Kick Out the Jams

1	Ramblin' Rose 2:39
2	Kick Out the Jams 2:37
3	Come Together 4:17
4	Rocket Reducer No. 62 (Rama Lama Fa Fa Fa) 5:01
5	Borderline 2:45
6	Motor City Is Burning 4:30
7	I Want You Right Now 6:02
8	Starship 8:26

Barnes & Noble

This is, of course, the album forever infamous for introducing the word "motherf*cker" to the pop vernacular, but it's also a lot more than that. The 5, as they were more familiarly known in their hometown of Detroit, were on the one hand the first American band to equal the flash and instrumental firepower of the better contemporary English groups, like the Yardbirds and the Who. But on the other hand, they were also the first group anywhere to pioneer the fusion of garage-punk, metal, and free jazz later associated with the No Wave bands of the early '80s. In other words, their political stance as revolutionaries may have been bogus and naive, but musically they were true innovators. KICK OUT THE JAMS captures them live, at home, in late 1968 (complete with priceless between-song patter -- "Brother" Wayne Kramer, indeed), and their favorite catchphrase, "high energy," doesn't begin to do justice to the inspired racket the 5 offer up here. Steve Simels

All Music Guide

Rather than try to capture their legendary on-stage energy in a studio, MC5 opted to record their first album during a live concert at their home base, Detroit's Grande Ballroom, and while some folks who were there have quibbled that Kick Out the Jams isn't the most accurate representation of the band's sound, it's certainly the best of the band's three original albums, and easily beats the many semiauthorized live recordings of MC5 that have emerged in recent years, if only for the clarity of Bruce Botnick's recording. From Brother J.C. Crawford's rabble-rousing introduction to the final wash on feedback on "Starship," Kick Out the Jams is one of the most powerfully energetic live albums ever made; Wayne Kramer and Fred "Sonic" Smith were a lethal combination on tightly interlocked guitars, bassist Michael Davis and drummer Dennis Thompson were as strong a rhythm section as Detroit ever produced, and Rob Tyner's vocals could actually match the soulful firepower of the musicians, no small accomplishment. Even on the relatively subdued numbers (such as the blues workout "Motor City Is Burning"), the band sound like they're locked in tight and cooking with gas, while the full-blown rockers (pretty much all of side one) are as gloriously thunderous as anything ever committed to tape; this is an album that refuses to be played quietly. For many years, Detroit was considered the High Energy Rock & Roll Capital of the World, and Kick Out the Jams provided all the evidence anyone might need for the city to hold onto the title. Mark Deming