0 [FROM THE CRATES #19] MC5 - Kick Out the Jams (1969)

Review by Matt Abramson

MC5 - Kick Out the Jams
(Elektra 1969)

Detroit is a hell of a rock and blues city. It's totally fitting that the only city in the world to be so degenerate and shitty that there are 20th century ruins would fuel gritty, attitude-heavy music. Fuckin' Ted Nugent was from fuckin' Detroit, and that alone is enough to stop a lot of pussy naysayers in their tracks. The kings of Detroit, however, will always be The Motor City Five - or MC5 as they are widely known. MC5 were so fuckin' loud and gnarly that a recording studio could not hold them and Elektra was forced to record their debut album 'Kick Out the Jams' live. Well, I made up that other part. It was recorded live though, and when you spin the shit you will see why.

It's funny to think of a lot of the shit that rock music has done to rattle the conservative masses. Elvis shakes his ass on television and it caused chaos. People smashed Beatles records because John Lennon compared them to Jesus. Rock continued to push on the establishment into the late 1960's, even though at that time all it took to be revolutionary was smoking pot and growing your hair long MC5 were known for frequent anti-government tirades and strong ties to the White Panther party.

(Lengthy, yet relevant historical side note: that's a group of white pro-Black Panther dudes, not the other way around. Get this shit straight. The civil rights movement was hot as fuck at the time and this was a more radical position than you would think. MC5 also performed at the now-infamous 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago where a riot broke out and police beat the complete shit out of protesters, no doubt setting the tone for the turbulent events of 1969 [which included Woodstock] and the crash-landing of the entire hippie scene following 1970. Am I blaming MC5 for disco? Fuck no! My point is, when you take all this into consideration it becomes totally ridiculous that anyone would ever question or argue what "punk" is/was/whatever.)

Most notably, MC5 were the first band, ever, ever, let me repeat a third time - EVER, to use the word "fuck" on record. At the beginning of the title track, Rob Tyner says to the audience, "Right now... right now... It's time to... kick out the jams, motherfuckers!" For this period in history, there was not a more defiant act in music. In a matter of seconds on wax, MC5 set the stage for more ass-kickery than any band before or since.

All this political and cultural shit would be totally meaningless if the music sucked, which it does not. 'Kick Out the Jams' is a prime example of a proto-metal, proto-punk, unpretentious, hard blues-influenced rock album. The extended solos of "Motor City is Burning" are how Cream wished they could have sounded. "I Want You Right Now" is pure nasty grit that might as well be Kyuss. The title track is enough to incite violent revolution or at least some insane fucking partying. With all the shit talking about how all the great early rock bands were from England, it sure is nice to have MC5 up our sleeve here in the states. Sabbath rules, but Sabbath never provided the sound track to a riot.