Kick Out the Jams

Sounds like shit but I quite like it

I’ve only ever heard the title track before, which is an absolute BANGER. Unfortunately, while the rest of the album is good, it doesn’t come close to the KOTJ.

Proof that being good can be overrated

The singer can't sing, the guitarist can't play, the music is as basic as can be… but this is Shear brilliance

Strong evidence for the ( mistaken) case that Punk originated in New York not London

Pure electricity loved it

Det føles vigtigt, men det er ikke helt vildt godt, synes jeg. De er godt nok dårlige musikere, men det er jo nok også det, der er rigtig fedt ved det.

I bet it smells crazy in this concert hall

Sniger sig op på et meget, meget lille 3-tal, fordi jeg er meget gavmild i dag

2.8

Some time (at least a year) ago I reviewed an album by an American punk band (I forget who) released in 1982 (I think) and I slated it for being typically American - late for the party.

Well this is a slap in the face isn't it. MC5. 10 years EARLY.
Well done you.
For me this is a little bit shouty and a little bit messy. Being live doesn't help it either even if it does get across more of the rawness.
So... No I wouldn't add this to any playlists. But it definitely fills the brief.

Nothing special

Better than Coldplay

Aujourd'hui on se tape un gros morceau, un gros morceau du genre de ceux qui ont redessiné la carte du rock mondial.

L'album Kick Out The Jams est un joyeux bordel, un melting-pot infernal qui crépite d'éléments garage rock, de blues poisseux, de hard rock naissant et même de space rock complètement perché. Le groupe se payant même le luxe de petites sessions de jam et d'improvisations sauvages, notamment sur le titre "Spaceship", qui ressemble à un décollage de fusée foiré sous acide. Pour l'époque, c'était d'une lourdeur absolument colossale, presque terrifiante. On est clairement plus proche du heavy metal naissant et des délires surwattés de Blue Cheer que de la pop gentillette qui squattait les ondes.

Avant de commencer, il faut être honnêtes deux minutes : la production et la qualité sonore globale ne sont ni les meilleures du monde, ni les pires. C'est juste correct, brut, sans fard. Les tonalités des instruments sont parfois carrément bizarres, presque stridentes, mais c’est ce qui fait le charme de la chose. Côté écriture, c'est du solide, les chansons sont mémorables et, miracle pour un album de cet acabit, elles sonnent toutes différemment les unes des autres. Les paroles sont bonnes, même si elles restent très superficielles. Mais le vrai miracle de Kick Out The Jams, c'est la performance pure, car le groupe déborde d'une énergie brute, lourde, pleine d'angoisse adolescente et rebelle. Rob Tyner est phénoménal au chant, accrocheur en diable avec sa voix de baryton survoltée. Le duo de guitaristes formé par Wayne Kramer et Fred Smith est tout simplement dantesque, lourd et puissant. Kramer pousse même la chansonnette sur "Ramblin' Rose". Derrière, Michael Davis assure grave à la basse et Dennis Thompson cogne sur ses fûts comme un bûcheron sous amphétamines. Et cerise sur le gâteau, même la pochette est réussie. Bref, une expérience d'écoute explosive pour un album qui n'a rien perdu de sa superbe.

Pour apprécier cette immersion dans la fournaise de Détroit, il faut bien comprendre le séisme culturel que ce disque a provoqué en sortant des entrailles du Grande Ballroom. Quand on pose l'aiguille sur cette galette, ce qu'on prend en pleine poire, ce n'est pas une réédition polie ou un produit calibré pour nostalgiques en quête de sensations fortes, c’est le témoignage d'une époque charnière où le rock jouait sa peau sur chaque accord et refusait de s'aligner sur les standards commerciaux d'une industrie déjà bien trop propre sur elle. Il y a un sentiment d'urgence absolue qui transpire par tous les pores de cet enregistrement, une tension palpable qui s'explique aussi par le contexte incendiaire de la fin des années soixante où la jeunesse ne voulait plus simplement écouter de gentilles ballades mais avait besoin d'un exutoire sonore à sa hauteur. C'est précisément pour cela que l'album reste une référence incontournable de ce pavé de Robert Dimery, 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die, car il capture un instant de pure folie collective, un moment de grâce chaotique où la frontière entre la scène et le public explose complètement sous la pression d'un déluge de décibels.

Kick Out The Jams, c'est l'album d'un groupe de gamins qui n'avaient pas peur de tout foutre en l'air et qui, par leur approche viscérale, lourde et irrévérencieuse, ont redessiné la carte du rock mondial bien avant que les majors ne récupèrent le moindre gramme de cette rébellion. En fin de compte, que l'on qualifie cette décharge de garage rock outrancier, de blues muté sous stéroïdes ou de hard rock balbutiant, l'important réside dans cette sincérité désarmante et cette absence totale de compromis qui continuent de hanter les platines plus de cinquante ans après sa captation. Si ce premier opus du MC5 demeure à ce point séminal, c’est qu'il refuse de vieillir ou de se plier à une quelconque analyse académique rassurante ; il s'écoute le potard de volume poussé à fond, dans un salon transformé en zone de combat, pour rappeler à quiconque s'est égaré dans la pop tiède ce que signifie réellement l'expression faire du bruit. C’est rugueux, c'est parfois discordant, mais c'est exactement cette imperfection magnifique qui en fait un chef-d'œuvre brut et la preuve ultime que le rock se vit d'abord avec les tripes.

eh bem cru, né. bem enérgico, altas guitarrada, poucas ideia. direto ao ponto. dá pra fragar uma pitadinha de protopunk ali, mas o hard rock esconde tudo.
não eh ruim, definitivamente pra frentex do próprio tempo. mas também é meia boca, fazer o que.

Kick Out The Jams (Live) is definitely a really solid protopunk album. I have heard a cover of a song by these guys on that one The Damned album but this is my first time actually listening to these guys. This was honestly a pretty good live punk album especially for being a really early one in the genre's life complete with some good instrumentals, fitting vocals and a very fun stage presence. I initially did find the recording quality poor but as i continued listening it really wasn't that much of an issue. But the issue is its just good, not great and not exactly unique from a lot of other punk albums. I still enjoyed my time with it, i just think the genre would be improved later down the line.
Best Song: I Want You Right Now
Worst Song: Kick Out The Jams

The Good: We finally get to kick out those annoying jams!
The Bad: Turns out that I am not the solution…
The Ugly: Finding out that kicking something IS the problem…

I know I know about them, I just can’t say how, or why, or when… But I know, thus I can see…
I also know that I am NOT a big fan of live albums, and I am dumbfounded why these cats, to speak timely vernacular, decided that this was the way to share their music with the world…

I have been fortunate to have attended 3 concerts this past month, which is three more than I had attended the previous 2 years… and one thing that stands out about live performances is that you need to be there in order for the true magic to manifest.

When the signature song kicked in, my instant thought was “sounds like Hendrix”. I was a little excited, definitely curious… The rest of album, it was what it was; me listening to a band that I have no connection with, thus totally not drawing me into the live performance.

It wasn’t bad, but wasn’t great either…

2 1/2 upgraded to 3*

An amazing document of a period in time - the MC5, kicking out the jams in rough, loud, manic, sweaty rock 'n' roll fashion. This is totally my 'jam', and I'm happy to keep kickin' it out on the regular.

I think it's cool their debut album was live. I liked it, but not enough to make me want to check out their other stuff.

Abrasive proto-punk that’s truly kicks ass. The live recording really helps with this. Definitely influential for the development of punk rock. Favorites were Ramblin’ Rose, Kick Out The Jams, Borderline, and I Want You Right Now.

I’m at a 10.

I mean, fucking hell, color me surprised for 1969. If “Are You Experienced” was a blueprint for rock music over the next several years to come, it sure feels like this should’ve been the blueprint for punk rock for years to come. I can’t believe that was 1969, let alone a live debut album. You gotta have stones to make your first album a live one, but the energy emanating from both them & their crowd felt infectious in a way that only a live album can really capture like that. Obviously, the technical skill behind it is one thing, especially to stay as in sync as they were, but beyond that, just managing to fill their atmosphere with such a natural charisma across the board that it can come through as if you’re actually there… seriously, it’s remarkable for the time.

Lyrics barely matter here, save for their use as a path to let Rob Tyner control the pace of each track / the emotion of the venue, and he does fantastic work, especially once the crowd is bought into what MC5 are selling. There’s a specific moment during the slower point in the halfway mark of “I Want You Right Now” where it feels like everyone, including the band, is hanging onto his every breath, and I haven’t felt a sense of control like that since Kurt Cobain’s literal deep breath back on the MTV Unplugged album. Obviously, the guitar work here from Wayne Kramer & friends is fucking unbelievable; just listen to it, if you somehow haven’t.

Ultimately, it’s just a stunner, top to bottom. I can’t type anything else about it that would do the 40 minutes justice – it’s a fantastic debut & it feels like the blueprint to follow, even now. I don’t know what has led this towards 35% of people on the site giving this a 1 or 2, but those people are dead wrong. Kick them out in the same way that MC5 kicked out the jams, motherfucker. It’s a 10, and thank goodness it’s on the list.

ovo bi mi se po opisu trebalo sviđati, ali ne sviđa mi se nimalo. jednostavno loše zvuči, ne znam kako da drugačije opišem. još mi se nakon dvije minuta posljednje "pjesme" pripišalo pa sam kratko odahnuo od slušanja da bih se vratio i slušao posljednjih šest minuta izdrkavanja, što je ostavilo još gorči okus u ustima nakon svega. bljuc

Quite a gamble to start your discography off with a live album. This one is really iconic and influential, sounds like Punk music a decade before Punk. It feels like a bit of an unfocused mess though. The 60's extended Psychadelia fueled jams are in full effect here. Sometimes you're just listening to a wall of noise and feedback and guitar crunches. Still cool, but I prefer their tighter studio work.

Is it sloppy? Yes. Is the singing and musicianship good? No. But that’s the point. The messages would not be the same played by Julliard students. Much respect for inspiring a lot of musicians and albums I love.

Maybe they have energy, maybe they're raw and proto-punk, but not for me. Starship hurt my ears.