1968
MC5 Detroit rock city USA

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THE A-SQUARE Session
Date January 4 January 5(?)	Type Studio	Location United Sound studio Detroit	Sound Q ?	Source / Material known to exist: 2-track reel (master)
Comment The "A-square" single "Looking At You / Borderline" was issued "in March 68 in an edition of 500 copies with a terrific picture by Gary Grimshaw. Russ Gibb put up the grand sum of $500 for this project, which paid for the recording session and the pressing and the packaging of the single. I had been in a recording studio only once before... and to this day, I have no idea of how we got the master take of 'Looking At You' to end with the spine-tingling aural explosion that still fills my heart with thrills every time I hear it." (John Sinclair - "The Baddest & Maddest of the MC5" liner notes)
Title AVANT-ROCK LOOKING AT YOU instru. take1 LOOKING AT YOU instru. take2 LOOKING AT YOU instru. take3		Composer MC5 MC5 MC5 MC5	Time 2:00 2:58 3:26 3:12	Label Unreleased Unreleased Unreleased Unreleased
LOOKING AT YOU instrumental take#?		MC5	2:31	available on:
LOOKING AT YOU (Original single)		MC5	2:46	available on:
BORDERLINE (Original single)		MC5	3:10	available on:
BORDERLINE flat mix		MC5	3:16	available on:
Useful link: United Sound studio
Comment ORIGINAL "single 'Looking At You b/w Borderline' was issued by the band on A-Square without Jeep's knowledge." It was never part of the A-Square catalog - perhaps the way for John Sinclair to get the record attention. Wayne Kramer and John Sinclair mixed the single. It took one four-hour session of studio time and one short mix session. Recording engineer: Danny Dallas Ref: A-Square Records A² - 333 - (with and without picture sleeve)
Bootlegs & reissues:

"There are some great stories of the MC5's tenure at the Grande including the night that Janis Joplin and Big Brother and the Holding Company refused to come on stage after a blistering set that had the crowd frenzied and frothing at the mouth.
I think her words were "NO FUCKING WAY." (Jerry Goodwin - WKNR)

LIVE PERFORMANCES 1968
Date May 26	Type Live	Location Grande Ballroom Detroit MI	Sound Q ?	Source / Material known to exist: 7" reel of 1/4-track stereo tape (recorded on both sides)
Comment Actually "Ice Pick Slim" is "Hambone" by Archie Shepp with Rob Tyner's words
Title ICE PICK SLIM		Composer MC5	Time 16:50	available on:
Comment "Ice Pick Slim," a musical portrait of a certain type of character who was no stranger to the streets of Detroit, was inspired by the writings of the great African-American convict novelist Robert beck, professionally known as Iceberg Slim, author of classic street writings like Pimp, Trick Baby, Black Widow Spider, and The Long White Con." (John Sinclair liner notes)

LIVE AT THE STURGIS ARMORY
Date June 27	Type Live	Location Sturgis Armory Surgis MI	Sound Q ?	Source / Material Unknown recordist Reel-to-reel tape deck pluggled in the soundboard
Comment The times are taken from J.Sinclair liner notes.
Title 1. RAMBLIN ' ROSE 2. KICK OUT THE JAMS 3. COME TOGETHER 4. REVOLUTIONARY BLUES 5. ROCKET REDUCER N°62 6. JAMES BROWN MEDLEY: Cold Sweat / I Can't Stand Myself / There Was A Time 7. UPPER EGYPT 8. TUTTI FRUTTI 9. BORDERLINE 10. BORN UNDER A BAD SIGN 11. I WANT YOU 12. STARSHIP 13. I BELIEVE TO MY SOUL 14. BLACK TO COMM		Composer MC5 MC5 MC5 MC5 MC5 J.Brown A.Ellis J.Brown J.Brown B.Hobgood Pharoah Sanders Penniman/Blackwell /LaBostrie MC5 B.T.Jones W.Bell C.Frechter L.Page Sun Ra / MC5 Ray Charles MC5	Time 3:00 3:36 6:34 6:05 7:00 8:03 5:51 1:46 2:54 5:15 6:00 7:25 7:15 7:53	whole set available on: whole set minus 1.13. available on: click on the pictures for infos on these ones:
Poster/handbill for this show:

LIVE unknown Michigan location
Date Mid-'68	Type Live	Location ?, Michigan	Sound Q ?	Source / Material known to exist: Unknown recordist - Reel
Comment
Title 1. RAMBLIN ' ROSE 2. KICK OUT THE JAMS 3. COME TOGETHER 4. SOFTLY 5. I PUT A SPELL ON YOU 6. TUTTI FRUTTI 7. BORDERLINE 8. BORN UNDER A BAD SIGN 9. COLD SWEAT 10. WHATSA MATTER BABY BLUES 11. SLOW DOWN 12. I WANT YOU RIGHT NOW 13. ICE PICK SLIM 14. LOOKING AT YOU		Composer MC5 MC5 MC5 MC5 S.J.Hawkins Penniman/Blackwell /LaBostrie MC5 B.T.Jones W.Bell J.Brown A.Ellis Larry Williams C.Frechter L.Page MC5 MC5	Time 4:26 4:14 5:06 6:25 4:11 19:36 4:27	label Unreleased Unreleased Unreleased Unreleased Unreleased Unreleased Unreleased Unreleased Unreleased Unreleased Unreleased Unreleased Unreleased Unreleased Unreleased
Comment

Summer 68 free concerts
Date August	Type Footage	Location Michigan	Sound Q no sound	Source / Material known to exist: 16mm silent footage by Leni Sinclair
Comment In colour
Venue Gallup Park , Ann Arbor Free concert on Sunday 4,11,18/8/68 Rouge Park , Detroit Free concert organised by WABX				feat.on this DVD
Useful links Gallup Park - Where The Action Is \| MC5 concert dates
Pictures x6

Festival Of Life
Date August 25	Type Footage	Location Chicago Illinois	Sound Q no sound	Source / Material known to exist: Silent footage by the US Dept. of Defense (National Archives)
Comment "The MC5 being observed while playing the 1968 DNC protest festival." In colour
Venue Lincoln Park in Chicago Event Democratic National Convention		Online:		feat.on this DVD
Useful link: Norman Mailer's testimonial \|
Poster/handbill for this show:

Odd Fellows Hall (IOOF Hall)
Date August 29	Type Live	Location Dearborn, Michigan	Sound Q ?	Source / Material known to exist: Tape from the library of WABX Partially broadcast in late '68
Comment
Title 1. RAMBLIN ' ROSE 2. KICK OUT THE JAMS 3. COME TOGETHER 4. I PUT A SPELL ON YOU 5. 'I ripped my pants' dialogue 6. RAMA LAMA FA FA FA 7. ZENTA BLUES 8. TUTTI FRUTTI 9. BORDERLINE 10. BORN UNDER A BAD SIGN 11. 'They're gonna call the police' dialogue		Composer MC5 MC5 MC5 S.J.Hawkins MC5 MC5 Penniman/Blackwell /LaBostrie MC5 B.T.Jones W.Bell	Time 1:49 3:02 4:45 5:18 0:14 5:10 6:38 1:58 2:38 4:06 0:49	label Unreleased Unreleased Unreleased Unreleased Unreleased Unreleased Unreleased Unreleased Unreleased Unreleased Unreleased Unreleased
Poster/handbill for this show:

Dialogue '68
Date September 7 & 8	Type Live	Location First Unitarian Church, Detroit MI	Sound Q ?	Source / Material known to exist: Original master reel
Comment Robert Christgau gives a testimonial in his article for the Village Voice "The Continuing Saga of the MC-5" "Dialogue'68" was probably the first meeting with J.C.Crawford and Panther White.
Title Sept. 7 I PUT A SPELL ON YOU BORN UNDER A BAD SIGN		Composer S.J.Hawkins B.T.Jones W.Bell	Time 6:10 4:55	Available on:
I WANT YOU RIGHT NOW STARSHIP		C.Frechter L.Page Sun Ra / MC5	5:04 7:29
Sept. 8 1. Tyner / Sinclair / Crawford intros 2. COME TOGETHER 3. I WANT YOU RIGHT NOW		MC5 C.Frechter L.Page	2:40 4:15 5:47
4. I BELIEVE TO MY SOUL		Ray Charles	4:10
5. BLACK TO COMM BORN UNDER A BAD SIGN		MC5 B.T.Jones W.Bell	13:00 4:55
MIDNIGHT HOUR		W.Pickett S.Cropper
Poster/handbill for this show:

University of Michigan
Date September 22	Type Live	Location Union Ballroom Ann Arbor MI	Sound Q ?	Source / Material known to exist: reel to reel 7½ inch per sec. / 7 inch
Comment The tape is stored in the 'John & Leni Sinclair Papers' in the archives of the Bentley Historical Library (UMich)
Title unknown		Composer	Time	Available on: Unreleased
Comment This show was held to support the Children's Community School. Also on the bill were the Psychedelic Stooges and the Up. Prior to this show, on Sept.21, Elektra's publicity director and 'company freak' Danny Fields flew from New York to Detroit to attend an MC5 show at the Grande Ballroom. Wayne Kramer invited him to see the Stooges at the Union Ballroom the next day. Will result D.Fields' call to Jac Holzman and the signature of a long-term contract between Elektra and the MC5 and the Stooges on sept.26
Poster for this show:

Grande Ballroom
Date October 10	Type Live	Location Detroit MI	Sound Q ?	Source / Material known to exist: reel to reel 7½ inch per sec. / 7 inch
Comment The tape is stored in the 'John & Leni Sinclair Papers' in the archives of the Bentley Historical Library (UMich)
Title unknown		Composer	Time	Available on: Unreleased
Comment Sound engineer Bruce Botnick, Jac Holzman and Danny Fields may have attended this particular show at the Grande (or was it Oct.18th or Oct.27?) prior to the Elektra recording on Oct.30,31- Bruce Botnick: "Jac said to me that [the MC5] is supposed to be great, so we flew to the Grande Ballroom to hear them. Thank God I had the presence of mind to take a cassette machine with me that had a built-in microphone, because they were so loud I couldn't hear what was happening. It was the loudest thing I had ever heard in my life. Getting back to the hotel room, Jac and I were amazed. They were very good songs, wo I was really excited, and then we planned to record." (Rick Clark) Now, is it just speculation to think that B.Botnick's tape has survived? Is this tape from that show (Oct.10th)? Answer is in the Bentley Historical Library so if you come across this tape in the 'John & Leni Sinclair Papers' please contact me makemyday@free.fr

Live Performance 68
Date October 27	Type Live	Location Grande Ballroom Detroit MI	Sound Q ?	Source / Material known to exist: 7" reel of 1/4-track stereo tape (recorded on both sides)
Comment The Rationals were also on the bill (Benefit for Senator Roger Craig)
Title Brother JC intro Brother JC, Rob Tyner, Wayne Kramer comments I'M MAD LIKE ELDRIDGE CLEAVER		Composer MC5	Time 19:02	Available on:
Comment "I'm Mad Like Eldridge Cleaver," basically improvised on the spot that Sunday evening at the Grande on top of a blues framework lifted from John Lee Hooker's "I'm MBad Like Jesse James," presents the MC-5 the way they sounded in Detroit on the eve of recording their first national release. Tyner and Kramer sound kind of funny in their intro to the tune, reassuring their all-ages Sunday audience that this improvisational flight will be all right even though nobody knows where it will go - and then they're off into parts unknown." (John Sinclair liner notes)

KICK OUT THE JAMS - ELEKTRA RECORDING
Date October 30 & 31	Type Live sessions	Location Grande Ballroom Detroit MI	Sound Q ?	Source / Material known to exist: Multi track / master reel (numbered tracks) in Bruce Botnick's possession (more info here)
Comment "The conventional wisdom was, you cut two or three studio albums and then you did your live album. We thought it was a revolutionary move to do the first album live.' (Wayne Kramer) 7" 'Kick Out The Jams b/w Motor City Is Burning' was issued in January 1969, the LP came out in February. "Kick Out The Jams in its original version started out with "Kick out the jams... motherfucker." Believe me NO ONE played it until the "brothers and sisters" version was released." (Jerry Goodwin - WKNR-AM)

Title 1. RAMBLIN' ROSE 2. KICK OUT THE JAMS 3. COME TOGETHER 5. ROCKET REDUCER NO.62 6. BORDERLINE 7.MOTOR CITY IS BURNING 8. I WANT YOU RIGHT NOW 9. STARSHIP		Composer Wilkin - Burch MC5 MC5 MC5 MC5 Al Smith C.Frechter L.Page Sun Ra / MC5	Time 2:39 2:37 4:17 5:01 2:45 4:30 6:02 8:26	Available on: << Actually Motor City Is Burning is 5:40 long (not 4:30)
Leftovers: BLACK TO COMM LOOKING AT YOU I BELIEVE TO MY SOUL		MC5 MC5 Ray Charles
4. I PUT A SPELL ON YOU		S.J.Hawkins	6:00	<< Unreleased - The only multi-track outtake that has survived from the original Elektra recordings. Position in the set was between 'Come Together' and 'Rocket Reducer'
Alternates / rough mixes KICK OUT THE JAMS (opening night)		MC5	2:56	<< Unreleased
MOTOR CITY IS BURNING ROCKET REDUCER N°62 (10/31/68) I BELIEVE TO MY SOUL		Al Smith MC5 Ray Charles	4:26 6:08 2:59	Available on:
Radio ad KICK OUT THE JAMS			1:00	<< Unreleased
Remix BRUCE BOTNICK'S SURROUND REMIX				<< Unreleased (more info here)
The Fillmore East 7" KICK OUT THE JAMS (10/31 afternoon) MOTOR CITY IS BURNING		MC5 Al Smith	2:40 5:42	Available on: (more on these 2 tracks / give away free 45 issue)
Useful links - Recording and Mixing Techniques and Equipement - The Gear - Chart Action
Comment "The recordings were done over the course of two nights - October 30th and Halloween - at the Grande Ballroom. They were also recorded the day of the 31st [afternoon] without an audience." "We only recorded, i think, one or two shows at the most one night, so we didn't have a lot of takes to choose from. And then we recorded the next day everything that they did in the show we did in the afternoon." (Bruce Botnick interviewed by Rick Clark) Most of the songs on the original album Kick Out The Jams are from the Halloween shows.
Poster for this show:		Pictures x3

"Kick Out The Jams" promotional film
Date Edited 1/69	Type Footage	Location Michigan	Sound Q	Source / Material known to exist: 16mm silent footages by Leni Sinclair
Comment In colour. Song 'Kick Out The Jams' from the LP was dubbed over the promotional montage The premiere took place at the Straight Theater in San Francisco
Venue Grande Ballroom, Detroit MI 1968 Village Pub, Birmingham MI 1968 Delta College, Tri-City Area MI 1968		Online:		featuring on this DVD

WFMU KOKAINE KARMA radio show
Date between27&31/12	Type radio broadcast	Location East Orange NJ	Sound Q	Source / Material known to exist: 2 tapes
Comment Kokaine Karma, a free-form radio show presented by Bob Rudnick and Dennis Frawley hosted the MC5 during the week following the Fillmore incidents on december 68. A brief article on Kokaine Karma here
Title played STARSHIP (partial) part1 ROCKET REDUCER N°62 part1 RAMBLIN' ROSE part1 KICK OUT THE JAMS part2 LOOKING AT YOU (A² 7") part3 COME TOGETHER part3		available on: album version <<< different beginning album version album version A-Square single <<< unreleased		Online: listen to the show (thanks to Brian Redman) part1 MP3 part2 mp3 coming soon part3 mp3 coming soon
Comment ROCKET REDUCER has a different beginning than on any other known version - rest is same as alternate / rough mix - listen MP3 COME TOGETHER is a different version than any other known version - listen MP3 This tape is probably the same tape listed in the 'John & Leni Sinclair Papers' in the archives of the Bentley Historical Library (UMich)

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Kick Out The Jams
motherfuckers