Rock Legends MC5 To Drop First New Album In 53 Years
"We poured our hearts into the project."
Wayne Kramer and Bob Ezrin of MC5 (Credit: Margaret Saadi Kramer)
Legendary Detroit rockers MC5 will release their first album in 53 years on Friday, 18 October, with the LP honouring founding member and guitarist Wayne Kramer, who passed away in February this year.
Featuring the final recordings of drummer Dennis “Machine Gun” Thompson – who passed away in May – Kramer co-wrote 12 of the 13 tracks on the new album, Heavy Lifting, alongside Oakland-based singer-songwriter Brad Brooks.
Heavy Lifting was led by Kramer and recorded with iconic producer Bob Ezrin (Lou Reed, Alice Cooper, Kiss) with features from Thompson on two tracks, and special guests including Slash, Tom Morello (Rage Against The Machine), William DuVall (Alice In Chains), Vernon Reid (Living Colour), Don Was, and Tim McIlrath (Rise Against). You can find the tracklist below.
Kramer was the last remaining active member of MC5 and passed away suddenly in February from pancreatic cancer. He was prolific for five decades.
From their formation in the ‘60s to the release of their most recent album, 1971’s High Time, MC5 influenced generations of rockstars from The Ramones to The Clash to The White Stripes to two of the special guests noted above, Slash and Tom Morello.
In an interview with UNCUT Magazine in December, Kramer said that Heavy Lifting “continues from where High Time left off” and added, “I think that we made an album that is in sync with where we're at today, and the challenges that we're facing, and that carries a positive message.”
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The album will be released via earMUSIC – just one day before MC5 are inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame - you can pre-order/pre-save Heavy Lifting here and check out the first single, Boys Who Play With Matches, below.
Bob Ezrin described the forthcoming album as “very heavy,” with a “revolutionary” message and a “good sense of humour”.
Ezrin continued, “There's a little bit of heavy metal. There's quite a bit of funk. But it is a heavy record, and it's a guitar record left, right and centre. Just a wall of guitars most of the time and mostly driven by Wayne and his ethos.
“It’s a snapshot of a guitar man at the height of his powers. We all feel a responsibility to make sure that his work is heard, and he is celebrated. We poured our hearts into the project.”
You can find some tributes to Wayne Kramer below.
MC5 – Heavy Lifting Tracklisting (CD/LP):
Heavy Lifting (feat. Tom Morello)
Barbarians At The Gate
Change, No Change
The Edge Of The Switchblade (feat. William Duvall & Slash)
Black Boots (feat. Tim McIIrath)
I Am The Fun (The Phoney)
Twenty-Five Miles
Because Of Your Car
Boys Who Play With Matches
Blind Eye (feat. Dennis Thompson)
Can’t Be Found (feat. Vernon Reid & Dennis Thompson)
Blessed Release
Hit It Hard (feat. Joe Berry)
Additional Tracklisting (2CD/2LP):
Ramblin' Rose
Kick Out The Jams
Come Together
Motor City Is Burning
Borderline
Gotta Keep Movin'
Future/Now
Poison
Shakin' Street
Sister Anne
Brother Wayne Kramer was the greatest man I’ve ever know. He possessed a one of a kind mixture of deep wisdom & profound...
Posted by Tom Morello on Friday, February 2, 2024
Rest in Peace @waynekramer . Just a supremely sweet man, and one hell of a rock and roll fire-starter. My story with WK started one day in the 90's when we connected to do Mad For The Racket with Clem Burke, Brian James...and Wayne himself. I was in punk rock heaven around this…
— Duff McKagan (@DuffMcKagan) February 3, 2024
Deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Wayne Kramer-Punk Rock PIONEER,inmate rights reformer, Author. human rights activist, Anti-violence advocate. Guitar BADASS, & Major Dude. Totally Real.Always looking forward. Kicking Out Our Jams in tribute tonight in Charles Town W VA❤️🩹
— Vernon Reid (@vurnt22) February 2, 2024
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