BRAD TOLINSKI & JAAN UHELSZKI, WITH BEN EDMONDS – MC5: An Oral Biography of Rock’s Most Revolutionary Band

RELEASE YEAR: 2024
BAND URL: https://omnibuspress.com/products/mc5-an-oral-biography-of-rock-s-most-revolutionary-band

In this day and age, it might be nigh on impossible to imagine or even fathom just how pivotal MC5 truly were. Inhabiting a musical landscape that laid somewhere between raw garage rock and fierce proto-punk, these Detroit-based rebels essentially spearheaded a new movement that challenged pretty much every norm and convention that one could possibly think of, and their status and influence cannot be overstated. If you are curious as to why we still talk about this pioneering group composed of rather charismatic and unique individuals with such reverence, this great-looking hardback is a stellar place to begin and a mandatory read. 

As the authors of this oral biography illustrate rather superbly, MC5 became an entity that, for better or worse, turned into a political vehicle for John Sinclair and the White Panther Party, which undoubtedly had its fair share of consequences. Terms and phrases such as anarchic spirits and left-wing propaganda, drugs and debauchery, great songs and even greater live shows, and creative highs followed by personal constantly pop up in one’s inner mind when digesting its content, and the book succeeds in evoking a vivid picture of the Detroit rock underground scene in the late 60s and everything that came with it.

Sinclar figures prominently throughout, which is only fitting in that he played a key role in managing the quintet and making sure they grabbed headlines in the music press, and the strong-willed guitarist Wayne Kramer is candor and honesty incarnate in that he hardly ever holds back and delivers each concise line of his with an earth-shattering vigor and passion. Feared and shunned by society at large but much cherished and loved by their devoted legion of loyal fans and adherents, the group was a polarizing affair that eventually imploded. The root cause of their demise is dissected and discussed in detail and makes for a gripping read.

Benefitting from having all members of the band and pretty much everyone in their orbit contribute to the narrative, we are presented with a fully formed story that is both broad in scope and highly intriguing. Perspectives on certain matters as well as reflections on (and recollections of) certain events and instances relating to the high-octane ensemble obviously differ from each other, which makes for a richly layered chronicle that is as startling as it is revelatory. While the format and the style of the piece work on many levels, I would not have minded a little more text and authorial injections along the way to provide even more context and background information.  

In many ways, this fast-paced and exhilarating account of MC5’s relatively short yet impactful career mirrors the group’s song material perfectly; never does the book lose its momentum nor its power to inspire and provoke strong reactions in the reader, which, after all, is exactly what some of their revolutionary and rabble-rousing anthems also did back in the day. Few biographies out there are as action-packed and thought-provoking as this document on one of the greatest US cultural phenomena these past many decades is, and there is enough tragedy, triumph, humor, and understated wit on display to keep you glued to its pages for hours on end. Arguably as essential as the act’s first LP, Kick Out the Jams.