MC5 - Black To Comm (White Trash Soul 60s Punk No.6 & White Trash Soul Real R'n'R No.19)

 

My first encounter with the MC5 was at a very young age, not through someone who played their music for me to listen to, but through a relatively mainstream yet good Greek music magazine, which had published a feature on the best live LPs of all time. "Kick Out the Jams" ranked second, surpassing names that were better known to me at the time (The Doors, Thin Lizzy, etc.). The cover art was also enough to make you fall in love with it at first sight - a psychedelic kinda collage yet punk at the same time. It might even have been the first of many albums I'd go on to buy based solely on what caught my eye (for the record, the second was "Raw Power"). The reviewer left me no room for doubt writing that this particular album "broke through the virgin membrane of rock'n'roll and gave birth to punk" or that "there's a lot of debate, with serious arguments on both sides, about whether the hippies or the punks played better but there was no question as to who sounded better." The fact that I can recall all of this without referring back to the review means that it left a lasting impression on me.

So, I bought "Kick Out the Jams" on CD (it was 1991 or '92 and vinyl records had begun to gradually disappear from the market, making way for the new format) which included the intro with the famous "motherfucker" yell - which, for some strange reason, later editions removed before reinstating it in the "Big Bang!" compilation, if I'm not mistaken. In the '90s, that particular expression didn't seem offensive at all, but just imagine how all of this would have sounded in 1968 in an America rife with racism and prudishness. Something that has been making a comeback like a whirlwind for many years now, on a global scale. The guitars cut like sickles, and the drums, maracas, and tambourines pounded like hammers. A little later, I discovered that this was by no means a coincidence, since this particular band had much more to offer in terms of challenging the fascist ideologies of the era than just their music.

As I usually do in this space, unless the band is completely unknown, I don't think it's necessary to recount its history. Where do you even start with The 5? There are books and documentaries out there that you should look up and watch (all of them!) if you want to consider yourselves serious rock'n'roll fans, since we're talking about a group of people who unwittingly wrote the rulebook for true revolutionaries, even though they didn't like the rules themselves. They brought the entire (rich) musical tradition of Detroit (and beyond) into one package and took it even further, so much so that I don't think anyone has yet come along to take up the torch from them and carry it on. For better or worse, some people arrive and put an end to things. Like prophets who hate prophecies. Honestly, I don't care if anyone agrees or disagrees with what I write, but the MC5 played just as important a role in my life as Karl Marx.

I created this MC5 package as an alternate "Best Of" compilation, an extreme digital dirt done properly featuring their early garage punk - needle in the red and no overdubs 45s, the unused Grande Ballroom recordings that didn't make it to the "Jams", pre-production studio tapes, alternate takes, remixes, full-length versions and outtakes from their studio albums. All of these are from the best audible sources that are known to me (for more details, look at the parentheses next to the songs titles). 

"BROTHERS AND SISTERS! I WANNA SEE A SEA OF HANDS OUT THERE!"

The Misfits - Static Age, Mix-Down Tape Feb. 1978 (White Trash Soul Real R'n'R No.18)

 

It's hard to imagine just how much of an impact "Static Age" would have had if it had been released in 1978, as originally intended. Considering the hostility between the Misfits members, however, we should be grateful that it ultimately saw an official release in 1996. What I really like about that era is the absence of the campy horror punk aesthetic that they later developed and became widely known for. The Misfits look pretty much like every other punk rock band of this period but this hasn't stopped Glenn Danzig from ignoring the sociopolitical issues of the time. In his Elvis/Jim Morrison style, he sang about JFK's bullet-ridden body, Patty Hearst's kidnapping turning left-wing guerrilla bank robber and every other perverted thought that had occurred to his teenage brain. Now that I think about it, perhaps he did write political songs after all... Anyway. 

At the time, both Mercury and the Misfits were using the name 'Blank Records'. Our New Jersey psychos had already released their embryonic "Cough/Cool" and "She" recordings through their Blank imprint and Mercury wanted full ownership. In exchange for the name, Mercury suits offered them a swap: 20 hours of free studio time and the recordings has began. The end result made the band feel proud but they had a problem, no label was willing to release it. According to Jerry Only, they talked to every label - even Sire, which had The Ramones, Dead Boys, DMZ and the Voidoids on their roster but they passed on it! The (legendary) "Bullet" EP, released via Danzig's own label (Plan 9), featured four of the "Static Age" tracks: 'Bullet', 'We Are 138', 'Attitude' and 'Hollywood Babylon'. After Franché Coma and Mr Jim left in the middle of a tour in 1980, Only and Danzig decided that the "Static Age" was cursed and shelved it.

The 14 tracks of "Static Age Mix-Down Tape Feb.78" as I said in the first lines, were supposedly intended for release on the "Static Age" LP that same year. In 1986, Curtis Casella of Taang! Records made and distributed a tape containing eight songs from Glenn's vault. Of course, this was done without permission. This tape and a later CD-R bootleg of the same name were the only sources available to fans. (This is the CD-R that I am offering you in this post, which contains the complete set of songs). So, when Danzig finally provided the original multi-track masters for a standalone release, hardcore Misfits fans and completists took note that the original 1978 mix-down sequence of "Static Age" had actually been used on disc 4 of the Coffin shaped Misfits box set (based on Franché Coma's copy), rather than the remastered and overdubbed versions on "Legacy of Brutality" from 1985-86 or the re-remastered editions on "Collection II" (1995). 

In any case, this is the best place to hear the Misfits' best line-up as intended: Undubbed, unremastered and raw. This recording, originally from the 7.5 ips reel-to-reel, includes the microphone pop at the end of 'Come Back' or the conversation before 'Theme for a Jackal', both of which were edited out of the officially released versions. I would put these recordings at the very top of the list of the ten best punk rock ever produced, no matter what period or decade you look at.

Jeff 'Monoman' Conolly (1956-2026)

Monoman was a genuine character. His deep knowledge of all things rock'n'roll, particularly the more obscure one was legendary. Dick Dickerson wrote about his somewhat difficult personality a few hours back on Facebook and it reminded me of Nick from The Nomads saying pretty much the same thing a few years ago. Even Tim Warren was diplomatic when I asked him about Jeff and Mike Mariconda added that Conolly always carried a glass of water full of vodka with him. I guess everything related to his complex identity is true. But he was also the rock'n'roll madman and nerd we all used to adore. I have written so many pieces about Lyres and DMZ that it would be redundant to repeat myself. This is just a farewell to ol' "Jeffrey's excitable personality that was mushroomed in the land of dirty water" as Miriam Linna once wrote. Safe travels motherfucker.