American Ruse

AMG Review of American Ruse

Cub Koda
All Music Guide

The MC5's second album, Back In The U.S.A., has always been the bone of contention between their legion of fans. Old time hardliners who heard the band live in their late 60s heyday revile it as the band being stripped of its raw power to make them more commercial, while others champion it as one of the best straight ahead rock'n'roll albums of that period. This collection of rehearsal takes for that album gives a far different picture of what that album might have been, at least from a production standpoint. Six of the 14 tracks here are alternate take band tracks with the band positively ripping on every one, especially in the twin guitar work between Wayne Kramer and Fred Smith. The final two tracks ("I Believe To My Soul" and their set closer, "Black To Comm") are live performances from 1968, arguably the band's peak, but these are no match sound wise for the studio sides. A wonderful collection for the completist and hard core fan.