MC5 Albums (6)
'Live at the Saginaw Civic Centre, Jan. 1, 1970'
Release Date 11/8/2005
Tracks 10
Label Get Back Italy
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
This recording of the MC5 playing for a semi-enthusiastic audience on New Year's Day, 1970, in Saginaw, MI, has already been released at least twice before -- Total Energy issued these tapes under the title Teenage Lust, while excerpts surfaced on Receiver's Looking at You. By any name, this show finds the MC5 in solid form, playing some fan favorites from Kick Out the Jams along with roughly half of the tunes from the upcoming Back in the USA, and while the sound and approach of the group's second album have often been criticized by fans as an effort to smooth out the MC5 for wider public consumption, in concert the BITUSA songs hit a lot harder and Wayne Kramer and Fred "Sonic" Smith's guitars have a lot more room to growl. The band also adds a couple of R&B covers to its set for this show, and Rob Tyner sounds great testifying on "Fire of Love" and "It's a Man's World," giving credence to the legend that John Sinclair used to get the band primed for shows by playing James Brown's Live at the Apollo en route to gigs. The sound quality on this recording leaves a certain amount to be desired -- various elements float in and out of the mix and there's a significant amount of distortion as the band's legendary volume pushed the high end into the red -- and Get Back doesn't seem to have done much to improve the audio for this release. Still, the recording quality is a bit better than most of the semi-authorized MC5 discs making the rounds, and it captures a tight, well-focused show from the band in an important transitional period; it's historically valuable as well as plenty of fun for non-audiophile fans. ~ Mark Deming, All Music Guide
'Live at the Grande Ballroom 1968'
Release Date 11/8/2005
Tracks 7
Label Get Back Italy
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
This disc of rare live material from the MC5 begins with spiritual advisor Brother J.C. Crawford inviting fans to come to the band's upcoming free shows at Detroit's Grande Ballroom, where the MC5 will be recording a concert for their first album on Elektra Records. What follows is three outtakes from the two shows recorded for the epochal Kick Out the Jams, and while nothing here quite matches the energy of "Ramblin' Rose," "Borderline," or the title cut from the Loudest and Wildest Live Album Ever, it does feature some rare high-fidelity MC5 live stuff that didn't appear on that album. However, once track five, "I'm Mad Like Eldridge Cleaver," kicks in, listeners are back in the land of muddy-sounding and poorly packaged MC5 recordings, which have become surprisingly common in recent years. The Kick Out the Jams outtakes -- "Motor City Is Burning," "I Believe to My Soul," and "Rocket Reducer No. 62" -- capture the band sounding tight and focused, and the recording quality is rich and clear. The other material finds the band in more "experimental" mode, especially on "I'm Mad Like Eldridge Cleaver" (which is never as good as its brilliant title) and the meandering blues jam "Ice Pick Slim," and while the group's explorations of the outer limits of musical possibility were always a vital part of its performance, history teaches us that no band always taps into genius while it's jamming, and these tracks take a long, long time to get anywhere. (Thankfully, the final tune, a rip though the Five's classic "Black to Comm," at least brings some the band's legendary energy and guitar firepower to the fore.) The recording quality of the non-KOTJ stuff is trebly at best and tinny sludge at worst, and while this disc gives some indication why the MC5 were one of the greatest bands of their time, the fact is that their legacy has been much better served elsewhere. ~ Mark Deming, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Interestingly, two of the acts most influential to first-wave British punk -- the Motor City's finest, MC5 and the Stooges -- only played a limited amount of shows on U.K. soil. Although no audio has ever surfaced of the Stooges' lone U.K. performance (the King's Cross Cinema in 1972), the only MC5 U.K. gig to surface on CD form came in 1996, under the title of Phun City, UK. Since MC5 is responsible for issuing one of rock's all-time great live recordings (1969's classic Kick Out the Jams), it would be hard for any subsequent live set to match the lofty heights of its predecessor. From a sonic standpoint, Phun City, UK (which was recorded at a festival in 1970) doesn't even come close, as it's basically a bootleg. But from a historical context in MC5 history, it's a very intriguing listen for the longtime fan. Several tracks that would turn up a year later on the group's woefully underrated swan song, 1971's High Time, are included -- "Sister Anne," "Baby Won't Ya," and "Miss X" -- in addition to the Kick Out the Jams classics "Rama Lama Fa Fa Fa" and "I Want You." A possible purchase for longtimers, while newcomers should go directly to Kick Out the Jams. ~ Greg Prato, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
MC5 were nearing the end of their long and bumpy trail when they cut High Time in 1971, and it was widely ignored upon initial release. While it lacks the flame-thrower energy and "off the man!" politics of Kick Out the Jams or the frantic pace and "AM Radio of the People" sound of Back in the USA, High Time sounds like MC5's relative equivalent to the Velvet Underground's Loaded, their last and most accessible album, but still highly idiosyncratic and full of well-written, solidly played tunes. Fred Smith's "Sister Anne" and "Skunk (Sonically Speaking)" bookend the album with a pair of smart, solidly performed hard rockers (bolstered by fine horn charts), and Wayne Kramer's "Poison" ranks with the best songs he brought to the band (he later revived it for his solo album The Hard Stuff). For a group that was apparently on the verge of collapse, MC5 approach this material with no small amount of skill and enthusiasm, and Geoffrey Haslam's production gives the band a big, punchy sound that suits them better than the lean, trebly tone of Back in the USA. It's interesting to imagine what MC5's history might have been like if High Time had been their first or second album rather than their last; while less stridently political than their other work, musically it's as uncompromising as anything they ever put to wax and would have given them much greater opportunities to subvert America's youth if the kids had ever had the chance to hear it. ~ Mark Deming, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
While lacking the monumental impact of Kick Out the Jams, the MC5's second album is in many regards their best and most influential, its lean, edgy sound anticipating the emergence of both the punk and power pop movements to follow later in the decade. Bookended by a pair of telling covers -- Little Richard's "Tutti Frutti" and Chuck Berry's "Back in the U.S.A." -- the disc is as much a look back at rock & roll's origins as it is a push forward into the music's future; given the Five's vaunted revolutionary leanings, for instance, it's both surprising and refreshing to discover the record's emotional centerpiece is a doo wop-inspired ballad, "Let Me Try," that's the most lovely and gentle song in their catalog. The recurring theme which drives Back in the USA is adolescence, its reminiscences alternately fond and embittered -- while cuts like "Tonight," "Teenage Lust," "High School," and "Shakin' Street" celebrate youth in all its rebellious glory, others like "The American Ruse" and "The Human Being Lawnmower" condemn a system which eats its young, filling their heads with lies before sending them off to war. Equally gripping is the record's singular sound -- produced by Jon Landau with an almost complete disregard for the bottom end, Back in the USA captures a live-wire intensity 180 degrees removed from the group's live sound yet perfectly suited to the material at hand, resulting in music which not only salutes the power of rock & roll but also reaffirms it. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Rather than try to capture their legendary on-stage energy in a studio, MC5 opted to record their first album during a live concert at their home base, Detroit's Grande Ballroom, and while some folks who were there have quibbled that Kick Out the Jams isn't the most accurate representation of the band's sound, it's certainly the best of the band's three original albums, and easily beats the many semiauthorized live recordings of MC5 that have emerged in recent years, if only for the clarity of Bruce Botnick's recording. From Brother J.C. Crawford's rabble-rousing introduction to the final wash on feedback on "Starship," Kick Out the Jams is one of the most powerfully energetic live albums ever made; Wayne Kramer and Fred "Sonic" Smith were a lethal combination on tightly interlocked guitars, bassist Michael Davis and drummer Dennis Thompson were as strong a rhythm section as Detroit ever produced, and Rob Tyner's vocals could actually match the soulful firepower of the musicians, no small accomplishment. Even on the relatively subdued numbers (such as the blues workout "Motor City Is Burning"), the band sound like they're locked in tight and cooking with gas, while the full-blown rockers (pretty much all of side one) are as gloriously thunderous as anything ever committed to tape; this is an album that refuses to be played quietly. For many years, Detroit was considered the High Energy Rock & Roll Capital of the World, and Kick Out the Jams provided all the evidence anyone might need for the city to hold onto the title. ~ Mark Deming, All Music Guide
