Heavy Lifting

Last updated

Heavy Lifting
HeavyLiftingMC5.jpeg
Studio album by
MC5
ReleasedOctober 18, 2024
Genre Hard rock
Length45:19
Label earMUSIC
Producer Bob Ezrin
MC5 chronology
Total Assault
(2018)		Heavy Lifting
(2024)
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic 71/100 [1]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [2]
And It Don't Stop A– [3]
The Arts Desk Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [4]
Classic Rock Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [5]
Mojo Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [6]
The Observer Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [7]
Record Collector Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [8]
Tom Hull – on the Web B+ ( Five Pointed Star Solid.svg Five Pointed Star Solid.svg ) [9]
Uncut 7/10 [10]

Heavy Lifting is the third and final studio album by the American rock band MC5, released on October 18, 2024. [11] It is the band's first studio release since 1971's High Time . [12]

Contents

Background

In March 2022, guitarist Wayne Kramer announced that a new MC5 album would be released later in the year, along with a U.S. tour under the name We Are All MC5. [13] He later confirmed that the album would be released in Spring 2024. [14] Kramer died in February 2024 from pancreatic cancer, as the album was nearing completion. [15] The album features several guest musicians, including MC5 drummer Dennis Thompson, Slash, Tom Morello, William Duvall, and Vernon Reid. [16] [17] [18]

Track listing

All lyrics are written by Wayne Kramer and Brad Brooks; except for "The Edge of the Switchblade", written by Wayne Kramer; "Twenty-Five Miles", written by Johnny Bristol, Harvey Fuqua, and Edwin Starr; and "Blind Eye", written by Wayne Kramer, Brad Brooks, Bob Ezrin, and Jill Sobule. [19]

Heavy Lifting track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Heavy Lifting (feat. Tom Morello)"3:20
2."Barbarians at the Gate"4:18
3."Change, No Change"4:03
4."The Edge of the Switchblade (feat. William DuVall & Slash)"4:16
5."Black Boots (feat. Tim McIlrath)"2:53
6."I Am the Fun (The Phoney)"3:35
7."Twenty-Five Miles"3:53
8."Because of Your Car"3:02
9."Boys Who Play with Matches"3:10
10."Blind Eye (feat. Dennis Thompson)"3:16
11."Can’t Be Found (feat. Vernon Reid & Dennis Thompson)"3:48
12."Blessed Release"3:03
13."Hit It Hard (feat. Joe Berry)"2:42

Personnel

MC5

Additional contributors

References

  1. ↑ "Reviews for Heavy Lifting by MC5". Metacritic . Retrieved October 29, 2025.
  2. ↑ Deming, Mark (October 18, 2024). "Heavy Lifting - MC5". AllMusic . Retrieved October 29, 2025.
  3. ↑ Christgau, Robert (November 13, 2024). "Consumer Guide: November, 2024". Robert Christgau . Retrieved October 29, 2025.
  4. ↑ Oddy, Guy (October 14, 2024). "Album: MC5 - Heavy Lifting". The Arts Desk . Retrieved October 29, 2025.
  5. ↑ Sharp, Johnny (October 18, 2024). ""These performances retain the essential raging-rebel attitude that fired the Detroit firebrands' original incarnation": The MC5's final album Heavy Lifting is a vibrant joint epitaph". Classic Rock . Retrieved October 29, 2025.
  6. ↑ Perry, Andrew (October 18, 2024). "MC5 Heavy Lifting Review: Spirited valedictory offering from the late Wayne Kramer". Mojo . Retrieved October 29, 2025.
  7. ↑ Mongredien, Phil (October 11, 2024). "MC5: Heavy Lifting review – an enjoyable coda for Detroit's punk pioneers". The Observer . Retrieved October 29, 2025.
  8. ↑ The musical departures are oddly interesting. .... Compellingly underpinned by Thompson's precision thunder, Blind Eye and Can't Be Found are easily the most power-packed cuts. If only he could have elevated the whole album. [Nov 2024, p.100]
  9. ↑ Hull, Tom. "Grade List: MC5". Tom Hull – on the Web . Retrieved October 29, 2025.
  10. ↑ Loaded with guests, from Slash to Tom Morello, it’s no-frills hard rock which, while occasionally a little dated and clichéd, still has plenty of fizz to it. [Nov 2024, p.40]
  11. ↑ Deming, Mark. "Heavy Lifting – MC5". AllMusic . Retrieved October 30, 2024.
  12. ↑ Gallucci, Michael. "MC5, 'Heavy Lifting': Album Review". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved October 31, 2024.
  13. ↑ Minsker, Evan. "MC5 Announce First New Album in 51 Years and U.S. Tour". Pitchfork . Retrieved November 6, 2024.
  14. ↑ Brannigan, Paul. ""The record is a guitar extravaganza": Heavy Liting, the first MC5 album since 1971, will feature Slash, Tom Morello, Alice In Chains' William DuVall, Vernon Reid, and more". Louder Sound. Retrieved January 18, 2025.
  15. ↑ Howie, Guy. "Is the new MC5 album still happening?". Far Out. Retrieved January 18, 2025.
  16. ↑ Perry, Andrew. "MC5 Heavy Lifting Review: Spirited valedictory offering from the late Wayne Kramer". Mojo . Retrieved October 31, 2024.
  17. ↑ "Album Review: MC5 – Heavy Lifting". New Noise Magazine . Retrieved November 2, 2024.
  18. ↑ "REVIEW: MC5 – HEAVY LIFTING". Devils Gate Music. Retrieved November 3, 2024.
  19. ↑ Wray, Daniel. "'They were the real essence of rock 'n' roll': How revolutionary band MC5 soundtracked US counterculture". BBC . Retrieved November 6, 2024.
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