New Releases category interest

Today, earMUSIC has released the first new music from MC5 in 53 years (following 1971’s High Time) with the album Heavy Lifting. The band’s final studio album is out now, a day ahead of the band’s Rock andamp; Roll Hall of Fame induction by fellow icon, Rage Against the Machine’s Tom Morello, who declared to Associated Press:

“The idea, as Wayne described to me, was to make one last great MC5 record that would distill the spirit that the band had decades before but was also a product of where those influences lead. I put everything I had into it. I’m like, ‘Let’s make one more really, really great MC5 record.” 

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Led by founding member Wayne Kramer and recorded with iconic producer Bob Ezrin (Lou Reed, Alice Cooper, Kiss), Heavy Lifting features original MC5 drummer Dennis 'Machine Gun' Thompson on two tracks along with special guests including Slash, Tom Morello, William DuVall (Alice in Chains), Vernon Reid (Living Colour), Don Was, and Tim McIlrath (Rise Against) in addition to members of Kramer’s MC5 touring band, Vicki Randle (Aretha Franklin), Stevie Salas (Parliament, Funkadelic, Rod Stewart), Abe Laboriel Jr. (Paul McCartney), Winston Watson Jr. (Bob Dylan), Joe Berry (M83), and Oakland-based singer Brad Brooks.

Prolific for five decades, Kramer was the last remaining active member of MC5, writing 12 of the album’s 13 songs in collaborations with Tom Morello, Tim McIlrath, Bob Ezrin, Jill Sobule, and Brad Brooks. Kramer passed away suddenly in February, followed by the death of drummer Dennis ‘Machine Gun’ Thompson in May. This is Thompson’s final studio recording, playing on the tracks “Can’t Be Found” and “Blind Eye."

CREEM Magazine co-founder Jaan Uhelszki recorded the final interview with Kramer, remembering the incendiary innovators of punk and protest rock, who inspired The Clash, Ramones, Rage Against The Machine, The White Stripes, Slash and countless others, where he explained the ethos behind the continuation of the MC5:

“I think the MC5 lives on because of the purity of the spirit,” Kramer explained to Uhelszki two weeks before he passed away in February 2024. “The MC5 was about…principles of self-determination, of freedom of expression, of freedom of religion, of equality, of justice – those are principles we felt were worth fighting for. Sure, we wanted to be a popular rock band, but we did things by principles. I think that’s something that transcends a rock and roll band. We were charged with constantly disrupting everything we came into contact with. This was part of the tactics of the day, of carrying the message.” 

Bob Ezrin, in talking about Heavy Lifting said “What I really heard in the songs was a spirit of rebellion, challenging social norms, and staring down American values. I told Wayne, “It sounds like an MC5 record to me!” 

Uhelszki has also just released a definitive new book with former Guitar World Editor-In-Chief Brad Tolinski, and based on work by the late Ben Edmonds: MC5: An Oral Biography of Rock’s Most Revolutionary Band. Featuring original interviews with the band and their inner circle - John Lennon, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Iggy and the Stooges, Bill Graham, Jefferson Airplane - it tells the story of MC5’s music and beyond, amplifying marginalized voices and racial equality in spite of being threatened and tossed into jail. These monumental moments this month are a resounding affirmation that the spirit of these Detroit punk pioneers endures.

In addition to the standard 13-track album, a 2CD / 2LP version will be released with a bonus disc including previously unreleased live recordings from the MC50 tour in 2018 celebrating the 50th anniversary of MC5’s revered 1969 debut album, Kick Out the Jams, and featuring classic anthems like “Kick Out the Jams” and “Ramblin’ Rose.” Alongside Kramer, the MC50 recordings feature Soundgarden guitarist Kim Thayil, Fugazi drummer Brendan Canty, Faith No More’s bassist Billy Gould, and frontman Marcus Durant (Zen Guerrilla) with a special guest appearance by Mark Arm (Mudhoney). See the full track listing below.

With the release of the new album, Heavy Lifting, the book, 'MC5: An Oral Biography of Rock’s Most Revolutionary Band’ and the long overdue induction of the group into the Rock andamp; Roll Hall of Fame, that makes October MC5 month.

Order HEAVY LIFTING on CD, Vinyl and digital download in addition to bonus 2CD and bonus 2LP HERE.