers and more. Not a bad batch of talent for a concert on the outskirts of Jackson. 

One of the many local bands on the roster, The Stooges, has long been a part of the folklore attached to this colossal fest. Stories ranging from the show being amazing to a complete train wreck have circulated for years. However, after Third Man Records recently released a newly found recording of the show, it proves The Stooges’ set wasn’t so disastrous after all. Raucous and unhinged, sure — but that was to be expected when Iggy Pop and his Stooges took the stage. 

This week, Third Man Records’ honcho Ben Blackwell tells why this Stooges recording is historic, and a treasure for ardent Michigan rock ‘n’ roll fans. 

Why do you think Goose Lake is still so special to the Michigan music scene? 

Ben Blackwell: Goose Lake was Michigan’s answer to Woodstock. Seems like, to the people who were in attendance that weekend, they all remember it extremely fondly. The open-air drug market seems crazy to think about in hindsight, but all in all I get the impression that it was a truly magical event.

When and how did The Stooges live album come to be?

James Cassily was a sound engineer who recorded the performances of a bunch of bands at Goose Lake. He passed away in 2005, so we don’t really know why he recorded these sets or under what guise. As of a few years back, his son Joshua Rogers found a box of tapes labeled “Goose Lake” in the basement of the Rogers Mansion. Supposedly, it’s the oldest house in Kent County, Michigan. Joshua brought the tapes to Third Man to see if we could help turn them into a proper release and over two years later, here we are ready to release it.

What makes this recording so unique?

The Goose Lake performance is the only professionally recorded full show of the original line-up of The Stooges. Seems kind of crazy with them having been on a major label, having done significant enough touring and all that. Furthermore, it was the final performance of that original band line-up, as [bassist] Dave Alexander was sacked immediately following the gig. That and the fact that the 200,000 fans in attendance would prove to be the largest crowd the band would ever play in front of makes it all pretty unique and special. 

Listening back now, how would you rate the quality of their set?

The band sounds solid. Way better than I would’ve imagined. Neither the recording nor the performance is perfect, but damn they leave me satisfied and downright thankful for their existence.