11 June 2024

With the passing of Wayne Kramer (75) last February and drummer
Dennis Thompson (75) last month all 5 original MC5 members are
gone. Together they released 3 longplayers, including their live classic
Kick Out The Jams (1969)

Back in 2022 Kramer broke the news that he was working on a new MC5 LP,
with co-songwriter Brad Brooks (they composed 12 of the 13 tracks together),
featuring famous guests like Tom Morello, Slash, Vernon Reid and many more.
It sounds more like a tribute to the iconic Detroit band.

Kramer told Rolling Stone at the time: “We are all part of the same mindset, living
in the same world, and we all want to make a difference. Each collaborator to a person
has helped me to relay that message. Also, my songwriting with Brad Brooks has really
been a therapeutic process … for both of us. And then to layer Bob Ezrin on top added
a whole new layer of complexity that then widened my scope and my ideas even further.
It’s just an outgrowth of the band’s core ideology”

Bob Ezrin (the legendary producer of the LP): “It has a revolutionary message but also
a good sense of humor. There’s a little bit of heavy metal. There’s quite a bit of funk. But it
is a heavy record, and it’s a guitar record left, right and center — just a wall of guitars most
of the time, and mostly driven by Wayne and his ethos. It’s a snapshot of a guitar man at
the height of his powers. We all feel a responsibility to make sure that his work is heard,
and he is celebrated. We poured our hearts into the project.”

Heavy Lifting is slated for release in October. More details TBA.

The first taster is called BOYS PLAY WITH MATCHES. No idea who the singer is.
The track roars and rolls, but understandably, it’s impossible to bring back the
original MC5 kick out the jams spirit.

MC5: Website