hypersongs

Kick Out the Jams

A live debut recorded over two nights at the Grande Ballroom.
MC5, 1969

Jac Holzman produced and Bruce Botnick engineered, with Wally Heider's crew on the sound. Mix's Classic Tracks piece describes a 3M M-79 eight-track, a Universal Audio tube console and two hall microphones; the recorder fell about six feet off a lift gate and still worked. The spoken introduction is by Brother J.C. Crawford, credited as spiritual adviser, not John Sinclair. Hudson's refused to stock the album over a word in the intro; the band ran an ad insulting the store, and Elektra withdrew the original and issued a censored version. Sources differ on the release month.

Track listing

  1. Ramblin' Rose4:15
  2. Kick Out the Jams2:52
  3. Come Together4:29
  4. Rocket Reducer No. 62 (Rama Lama Fa Fa Fa)5:41
  5. Borderline2:45
  6. Motor City Is Burning6:04
  7. I Want You Right Now5:31
  8. Starship

More from MC5

Back In The USA (1970), High Time (1971), Sonic Sounds From The Midwest (1988), Black To Comm (1994), Power Trip (1994), Looking At You (1994), The American Ruse (1995), Phun City, UK (1996), Heavy Lifting (2024)

Sources

  1. Kick Out the Jams, Wikipedia
  2. Classic Tracks: MC5's Kick Out the Jams, Mix
  3. Recalled and censored: the story of the MC5's Kick Out the Jams, Every Record Tells a Story (2021-09-14)