Music / Kick Out the Jams

Put that mike in my hand and let me kick out the jam! Yes! KICK OUT THE JAMS!

Kick Out the Jams is the debut live album by the MC5, released in 1969 through Elektra Records.

Unusual for a band's first record it's a Live Album, recorded at the Grande in Detroit. In a case of First Installment Wins Kick Out the Jams is widely seen as one of the greatest live albums of all time. The powerful delivery of the music, along with the equally energetic political messages perfectly fit the time spirit of the late 1960's. At the time Kick Out the Jams didn't get good reviews, but it quickly became a Cult Classic and nowadays it's Vindicated by History as one of the essential albums in rock history.

Through Memetic Mutation and Pop-Cultural Osmosis the album title has become more well known than the rest of the record.

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Tracklist:

Side One

1. "Ramblin' Rose" (4:15)
2. "Kick Out the Jams" (2:52)
3. "Come Together" (4:29)
4. "Rocket Reducer No. 62 (Rama Lama Fa Fa Fa)" (5:41)

Side Two

5. "Borderline" (2:45)
6. "Motor City Is Burning" (6:04)
7. "I Want You Right Now" (5:31)
8. "Starship" (8:15)

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Principal Members:

• Michael Davis - bass, vocals
• Wayne Kramer - guitar, backing and lead vocals
• Fred "Sonic" Smith - guitar, vocals
• Dennis Thompson - drums
• Rob Tyner - lead vocals

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KICK OUT THE TROPES, MOTHERFUCKERS!

• Alliterative Title: "Ramblin' Rose" and "Rocket Reducer".
• Artistic License – Space: "Starship" brings everybody to a better planet where "the sun shines eternally."
• Author Filibuster: "Kick Out the Jams" (MOTHERFUCKERS) opens with a long speech by the band's "spiritual advisor" Brother J.C. Crawford before they kick into the first song.
• Be Yourself: "Kick Out the Jams"
  Let me be who I am
  And let me kick out the jams
• Call to Adventure: The epic introduction of the album, where the audience is whipped into frenzy.
  Brothers and sisters, I wanna see a sea of hands out there. I want everybody to kick up some noise. I wanna hear some revolution... Brothers and sisters, the time has come for each and every one of you to decide whether you are going to be the problem or whether you are going to be the solution! You must choose, brothers, you must choose. It takes five seconds - five seconds of decision, five seconds to realize your purpose here on the planet. It takes five seconds to realize that it's time to move, it's time to get down with it! Brothers, it's time to testify. And I want to know - are you ready to testify? ARE YOU READY?!? I give you a testimonial. THE MC5!
• Dancing Is Serious Business: "Come Together"
  Let us dance the dance
  The dance from which all the dances come
  Yes, together in the darkness
• Design Student's Orgasm: The collage album cover by Joel Brodsky.
• Desperately Looking for a Purpose in Life:
  It takes five seconds - five seconds of decision, five seconds to realize your purpose here on the planet. It takes five seconds to realize that it's time to move, it's time to get down with it! Brothers, it's time to testify. And I want to know - are you ready to testify? ARE YOU READY?!? I give you a testimonial. THE MC5!
• Did the Earth Move for You, Too?: "Come Together"
  We hope you all did come together.
• Epic Rocking: The 6:04 "Motor City Is Burning" and the 8:15 "Starship".
• Face on the Cover: The band members are seen in a collage of images, but not very recognizably.
• Heavy Meta: "Kick Out the Jams"
  The wailin' guitars, girl
  The crash of the drums
  Make you want to keep-a-rockin' till the morning comes
• "I Am Great!" Song: "Rocket Reducer No. 62 (Rama Lama Fa Fa Fa)"
  I'm a born hell raiser and I don't give a damn
  I'm the man for you, baby
• Image Song: "Kick Out the Jams" (MOTHERFUCKERS)
• Intercourse with You: "Come Together"
  Nipples stiffen, nipples stiffen
  Nipples stiffen, mama
  Let me give tongue to it, yes
• "I Want" Song, Limited Lyrics Song and Obsession Song: "I Want You Right Now", which is basically almost the only line all throughout the song.
• Live Album: This is one of the most powerful rock albums ever recorded live. Their concert in Grande Ballroom on Devil's Night and Halloween 1968 captures the atmosphere of those occasions because the band's label, Elektra Records, didn't clean up the chaotic performance that much.
• Longest Song Goes Last: The album closes with the 8:15 "Starship", the only song to crack seven minutes.
• My Country Tis of Thee That I Sting: "Motor City Is Burning"
  The motor city is burning people
  There ain't a thing that white society can do
  My home burning down to the ground
  Worse than Vietnam
• Ode to Intoxication: "Rocket Reducer No. 62 (Rama Lama Fa Fa Fa)"
  After some good tokes and a six pack
  We sock 'em out for you till you're flat on your back
• One-Word Title: "Borderline" and "Starship".
• Police Brutality: "Motor City Is Burning" describes policemen as "pigs".
• Precision F-Strike: One of the most infamous examples in music:
  "Right now, right now, right now, it's time to... [Beat] ...KICK OUT THE JAMS, MOTHERFUCKERS!!!"
• Product Placement: "Ramblin' Rose"
  Diamond rings and a Cadillac car
• Protest Song: The entire album is a rally for revolution.
• The Revolution Will Not Be Civilized: "Motor City Is Burning"
  Fireman's on the street, people all around
  Now, I guess it's true
  I'd just like to strike a match for freedom myself
  I may be a white boy, but I can be bad, too
  Yes, it's true now, yes, it's true now, Yes
  Let it all burn, let it all burn, let it all burn
• Shout-Out:
  • The album cover can be seen in the music video "Don't Want to Know If You Are Lonely" by Hüsker Dü.
  • Scott Pilgrim: In a bonus page of volume 4 Comeau shouts "It's time to kick out the Jams, motherfuckers!"
  • The title track has been covered by Blue Öyster Cult on their 1978 live album "Some Enchanted Evening", The Presidents of the United States of America on their 1995 debut album, Rage Against the Machine on their album "Renegades" and artists as varied as Bad Brains, Afrika Bambaataa, Monster Magnet, Jeff Buckley, Silverchair and The KLF.
  • The lyrics of "Starship" were partially borrowed from Sun Ra. The song has also been covered by Spacemen 3.
• Singer Name Drop: "Rocket Reducer No. 62 (Rama Lama Fa Fa Fa)
  Robin Tyner's the name and I kick out the jams
• Step Up to the Microphone: Wayne Kramer sings lead vocals on "Ramblin' Rose".
• Surprisingly Gentle Song: You know, for a Rated M for Manly balls-out furious proto-punk band, they've got the way-out spacey "Starship".
• Time Marches On: This is very much an album typical of the end of the sixties, when revolution was in the air. "Motor City Is Burning" references The Vietnam War and the Black Panthers.
• Title Track: "Kick Out the Jams".
• Three Chords and the Truth: This album is a cornerstone in both Garage Rock and Proto Punk.
• 12-Bar Blues: "Ramblin' Rose" uses this.

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