Revolutionary both politically (their association with the White Panther organisation meant their gigs were regularly filmed by the FBI) and musically (their explosive debut album Kick Out The Jams featured a Sun Ra cover), it’s not surprising that The MC5’s reputation has continued to snowball since their unlamented demise in 1972.
Not only did their furious guitar sound?along with The Stooges? pave the way for punk and the recent Detroit garage-rock revival, but their flamboyant dress sense was a massive influence on glam. This album, no doubt reissued to coincide with the reformation of the three surviving members, gathers together the greatest moments from their three commercially disastrous albums, and bookends them with early singles and the songs they were working on with a view to a fourth record. That it’s an indispensable collection goes without saying. The MC5 may have often been copied, but they’ve rarely ?if ever?been matched.