jsREVIEW:
For some reason, the Stooges always get the nod when playing the “Godfathers of Punk” sweepstakes. I know, I know, I wanna be your dog too, but I’m not arguing against the Stooges, I’m arguing for the MC5.
Even though this single, being radio-ready, starts off with “Kick out the jams, brothers and sisters” rather than the better-known intro, it still shows how far away from the rest of the world Detroit was during the late ’60s. This is no Woodstock, no gentle psychedelia. This is raw, explosive blues rock that puts better-known folks like Cream and Led Zep to shame. Sure, they were virtuosos in a way that no one in the MC5 was, but “Kick Out The Jams” is the sound of a dual-pipe Mustang to their Aston Martin.
Recorded live, neither side is the picture of audio clarity, but when they sang “The Motor City’s burnin’, ain’t nothing no one can do,” they hit with with the kind of truth that left The Clash to pick up the aftershocks some ten years later. Vietnam, race riots, assassinations, SDS, it’s all here. Along with the slinky sex that comes from the rolling electric blues.
If there’s ever been one single that summed up Detroit rock, this is it. If there’s ever been an essential punk single, this is it. And if there’s ever been a rock album that still connects politically, this is it. Fucking, fighting, drugs and guitars. What more could you want?
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