The Big Bang: The Best Of The MC5 (CD)

The Rolling Stones toyed with revolution in rock, as on "Street Fighting Man," but Detroit's MC5 lived it. They were involved with the White Panther party in the late 1960s/early '70s, and the quintet became legendary for their high-energy performances and turbo-charged, ear-shattering hard rock. One of punk rock's godfathers, they were faster, louder, and more furious than any other band of the era except for their hometown brethren the Stooges, and inspired subsequent legions of garage-rockers to "kick out the jams."

• Category:  Music  »  Rock & Pop  »  Punk Rock
• Format: CD   Learn more about the CD format using Tower WIKI.
• Release Date: February 15, 2000
• Label: Rhino Records (USA)
• UPC: 081227978327
• WAPI (Tower ID): 106074575
• Average Customer Review: There are no customer reviews yet. Be the first to write a review!
• Tower.com Sales Rank: #58935 in Music (See Top 100 Music Bestsellers)
• #18741 in Rock & Pop (See Top 100 Rock & Pop Bestsellers)
• #286 in Punk Rock (See Top 100 Punk Rock Bestsellers)

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Q (5/00, p.129) - 4 stars out of 5 - "...A superb and fair collection of their best work..."
Uncut (p.136) - 5 stars out of 5 - "Not only did their furious guitar sound - along with The Stooges - pave the way for punk and the recent Detroit garage-rock revival, but their flamboyant dress sense was a massive influence on glam."
Alternative Press (4/00, p.90) - 4 out of 5 - "...Stomps through early singles, the glorious cacophony of KICK OUT THE JAMS, the tighter, cleaner BACK IN THE USA, and the almost-mature HIGH TIME....[They] made the pop mainstream seem lightweight by comparison."
The Wire (3/00, pp.50-1) - "...Represemts the best possible testimonial to the memory of these purveyors of a factiry forged, 'high energy' sound..."
Melody Maker (4/25/00, p.51) - 4 stars out of 5 - "MC5's intense mixture of proto-punk and ragged, free-form jazz captures the very essence of rock'n'roll oblivion. Fans of Primal Scream and Asian Dub Foundation will almost certainly love this."
Mojo (Publisher) (2/00, pp.82-4) - "...[this album] rocks not only as an end in itself but also as the key to generational/perceptual/political change....THE BIG BANG works well as an introduction to a vital, thorny group..."
NME (Magazine) (12/30/00, p.79) - Ranked #3 in NME's "Top 5 Compilations Of The Year".
NME (Magazine) (3/11/00, p.32) - 9 out of 10 - "...some of the greatest rock'n'roll music ever committed to tape....one of the best rock'n'roll groups of all time."

MC 5: Fred "Sonic" Smith (vocals, guitar, harmonica, organ); Wayne Kramer (vocals, guitar, piano, bass); Rob Tyner (vocals, harmonica, congas, maracas); Michael Davis (vocals, bass); Dennis Thompson (vocals, drums, tambourine, percussion).

Additional personnel: Charles Moore (vocals, trumpet, flugelhorn); Merlene Driscoll, Joanne Hill, Brenda Knight (vocals); Leon Henderson (tenor saxophone); Rick Ferretti (trumpet); Larry Horton, Dan Bullock (trombone); David Overtsteak (tuba); Pete Kelly (piano); Skip "Van Winkle" Knapp (organ); Danny Jordan (keyboards); Steev Morrhouse (bass); Butch O'Brien (bass drum); Ellis Dee, Dave Heller, Dr. Dave Morgan, Scott Morgan, Bob Seger, Terry Trabandt (drums, percussion); Brother J.C. Crawford.

Producers include: MC5, John Sinclair, Jac Holzman, Bruce Botnick, Jon Landau.

Compilation producers: Wayne Kramer, Jimmy Guterman, Gary Stewart.

Engineers include: Danny Dallas, Bruce Botnick, Jim Bruzzese.

Includes liner notes by Wayne Kramer and Jimmy Guterman.

Digitally remastered by Dan Hersch and Bill Inglot (DigiPrep).

Alice Cooper may have plunged a knife into the heart of the Flower Power movement, but the Motor City Five sharpened the blade. Militant musical revolutionaries at a time when peace and love were counterculture buzz words, the MC5 drew from such disparate influences as Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Archie Shepp, and Sun Ra to create a molten mix of screaming guitars, inflammatory lyrics, and thundering bass.

The five explosive years covered by THE BIG BANG contains material from the group's three albums KICK OUT THE JAMS, BACK IN THE USA, and HIGH TIME and early singles and rare material. The live songs on JAMS find the MC5 at its fire-breathing best as songs such as "Kick Out the Jams" and "Rocket Reducer No. 62 (Rama Lama Fa Fa Fa)" show off the fiery interplay between guitarists Wayne Kramer and Fred "Sonic" Smith. USA finds the MC5 reigning in some of its high-flying musical excesses in attempting to write more radio-friendly fare. The results ("Tonight," "Shakin' Street") are shorter, garage-rock-fueled nuggets short on rhetoric but long on hooks and harmonies. The unjustly ignored HIGH TIME marks the end of the MC5, despite such lost classics as "Sister Anne" and "Miss X."

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