Kick Out The Jams makes a divine noise, a frontal assault that takes no prisoners. From Brother J.C. Crawford's opening exhortation to the Five's falsetto launch into Ted Taylor's "Rambling Rose," a deep you-are-there reading of John Lee Hooker's "Motor City Is Burning," group sing-a-longs like "Rama Lama Fa Fa Fa" and "Borderline" (originally the b-side of their debut single) and their light-year's improvisation on a Sun Ra lyric, "Starship," the pulsating high-energy level is relentless. What wasn't released at the time was the group's epic freak-out number "Black To Comm." You would have to go see the real thing for that.

The album was scissored by unfounded accusations of hype, and expected resistance from radio and retailers. The Five fought back, never hesitating to put themselves on the line, or their heads on the chopping block, resulting in a legendary appearance in Grant Park during the 1968 Chicago Democratic Convention. They attempted to clarify Kick Out The Jams's barrage of sound with their second, more traditional studio album, and then, with High Time in 1971, they seemed to combine both of these approaches. By then, the group was worn down by its continual struggles, and with Sinclair in… read more »