Editorial Reviews Music Review:
Music Review
James Cohn: Mountain Gretna Suite
Great Baroque Arias, Part 1 / G. Fisher · Bowman · Ainsley · M. George · The King's Consort · King
Music: nitros city [Explicit Lyrics]
Furious Angels [CD-single] [Import]
Huge Chrome Cylinder Box Unfolding
Gekauft Ist Gekauft [Soundtrack] [Import]
Mingus Ah Um [Original recording remastered]
Amazon.com
Arriving a decade before the Clash but every bit as politicized, musically revved, and rife with contradiction, the MC5 scorched the earth in ways that few late-'60s bands ever even imagined. The Big Bang! covers their career from 1967 to '72, collecting early singles (in better sound than on ROIR's Babes in Arms compilation), cuts from the Detroiters' three Elektra and Atlantic albums, and one live in-studio performance. We hear the punk precursors offer a testimonial to sex and rock & roll while damning American prosecution of wars ("The Human Being Lawnmower") and the Vietnam-era draft ("The American Ruse"). Were their twin incursions on U.S. politics and the record industry ultimately failed crusades? Perhaps, but the energy, intelligent attitude, and sheer riff sense encased in this CD's 21 cuts make a mighty case for MC5's sound and stance. --Rickey Wright