Following a 2018 tour celebrating Kick Out the Jams, Wayne Kramer has once again revived the iconic Detroit proto-punk outfit, the MC5. They’re touring once again, but that’s not all. A full 51 years after the release of the band’s last album, Kramer has announced that a new album of original MC5 songs will be released in October via Ear Music. He’s shared a preview of a new song called “Heavy Lifting”—a collaboration with Tom Morello, Don Was, singer Brad Brooks, and Abe Laboriel Jr. Listen to the preview and find the band’s upcoming tour dates below.
The touring lineup of the MC5 is Kramer, Brooks, drummer Stephen Perkins (Jane’s Addiction), bassist Vicki Randle (Mavis Staples), and guitarist Stevie Salas (David Bowie). The album features percussion from original MC5 drummer Dennis “Machine Gun” Thompson on two songs. It will be produced by Bob Ezrin, whose production credits include Pink Floyd’s The Wall and Lou Reed’s Berlin.
“We’ve just barely survived four catastrophic years of a failed presidency and a devastating pandemic,” Kramer said in a statement. “Brad and I started writing new music with the express purpose of pushing back against the cruelty of it all.” The album is also set to feature contributions from Kesha, Morello, Alejandro Escovedo, Jill Sobule, and Rise Against’s Tim McIlrath.
The original incarnation of the MC5 made three albums total: 1969’s Kick Out the Jams, 1970’s Back in the USA, and 1971’s High Time. Kramer and Thompson are the sole two living members. Singer Rob Tyner died in 1991, guitarist Fred “Sonic” Smith died in 1994, and bassist Michael Davis died in 2012. Kramer has kept the band touring over the past several years and published his memoir The Hard Stuff in 2018.
“Nonstop touring, especially the last decade, I’ve come to understand that the music of the MC5 is as necessary as ever,” Kramer said. “It’s definitely high time to write and record new songs and to carry a message of uncompromising hard rock to fans around the world.” The MC5 are in the long list of nominees for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Class of 2022.
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