Thunder Express...Show # 303

In March 1972, The MC5 recorded a live in studio session, it was also broadcast on TV. They recorded six songs at Herouville Castle in France, one of them being a new song and another being a cover of a Rolling Stones song ("Empty Heart"). The songs are available on a bootleg titled Thunder Express, but a remastered version of the song "Thunder Express" can be found on a greatest hits CD released by Rhino Records in 2000 titled Big Bang: The Best of The MC5. The song "Thunder Express" is itself one of the last original MC5 songs before their split. The song uses a standard blues pattern, but comes off with an original Rock and Roll intensity that matches songs such as "Sister Anne". The sessions feature English bassist Steve Moorhouse and was one of the last recording sessions the band did. This song along with three more songs that were recorded for the Gold soundtrack serve as the last original compositions by the band. The MC5 split in 1972/1973 following a live New Year's Eve show at the Grande Ballroom in Detroit.

More information about MC5 can be found in the following posts:

A True Testimonial: The Story of The MC5
MC5 Cover Artist Article

This Week's Play List:

1. 101ers - Surf City
2. 4/4 - Systematic
3. The Blitzz - So Free
4. The Fans - You Don't Live Here Anymore
5. The Victims - I Understand
6. The Perks - McPig
7. Silent Mercenaries - I Wanna Be An Accountant
8. Venus Envy - Hole in My Heart
9. Spiral Scratch - Nightcrawler
10. Dream Dates - Mess You're In
11. Regulators - What's in the City
12. Hot Hot Heat - Zero Results
13. Gemma Ray - Looking the World Over
14. Teenage Fanclub - The Fall
15. Dr.Dog - The Unicorn
16. The Saints - A Minor Aversion
17. Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros - At The Border, Guy
18. Albert Hammond Jr. - In Transit
19. Burnt Ones - Alright (Sha-La-La)
20. Simply Saucer - Dance the Mutation
21. Buzzcocks - I've Had Enough
22. MC5 - Thunder Express

To download this weeks program, visit CJAM's schedule page for Revolution Rock and download the file for June 8th. Or subscribe to Revolution Rock as a Podcast.