The MC5 - Babes in Arms

Of course, this is another must-have for any MC5-fan (and who isn’t?!). Lots of alternative cuts, hard to find versions and even some previously-unreleased songs. This is a true treasure trove for those of us who could never get enough of the band!

Some of the variants are very minor (the only differences on “Tutti Frutti” are drum-stick clicks counting off the beginning and a “ha” from Tyner at the end), some of the alternative mixes really change the sound (I really dig these mixes of the High Times material, which I thought had a pretty muddy sound throughout) and some of the songs are changed quite a bit – like “Gotta Keep Moving” which is fantastic on this record.

There is the unreleased title song from the soundtrack of the movie “Gold”, one of the last things the group recorded, as well as some of the first tunes they ever did. The latter includes a noisy take on “I Can Only Give You Everything”, a cool, us-versus-them original called “One of the Guys”, “I Just Don’t Know” (a fantastically noisy take on “I’m In the Mood”) and a feedback-drenched “Looking at You” – one of the wildest songs ever recorded in the history of music! Incredibly powerful chaos and madness! These recordings aren’t on the edge – they are far over the edge! Pretty damn near perfect, definitve r’n’r!

I can’t recommend this record enough – far and away the best of the posthumous releases for this band. Absolutely essential for anyone who loves r’n’r! I’d even recommend this as an introduction to the band, as well as for those of us who have loved them for decades.