The Detroit band Death was formed by the Hackney brothers in 1971. Everyone was all over Drag City’s 2011 release of their 1974-1976 demo recordings, Spiritual-Mental-Physical, when it was released. Now I understand why. Everyone calls it protopunk but I call it f-in amazing. Please go directly to Drag City’s website and buy it. You can listen to some of the sample tracks before you click on the buy button.

“World of Tomorrow”

Spiritual-Mental-Physical

© Tammy Hackney

New York Dolls photographed by Bob Gruen 1974

(via)

Origin: Nashville, Tennessee, USA
Years active: 2009–present
Members:Gerry Roslie, Rob Lind, Larry Parypa, Ricky Lynn Johnson, Freddie Dennis

Albums
Here Are the Sonics (1965)
Boom (1966)
Introducing The Sonics (1967)
Explosives (1973)
The Sonics (1978)
Live Fanz Only (1986)
Busy Body!!! Live in Tacoma 1964 (2007)

This 45 is here as a prime example of the amazing underbelly of music that was released beneath the radar in the early 70s. The A-side is a mixture of garage/glam/proto punk and is compulsive whilst the B-side is slick airy pop that grabs you. That one of the protagonists went on to make a packet in porn seems apt. As for investments, there are a number of unheralded glam stompers and pop gems that singular collectors like Robin Willis dig up that are appreciating in value and can all be read about on his wonderful Purepop1uk website.

The Detroit high-energy rock scene in 1969 gave us the central protopunk bands known as the MC5 and The Stooges. I was 17 years old then and the rock and roll scene plus its voice, Rolling Stone magazine were my prurient interests.

The first and most explosive MC5 recording was Kick Out The Jams. It is their signature recording. How rare is it that a début album is recorded live and sold to the public for their digestion? Virtually never.

The influence MC5 had on the punk rock music scene is clear throughout this live recording. If you listen closely to “Kick Out The Jams” you can hear  The Ramones sound. MC5 is the bedrock for many of the punk rock bands that followed.

MC5′s Kick Out The Jams introduced me to my favorite rock and roll music journalist, Lester Bangs. His review of Kick Out The Jams was his first published article for Rolling Stone magazine.

I recall the controversy that surrounded the MC5. I am not a fan of censorship and the use of the word, “motherfucker” posed the MC5 and Elektra Records issues through its sales channels. I purchased the “uncensored” Elektra vinyl recording of the MC5′s Kick Out The Jams and I played it real loud.

The MC5 was rooted in hard-core revolutionary politics. They represented the thrash for the White Panther Party led by John Sinclair, who was their manager. You may recall John Sinclair from the song “John Sinclair” by John Lennon, Yoko Ono and Elephants Memory on the album, Sometime in New York City.

It is important to note that one of the founding members of MC5 was lead guitarist Fred “Sonic” Smith. Rolling Stone magazine ranked Smith number ninety-three in its list of The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time.[5] The band Sonic Youth took its name from Smith’s nickname.

Fred “Sonic” Smith was married to Patti Smith. They were introduced to each other by Lenny Kaye. Patti Smith wrote a song about her husband, entitled “Frederick” which appears on her Wave album.

I especially like how full circle Fred “Sonic” Smith’s activist vision became as a result of writing “People Have The Power” which is an anthem for protest. Fred “Sonic” Smith passed away at 46 years of age in 1994 of a heart attack.

Patti Smith performs this song with conviction and purpose. It speaks to the triumph of the human spirit and their symbiotic, eternal relationship.

Related articles

• classic albums: MC5 – kick out the jams + babes in arms (punkdaddy.wordpress.com)
• Frederick (ladygarfunkel.wordpress.com)

Outside Society es un álbum recopilatorio de Patti Smith. Una colección de sus temas más emblemáticos que es el primer CD que recorre su carrera en Arista y Columbia a través de 18 canciones. Por orden cronológico, el disco comienza con Gloria y Free Money (de su álbum de debut Horses de 1975) y llega a 2007 con la versión de Smells Like Teen Spirit de Nirvana (de su disco Twelve). “Outside Society” también se publica en formato de 2-LP vinilo. Las canciones han sido remasterizadas por el ingeniero de sonido Greg Calbi y Tony Shanahan, músico de la banda de Patti Smith. El álbum contiene un libreto escrito por Patti con comentarios de las canciones, que han sido seleccionadas por la artista.
De Because The Night, Patti escribe: “Bruce Springsteen me dió un gran regalo al permitirme prestarle algunos versos míos para este himno tan bellamente construido. Mi contribución fue escrita para mi futuro marido, Fred “Sonic” Smith. Aunque la hemos cantado cientos de veces, la respuesta del público es tan fuerte que siempre parece la primera vez y por eso resulta tan emocionante”.
En las notas de Trampin’, la canción que cierra el álbum, Patti escribe: “Este tema único y espiritual, cantado originalmente por Marion Anderson, se grabó en directo en el estudio con mi hija Jesse. Es una canción para el viajero cansado, que busca una casa después de años de trabajo, de palabras y de vagar por el mundo”. VIA

01. Gloria
02. Free Money
03. Ain’t It Strange
04. Pissing In A River
05. Because The Night
06. Rock N Roll Nigger
07. Dancing Barefoot
08. Frederick
09. So You Want To Be A Rock N Roll Star
10. People Have The Power
11. Up There Down There
12. Beneath The Southern Cross
13. Summer Cannibals
14. 1959
15. Glitter In Their Eyes
16. Lo And Beholden (Radio Edit)
17. Smells Like Teen Spirit (Radio Edit)
18. Trampin’

43min/59mb, Mediafire

Tracklist (All by The Velvet Underground)

Satellite of Love (recorded during Loaded sessions, from “Peel Slowly and See” Box Set, Disc 5)
Beginning to See The Light (from “The Legendary Guitar Amp Tapes,” a live recording which was miked inside Lou Reed’s amp)
Guess I’m Fallin’ in Love (from “Live at the Gymnasium, NYC, 1967)
Radio Spot
It’s All Right (The Way that You Live) (demo, from “Peel Slowly and See” Disc 3)
Booker T. (live recording, an early jam from their live sets which served as a prototype for songs like Sister Ray. From “Peel Slowly and See” Disc 3)
We’re Gonna Have a Real Good Time Together (from “1969: The Velvet Underground Live Vol. 1″)
Follow the Leader (live recording from 1969, from “The Quine Tapes Disc 2″)

The Sonics – Psycho

Since we identified the first rock ‘n roll song a few days ago, now let’s check the first punk rock band. This is a RAW & NASTY production.

The Sonics have been called the first punk rock band and I’m not sure we should dispute this claim. Sure, The Velvet Underground, Stooges, and MC5 were more temperamentally simpatico with what became punk in the mid-’70s, but if you don’t think Gerry Roslie can trade punches with those mofos, you’re crazy. Keep in mind, this is 19-goddamn-65! Roslie’s scream is on par with Fogerty, Larry Parypa’s lead guitar is downright nasty, and how can you not love Bob Bennett’s drum fills? Do they even make punk rock bands like this anymore? If so, how about giving me a heads up?

via

Don’t forget to read “A Study in Rock ‘n’ Roll DNA” post from The Adios Lounge for more dirty rock ‘n roll sounds. 

The Sonics – Psycho

Since we identified the first rock ‘n roll song a few days ago, now let’s check the first punk rock band. This is a RAW & NASTY production.

The Sonics have been called the first punk rock band and I’m not sure we should dispute this claim. Sure, The Velvet Underground, Stooges, and MC5 were more temperamentally simpatico with what became punk in the mid-’70s, but if you don’t think Gerry Roslie can trade punches with those mofos, you’re crazy. Keep in mind, this is 19-goddamn-65! Roslie’s scream is on par with Fogerty, Larry Parypa’s lead guitar is downright nasty, and how can you not love Bob Bennett’s drum fills? Do they even make punk rock bands like this anymore? If so, how about giving me a heads up?

via

Don’t forget to read “A Study in Rock ‘n’ Roll DNA” post from The Adios Lounge for more dirty rock ‘n roll sounds. 

Robin Tyner (December 12, 1944 – September 18, 1991), (born Robert Derminer) American lead vocalist with MC5

Friction came on my iPod today while I was at lunch, eating a big plate of Chinese food (sometimes when you skip breakfast you have to have a super-big lunch in order to compensate–Chinese food always hits the spot for size and cheapness) and it occurred to me that this might be a good place to start my first blog post: at the beginning of one of my favorite musical genres.

While I wouldn’t call Television a protopunk band, it definitely existed within a similar time-frame as such protopunk notables as MC5 and The Stooges. Now, these other two bands were actually disbanding close to when Television was forming, and they’re credited with having some of the most immediate influence on the first punk rock bands (see Kick Out the Jams and Raw Power) because of their stripped-down sound, but Television shared this sentiment while retaining the fairly lengthy songs and jams that were distinctive of the late 60s sound. As a result, they don’t quite sound like a jam band, and they have the rough, untrained yet seemingly talented manner that so closely resembles the early pioneers of punk rock. Furthermore, you can hear some inklings of the Glam/Prog rock that was beginning to form in the late 60s and 70s (I included their song, Venus on my mix for our “Gods & Goddesses” party recently–nothing reeks of prog rock like songs about greek or roman mythology). Richard Hell (the lead singer and most notable personality of the group) would later go on to form Richard Hell & the Voidoids–a very important band in the initial punk rock movement with its song Blank Generation.

Give this band a chance, for sure. The album, Marquee Moon, is one of the most important to come out of the 70s and remains an incredible listen to this day.