MC5 - A True Testimonial

RIP Dennis. He wrote this one and it's a fuckin' banger.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2WBjuKH1ZqI

and so he was the American Keith Moon. Came up around the same time, and while he might have heard Moon in 65 and was duly influenced enuff to up his game, he's for sure his own man. I welcome anyone to give me an example of an American white guy drummer in an American white guy rock and roll band during the years that MC5 were most active who could match him in intensity, sheer kineticism… but if he ever drove a limo into a pool, he would have gone to jail or would have to deal with the headache of having done so for a very very long time…

He was my favorite guy in the band, and I hope he had a fairly good life beyond the few times in 50 years that he got to play at a level he deserved and enjoy the fruits of his innovation, which others harvested to greater benefit than he ever could. He was real funny in the doc from which this thread is named. and even though I wish the RRHoF never existed, and the Five will now only be getting in though the bullshit back door, he apparently was happy about it and was psyched to attend. And now he's dead, and I guess only family members will be able to show up for the one time any of the members of what I consider to be the best American rock and roll band of the late 60s would receive any significant recognition.

Nice post.

and so he was the American Keith Moon. Came up around the same time, and while he might have heard Moon in 65 and was duly influenced enuff to up his game, he's for sure his own man.

As Dave Marsh (and Tarfumes too, if he still posted) would tell you, Detroit was one of the first markets to embrace The Who when their records initially hit the states, so he was probably pretty aware of Moon in '65.

Also worth noting that The Who played Ann Arbor on their first US tour in 1967 and this '68 show took place before Kick Out The Jams was even released

https://recordmecca.com/wp-content/uploads/mqc/1052_large_1.jpg

Did anyone in the group ever confirm or discuss how "Come Together" is based on "I Can See for Miles"? Given their knowledge of jazz (and how they clearly drew from it), I imagine they figured it was obvious what they were doing, similar to the way original jazz compositions can be rewrites old standards.

I do not envy the Troggs having to follow the MC5 on that show

good lord that bill

I Want You (Right Now) was a rewrite of the Troggs song I Want You apparently. Shows the process just mentioned.

from several good posts, incl. links, on Rolling Obit:

I worked for BOMP/Alive Records in the mid-1990s when they were releasing that series of sourced-from-bad-tapes MC5 and MC5-adjacent stuff. Much of material came from John Sinclair but Kramer would come by the offices to tacitly sign-off. Really nice guy - intense and super-driven. He had just moved to LA, re-connected with Mick Farren, and was playing gigs all over Los Angeles while working on what would be his first album for Epitaph, The Hard Stuff. Most often, the gigs would just be him and a drummer. Sometimes a sax player. Occasionally Farren would come up for a ten minute ramble while they backed him up. Every gig, regardless of how decrepit the punk bar was, was the Grande Ballroom in '68 - an all-out *performance*. LA in the 90s was awash in unemployed guitarists and a middle-age bald dude was wiping the floor with them with shows that were actually thrilling.

The MC5: A True Testimonial documentary is a must watch. I was lucky to be at the premiere for it at the Arclight. Back then most folks had never seen the Wayne State footage before, and on a giant screen at full volume it was as life-changing as Star Wars.

― Elvis Telecom, Friday, February 2, 2024