VA - Motor City Is Burning A Michigan Anthology 1965-1972 [2025] (3 x CDs)

MOTOR CITY

VA - Motor City Is Burning A Michigan Anthology 1965-1972 [2025] (3 x CDs)

Not many states have a rock & roll reputation like Michigan. In the era when the Mitten State was the Automotive Capitol of the World, the pervasive industrial clamor and deeply ingrained work ethic that came with making Fords and Chevys had an influence that filtered down to young people who wanted to make cool noise. And while many of those teenagers had no desire to work in the factories where their fathers made a living, strong unions meant that Dad could afford to buy cheap guitars and/or drum kits to feed his offspring's dreams of rock stardom. High-energy hard rock bands like the Stooges, the MC5, and the Frost that dominated the Detroit rock scene of the late 1960s have codified Michigan Rock in the minds of many, yet Michigan had more than its share of hard-hitting acts before that. At the same time, the massive international success of Motown Records trickled down to plenty of maverick R&B and funk labels and artists. The British archival label Grapefruit Records has compiled a fascinating overview of the Golden Age of Michigan Rock with Motor City Is Burning: A Michigan Anthology 1965-1972, a three-disc set devoted to sounds from around the state, including but in no way limited to Detroit. As the liner notes acknowledge, licensing issues prevented a number of key Michigan acts from appearing in the collection (among them Bob Seger, Stevie Wonder, Ted Nugent, and Funkadelic), but David Wells, who compiled and annotated this set, used that as an opportunity to feature a number of lesser-known artists, and the unspoken theme of this anthology is that even the also-rans on the Michigan scene of the mid-'60s to the early '70s had plenty to offer. The track listings for the three discs are loosely thematic: the first is primarily devoted to garage rock, including hitmakers such as ? & the Mysterians and Mitch Ryder & the Detroit Wheels, as well as local legends like the Unrelated Segments, the Woolies, and the Rationals. Disc Two kicks off with tracks from the Stooges and the MC5, and focuses on the heavier sounds that were Michigan's response to psychedelia, making room for more obscure bands like Savage Grace, SRC, and Frijid Pink. Disc Three opens with the Temptations' epochal fusion of soul and psychedelic protest "Ball of Confusion," and contains a lively mix of R&B, funk, blues, and related phenomena running the gamut from R. Dean Taylor's melodramatic "Indiana Wants Me" to Freda Payne's anti-war anthem "Bring the Boys Home." The liner notes offer concise histories of all the acts and cohere into an entertaining picture of the time, place, and major players in the Michigan music scene. It's not quite definitive, but Motor City Is Burning has enough familiar classics and rarities to make it superior listening for Michigan obsessives and neophytes alike. (AMG review by Mark Deming)

==========================================================

ALL 

OR

ALL 

===========================================================

Track lists

CD1

01 (Question Mark) & The Mysterians - 96 Tears 2:59

02 Mitch Ryder & The Detroit Wheels - Jenny Take A Ride! 3:24

03 Terry Knight & The Pack - (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction 3:58

04 Pack - Next to Your Fire 2:44

05 Dick Wagner & The Frost - Mystery Man (Demo Version) 3:37

06 Spike Drivers - Baby Won't You Let Me Tell You How I Lost My Mind 2:29

07 Pedestrians - It's Too Late 2:00

08 Woolies - Who Do You Love 2:02

09 Underdogs - Mo Jo Hannah 2:52

10 Scot Richard Case - I'm So Glad 2:53

11 Rationals - I Need You 2:17

12 Shaggs - She Makes Me Happy 2:35

13 Unrelated Segments - Where You Gonna Go 2:49

14 Lykes of Us - Tell Me Why Your Light Shines 2:29

15 Tidal Waves - Action! (Speaks Louder Than Words) 3:03

16 Pagens - Mystic Cloud 2:20

17 Innsmen - Things Are Different Now 2:35

18 Unknown - Night Walkin' 3:33

19 King's Court - Don't Put Me On 2:45

20 House of Commons - Till Tomorrow 2:10

21 Solitary Confinement - A Winner Never Quits 2:36

22 Troyes - Help Me Find Myself 2:09

23 Hearsemen - Christianne 2:47

24 Dearborn City Limits - Come See About Me 3:00

25 Felix - Outside Woman Blues 2:08

26 Apostles - Stranded in The Jungle 3:15

27 Thyme - Somehow 2:53

28 Tommy James & The Shondells - I'm Alive 3:16

CD2

01 Stooges - Stooges -1969 4:07

02 MC5 - Teenage Lust 2:36

03 SRC - Up All Night 3:09

04 Brownsville Station - Road Runner 2:37

05 Savage Grace - All Along The Watchtower 5:45

06 Alice Cooper - Halo of Flies 8:20

07 Earthen Vessels - Life Everlasting 6:11

08 Grand Funk Railroad - Inside Looking Out 9:34

09 Head over Heels - Head over Heels -Right Away 3:07

10 Resolution - Pretty Girl Why 2:57

11 Sunshine - Dreams Selection 3:25

12 Kopperfield - Wake Up People 4:32

13 Bump - Spider's Eyes 5:28

14 Glass Sun - I Can See The Light 3:06

15 BoA - Brave New World 2:17

16 Frijid Pink - Frijid Pink -Pain in My Heart 8:22

17 Iggy - I Got A Right 3:41

CD3

01 Temptations - Ball of Confusion (That's What The World Is Today) 4:07

02 Parliament - I Call My Baby Pussycat 4:23

03 Politicians - Psycha-Soula-Funkadelic 3:49

04 Diana Ross & The Supremes - Reflections 2:52

05 Smokey Robinson & The Mircales - Flower Girl 3:49

06 Dennis Coffey & The Detroit Guitar Band - Scorpio 4:06

07 Rodriguez - Inner City Blues 3:27

08 John Lee Hooker - The Motor City is Burning 2:53

09 Ed Robinson - Hey Black Man (part one) 3:28

10 Chairmen of the Board - Hanging on to A Memory 4:13

11 Freda Payne - Bring The Boys Home 3:31

12 R. Dean Taylor - Indiana Wants Me 3:48

13 Marshall - Twenty Nine 3:11

14 Rare Earth - Sidewalk Café 2:59

15 Sunday Funnies - Walk Down The Path of Freedom (Single version) 3:01

16 Fork in the Road - Can't Turn Around Now 2:31

17 Glass House - Crumbs Off The Table 2:48

18 Flaming Ember - 1200 Miles 3:36

19 T. N. T. - Everyday Fun 2:53

20 Warlock - Thrills of Love 3:22

21 Ruth Copeland - Gimme Shelter 8:04

=============================================================

=============================================================

Music weaves itself into the fabric of our emotions, dances through the corridors of memory, and whispers to the soul of who we are. Sharing these stories deepens the connection, turning the experience into something timeless and profound.

=============================================================

=============================================================