5.19.2011

MC5 - Greatest Hits Live

Ok so, here we have one of the rawest live bootlegs. Soft ears, keep away.

Now, a few words from the mighty web:
The MC 5 is worth hearing under just about any circumstances, and this set--given the song list, probably recorded sometime in 1969--is no exception. A motley collection of sound-board tapes (with lead singer Rob Tyner way down in the mix) and stuff that sounds like second-generation dupes from cassette decks in the audience, the music is nonetheless vintage Detroit madness, with the band's thrilling oleo of heavy metal out of the Who and the Yardbirds and '60s free-jazz heard to particularly good advantage on "Rocket Reducer No. 62" and the never-recorded-in-the-studio epic "Black to Comm." This is, of course, quintessentially low-fi stuff, although hardcore fans will want it if only to hear the 5 bulldoze their way through James Brown's "It's a Man's World." If you're new to the band, however, you should probably invest in the group's three "official" albums, including the live--and obviously much better engineered--KICK OUT THE JAMS.