A well-collected batch of tracks from the mighty MC5 – easily the second heaviest sound to come out of the 60s Detroit rock scene after The Stooges! The package offers up the classic uncensored version of "Kick Out The Jams" – the controversial cut whose story is almost more famous than the band itself – plus loads of other gems that include "I Can Only Give You Everything", "Looking At You (A Square single version)", "Ramblin Rose", "Come Together", "Rocket Reducer 62", "Teenage Lust", "Tonight", "High School", "Call Me Animal", The American Ruse", "Shakin Street", "The Human Being Lawnmower", "Miss X", "Sister Anne", "Skunk", and "Over & Over". CD

Forget The Stooges, forget Alice Cooper, forget the White Stripes, and maybe even forget Funkadelic – because this landmark album is one that really put the ferocity of the Detroit scene on the map – rising up the city's legacy of raw sounds next to their better-known soul and pop of the 60s – and forever putting MC5 on the great rock and roll map! The group had been honing their craft in the city for a few years before this set – and it was the genius of Elektra Records to capture them live at the city's Grande Ballroom, and not in the studio – which is part of the intensity of the record's charm, especially on the sometimes-edited bit of profanity. Titles include the seminal "Kick Out The Jams", plus "Come Together", "Rocket Reducer No 62", "Borderline", "Motor City Is Burning", "I Want You Right Now", and "Starship". CD

Motor City madness from the MC5 – a searing batch of work that still has the groups kicking out the jams whenever possible! Guitars are fuzzy, freaky, and full-on – played with plenty of force by Fred Smith and Wayne Cramer, and driven home with some heavy drums by Dennis Thompson – almost a blues into funk approach, via hard rock – and definitely standard-setting work for the time. The album's often overlooked in favor of their debut, but it's well worth seeking out – and features tracks that include "Future/Now", "Skunk (Sonicly Speaking)", "Poison", "Gotta Keep Movin", and "Sister Anne". CD

Mad funk from Dennis Coffey – and the follow-up to his landmark Evolution album! It's interesting to note that Coffey's group is listed as the "Detroit Guitar Band" – which kind of foregrounds their link between the city's two strongest music sides of the late 60s: the hard heavy rock of groups like The Stooges and MC5, and the still-strong soul industry, of which Coffey was a seminal part. But note also that Coffey's the only guy playing guitar on the record, thanks to the magic of overdubs! The album features a funky follow-up to Coffey's earlier hit, called "Son Of Scorpio", plus plenty of other funky guitar numbers like "Capricorn's Thing", "Lonely Moon Child", "Twins Of Gemini", and "The Sagitarian". CD

Fuzzy and funky soul from Detroit! This LP compiles the group's first incredible album – Osmium – plus some other singles from the time. Parliament at this point are much closer to earlier Funkadelic than on their later work – rocking hard with a very guitar-heavy groove, sounding a lot more tripped out than when they're riding the mothership, and forming a key link between the Motown soul tradition and that of Detroit noise rockers like MC5 or The Stooges. Cuts include "Funky Woman", "Little Old Country Boy", "My Automobile", "Red Hot Mama", "Come In Out Of The Rain", and "I Call My Baby Pussycat". Very trippy, very acidy, and very very wild! CD

Fuzzy and funky soul from Detroit! This CD compiles the group's first incredible album – Osmium – plus some other singles from the time. Parliament at this point are much closer to earlier Funkadelic than on their later work – rocking hard with a very guitar-heavy groove, sounding a lot more tripped out than when they're riding the mothership, and forming a key link between the Motown soul tradition and that of Detroit noise rockers like MC5 or The Stooges. Cuts include "Loose Booty", "Little Old Country Boy", "My Automobile", "Red Hot Mama", "Come In Out Of The Rain", and "I Call My Baby Pussycat". Very trippy, very acidy, and very very wild! CD

Get Ready, the first really major album from Rare Earth, is a perfect blend of the rich undercurrents of the heady Detroit scene of the late 60s – at one level a tripped-out rock record with styles that almost hint at MC5, at another level a batch of blue-eyed funky soul, with keen appreciation for the grooves coming out of the headier end of the Motor City indie spectrum! There's lots of tripped-out guitar work on the set – reminiscent of contemporary work by Dennis Coffey and George Clinton – mixed with a Mitch Ryder, R&B-inspired vocal style that actually comes across pretty darn well. Added to this is the group's flat-out ability to jam – showcased best in the side-long title cut "Get Ready" – a massive jammer which runs for nearly 22 minutes, and takes up all of side two! Other tracks include "Train To Nowhere", "Magic Key", "Tobacco Road", and "In Bed". Ecology is some blue-eyed soul from Detroit's Rare Earth. The most popular track from this record was "Born To Wander" but there are some other good ones like "(I Know) I'm Losing You" by the Temptations – Norman Whitfield produced the track for this album and it clocks in at over ten minutes long. Other titles include "Long Time Leavin", "Satisfaction Guaranteed", "Nice Place To Visit", "No 1. Man", and a version of "Eleanor Rigby". CD

One of the greatest rock albums to come out of Detroit in the 60s – even if these guys aren't as well known as The Stooges or MC5! There's a similar brilliance here, though – a heady brew of ripping guitars, burning Hammond, and massively pounding drums – all recorded with a slightly garagey edge and expansively searching quality that stretches things out without overindulging in too much jamming. There's also a really dark feel to the record too – one that has the same sense of danger and urgency as SRC's bigger contemporaries, yet never sounds forced. Titles include "Onesimpletask", "Daystar", "Exile", "Marionette", "Black Sheep", and "Refugeve". Includes "Morning Mood" and a bonus live version of "Black Sheep". CD

The fourth fantastic chapter in this wonderful trip through the 60s – headed up by author Jon Savage, as a great soundtrack to his documents of the time! If you know Savage at all, you'll know to expect something different and fresh – an unusual take on the period, and one that goes way past the chart hits and overplayed oldies – to instead uncover currents of cultural activity at a much deeper level! And sure, there's a number of familiar songs here – but they're mixed with lesser-known gems, and presented in this great double-length package that features 48 tracks in all – all with notes from Savage himself. Titles include "Talkin About The Good Times" by Pretty Things, "Eastern Organ" by Brother Dan All Stars, "Hard To Handle" by Otis Redding, "Freedom Train" by James Carr, "Say It Loud (part 1)" by James Brown, "Omnibus" by The Move, "Sunshine Help Me" by Spooky Tooth, "Everydays" by Buffalo Springfield", "How Does It Feel To Feel" by The Creation, "Dear Delilah" by Grapefruit, "Machines" by Lothar & The Hand People, "Tomorrow Street Puzzle" by Fairport Convention, "I Got A Line On You" by Spirit, "Kick Out The Jams (preview pressing)" by MC5, "World In A Jug" by Canned Heat, "Classical Gas" by Mason Williams, "Honey Chile" by Martha Reeves & The Vandellas, "Danse A La Musique" by The French Fries, "Israelites" by Desmond Dekker, and "Why Does It Feel So Right" by The Shades Of Jade. CD

Writer Jon Savage has given us some great dips into key years of the 60s – thanks to a wonderful series on Ace Records, which offered up a special mix of styles on every disc – but this time around, he focuses on a few years at the start of the 70s – and serves up an all-rock collection with a really heavy sound! Savage is never one to point out the ordinary – and the set does a really great job of exposing all these special shifts in the music at the time – sounds that never would have emerged just a few years before, and which have gone from having more open ties to their influences, to special territory that really shows both UK and American scenes making some great inventions of their own. As before, the notes are superb – and titles include "Broad Daylight" by Free, "Peace Loving Man" by Blossom Toes, "The War Machine" by Leviathan, "Magic Potion" by The Open Mind, "Rock & Roll Queen" by Mott The Hoople, "Devil Came From Kansas" by Procol Harum, "King Kong" by The Kinks, "Bad Night At The Whiskey" by The Byrds, "Comin Home" by Delaney & Bonnie, "Flying" by Faces, "Funk #48" by James Gang, "1969" by The Stooges, "Lie To Me" by Kaleidoscope, "Walk On Gilded Splinters" by Marsha Hunt, "Plynth" by Jeff Beck Group, "American Ruse" by MC5, "Sweet Jane" by Velvet Underground, "Rock & Roll" by Detroit, "Travelin In The Dark" by Mountain, "Yesterday's Numbers" by Flamin Groovies, and "Natural Magic" by Jack Nitzsche. CD

Mad funk from Dennis Coffey – and the follow-up to his landmark Evolution album! It's interesting to note that Coffey's group is listed as the "Detroit Guitar Band" – which kind of foregrounds their link between the city's two strongest music sides of the late 60s: the hard heavy rock of groups like The Stooges and MC5, and the still-strong soul industry, of which Coffey was a seminal part. But note also that Coffey's the only guy playing guitar on the record, thanks to the magic of overdubs! The album features a funky follow-up to Coffey's earlier hit, called "Son Of Scorpio", plus plenty of other funky guitar numbers like "Capricorn's Thing", "Lonely Moon Child", "Twins Of Gemini", and "The Sagitarian". CD

A great look at the Michigan scene before things broke big on labels like Elektra and Columbia – rare early recordings from the A Square label – some of them never issued at the time, and together a perfect portrait of that amazing new sound that was coming from Detroit, Ann Arbor, and Beyond! There's definitely a few points here that really resonate with the Elektra releases of 1968 and 1969 – and there's some other material that's a bit more gritty and garagey, but which works well with the rest. Titles include an early pre-Stooges track with Iggy Pop – "I'm A Man" by The Prime Movers – plus early MC5 material, on "Looking At You" and "Border Line" – plus "I'm So Glad" and "Get The Picture" by The Scot Richard Case, "Somehow" and "Time Of The Season" by Thyme, "Stranded In The Jungle" and "Tired Of Waiting For You" by The Apostles, "Get Down" by Half Life, "Mystery Man" by Dick Wagner & The Frost, and "Just Like An Aborigine" by The Up. CD

The fourth fantastic chapter in this wonderful trip through the 60s – headed up by author Jon Savage, as a great soundtrack to his documents of the time! If you know Savage at all, you'll know to expect something different and fresh – an unusual take on the period, and one that goes way past the chart hits and overplayed oldies – to instead uncover currents of cultural activity at a much deeper level! And sure, there's a number of familiar songs here – but they're mixed with lesser-known gems, and presented in this great double-length package that features 48 tracks in all – all with notes from Savage himself. Titles include "Talkin About The Good Times" by Pretty Things, "Eastern Organ" by Brother Dan All Stars, "Hard To Handle" by Otis Redding, "Freedom Train" by James Carr, "Say It Loud (part 1)" by James Brown, "Omnibus" by The Move, "Sunshine Help Me" by Spooky Tooth, "Everydays" by Buffalo Springfield", "How Does It Feel To Feel" by The Creation, "Dear Delilah" by Grapefruit, "Machines" by Lothar & The Hand People, "Tomorrow Street Puzzle" by Fairport Convention, "I Got A Line On You" by Spirit, "Kick Out The Jams (preview pressing)" by MC5, "World In A Jug" by Canned Heat, "Classical Gas" by Mason Williams, "Honey Chile" by Martha Reeves & The Vandellas, "Danse A La Musique" by The French Fries, "Israelites" by Desmond Dekker, and "Why Does It Feel So Right" by The Shades Of Jade. CD

Includes tracks by Ray Charles, The Clovers, Percy Sledge, Solomon Burke, The Rascals, MC5, Buddy Guy & Junior Wells, Clarence Carter, Aretha Franklin, and Average White Band – 21 tracks in all. CD