Customer Reviews

66 Breakout

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4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
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A decent collection of 11 early Mc5 songs,ie as the title says from 1966.This collection features the mono version of I can only give you everything which is brilliant.Plus some live tracks of rarer songs.This collection also has the story of the group, plus stories behind the songs featured on this collection as told by their one time guitarist Wayne Kramer.Also features early pictures of the group with their Beatle style haircuts check out the front cover.The only problem with this cd is some of the tracks are a bit to bassy,ie being on the track one of the guys but this is a minor flaw.This collection is a must have for fans of this loud,fast and exciting group I highly recomend.

This eleven track compilation disc was culled from founding guitarist Wayne Kramer's home tapes.And I do mean HOME tapes.Most of the songs here require the listener to turn down the left channel side when you have the headphones on.Perhaps that's what makes this disc so much fun.Some of these cuts have turned up on other compilations,but a different version.For example,the seven minute version of "Looking At You" was recorded at a high school gig where vocalist Rob Tyner plays some MEAN ass harmonica!Other goodies include the raw-sounding "I Just Don't Know",the Yardbirds cover "I'm A Man" and the Them cover "I Can Only Give You Everything".There's a ten page booklet with super rare photos and plenty of liner notes written by Kramer.These recordings are from 1965-66.Pure vintage,wouldn't you say?

This is great. The same 5 guys that made the major label releases, showing their classic rock and modern (for 1966) rock influences. No session musicians on any tracks as far as I can tell, and the experimental approach is already shopwing itself. "Looking at You" is longer, bluesier, basically more-mid-sixties-sounding than the other versions, same for "Black to Comm". The Yardbirds-influence is very obvious here. There's some cute "on stage" moments, a goof on "Little Red Riding Hood",and the A-square singles-Basically loud screaming music, if not particularly avant-garde. Also, an electric blues number ("Look What You Done Done"), which is a little stereotypical. This is the beginning of the "High Energy" sound, without so much of the jazz influence. Think of this as the link beweeen early Kinks, Stones, Yardbirds, and Who...and late sixties Heavy Metal/Proto punk.

'Breakout' is a collection of early MC5 recordings; some recorded live, some recorded in what sounds like makeshift studios. The interesting thing here is that these primitive garage rock and chunky blues songs provide the roots of what would become Detroit's (and the world's) seminal political proto-punk band that would go on to influence countless amounts of musicians while virtually recieving no mainstream nods.

Listening to these originals and soul/blues covers, one would think them to be more suitable for Rhino's "Nuggets" box set. The overall sound is raw and reflects Rolling Stones tailored blues rock (think Chocolate Watchband). Compiled by Wayne Kramer, one half of the 5's systematic dual guitar attack, 'Breakout' spans 1965-66 that maps out unexpected musical originality. The unitentional concept of this release is that this results in listening to a completely different band than the one that kicked out the jams only two years later.

The soulful delivery of singer Rob Tyner comes off naturally, having already been influenced by the vocal stylings of John Lee Hooker and James Brown, but these selections point that he was not yet vocally agressive in his style that made him so versatile and commanding, then again, the louder the band's music eventually got, Tyner's voice followed suit.

Musically the 5 had not yet been turned on by the avant garde jazz of Coltrane, Shepp, and most notably, Sun Ra as reflected on their live debut album. "Looking At You", "Black To Comm" (which would later infuse free form jazz leanings), and "I Can Only Give You Everything" are the strongest tracks while the bluesier side of this CD, with its guitar interplay, demonstrate just how thier 197O 'High Time' album was so finely executed.

If the 5 had not evolved, these recordings would be, for the most part, just another typical nugget in the Beatles/Stones immulation of mid-60's garage bands. But by the time 'Jams' was released in 1968, The 5 had foregone the mop top haircuts and monkey suits. This group looked forward from typical soundning mid-60's bands and had morphed into an absolute powerhouse of anti-war/pro-civil rights furry. Their instrumentation incorporated heavier distortion and splashes of feedback - having found the abstract in jazz. Tyner fortunatly expanded on his soulful style and for the benefit of activists everywhere, the 5 had let their social consiousness be well-known by mixing blantant politics and music with a guitar driven rock 'n' roll rebel spirit that has yet to be matched. The Clash came close but they weren't the first.

The MC5 are one of America's greatest rock 'n' roll bands, but they don't sound like it on this release. Its still a fun compilation for the diehard fan however (don't even think of purchasing this before "Kick Out the Jams"). Theres only four really good songs on this album, three of which are availible on Rhino's "Big Bang" compilation. "Looking At You" is raw and bluesy, quite catchy, but seems to be leading up to a big climax which just isn't there. The version on "Back In the USA" is much better. "Black to Comm" is like the first track. However, this one leads to the chaotic ending that you'd expect to be on "Looking At You". "I Just Don't Know" is a raw, fast, and crazy R&B number that wouldn't sound out of place on a Nuggets anthology. The highlight of the disc definatly comes at the end with their cover of Them's "I Can Only Give You Everything", which manages to be better than the original, and should've been included on an album. The rest of the songs are boring filler that show little of the power that was to come only a few years later with their debut album "Kick Out the Jams", which remains one of rock's best records. Buy the three studio albums, and if you still want more, you may as well buy this.