The 500 - #294 - Kick Out The Jams - MC5

I was inspired by a podcast called The 500 hosted by Los Angeles-based comedian Josh Adam Meyers. His goal, and mine, is to explore Rolling Stone Magazine's 2012 edition of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. 

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Album: #294

Album Title: Kick Out The Jams

Artist: MC5

Genre: Proto-Punk, Garage Rock, Hard Rock

Recorded: Grande Ballroom, Detroit, Michigan

Released: February, 1969

My age at release: 5

How familiar was I with it before this week: One Song

Is it on the 2020 list? Yes, at #349 (falling back 55 places)

Song I am putting on my Spotify Playlist:  Motor City Is Burning

Kick Out The Jams is the debut record by the Detroit rock and roll band MC5. It is the second album by the band to appear on The 500. I wrote about their second album, Back In The USA, in February, 2020, which, because of the covid pandemic, feels like a decade ago.

MC5, an abbreviation of Motor City Five, were formed in 1963 by singer Rob Tyner, guitarists Wayne Kramer and Fred "Sonic" Smith, bassist Michael Davis and drummer Dennis "Machine Gun" Thompson. They are considered one of the most important bands in rock and roll history.

MC5 in 1969

MC5 are known for their "garage rock" sound, best described as loud, ragged and high energy. They have a back-to-basics approach to music that sometimes borders on amateurish. They have also been called proto-punk, a term coined to recognize the groups that foreshadowed the rise of punk rock in the mid-seventies. When one listens to MC5, the influence of their sound is undeniable. So many bands from several genres have identified that the MC5 sound was influential in their development. Punk rock's Ramones and Sex Pistols, hard rock's Motorhead and even the 90s grunge sounds of Nirvana and Soundgarden were all influenced by this Detroit quintet.

Kick Out The Jams was recorded over two nights in October, 1968, at the Grande Ballroom in Detroit. Sounding like a revival tent preacher, the album opens with singer Tyner shouting:

"Brothers and sisters! I want to see a sea of hands out there. I wanna hear some revolution out there, brothers. The time has come for each and every one of you to decide whether you are going to be the problem or whether you're gonna be the solution! You must choose! Are you ready to testify? I give you a testimonial, the MC5"

The band then launches into a raucous version of Ramblin' Rose, a high-energy song originally recorded by Jerry Lee Lewis in 1962. The performance is raw and scruffy; but, it is also confident, brash and unapologetic. The MC5 sound like so many high school basement band I saw in the eighties. When they play, it makes me believe that with a little skill, some tight pants and a lot of swagger, I could be a rock star too.

Detroit's Grande Ballroom in the 1950s

The second track is Kick Out The Jams from which the album gets its name. The song begins with the now famous shout, "Kick out the jams motherf____ers" from Tyner. Consequently, many record stores refused to stock the album and the record company, Elektra, released a censored version. Eventually, the controversy proved too much for Elektra and they dropped MC5. Atlantic Records signed them and stuck with the quintet for their only two studio records, the aforementioned Back In The USA and 1971's High Time.

"Kick Out The Jams" was popular expression in the late sixties. It was sometimes used as a rallying cry to overcome obstacles and defeat oppression. It was also used to refer to a rock band delivering a high energy performance. In a 2018 interview, guitarist Wayne Kramer explained the decision to make the phrase into a song. 

"We were using the expression for a long time, because we would be critical of other bands that came to Detroit that the MC5 would open for. They'd come into town with this big reputation, and then they'd get up on stage and they weren't very good. So, we used to harass them. We'd yell at them, 'Kick out the jams or get off the stage, motherf--ker!' Finally, one day we said, 'I like that expression. We should use that as the title of a song.' "

The only surviving members of the band are Thompson and Kramer, the latter still touring. Recently, Kramer announced that a new album called Heavy Lifting will be released this year. So, nearly 60 years after forming, the MC5 continue to Kick Out The Jams.