Heavy Lifting

2024年2月2日に逝去した創設メンバーのウェイン・クレイマーが2022年頃から計画し制作が進められていたスタジオ・アルバムがクレイマーの遺志を継いで完成。71年のラスト・アルバムから53年ぶりとなる本作にはスラッシュ、トム・モレロ、ウィリアム・デュヴァル(アリス・イン・チェインズ)、ヴァーノン・リード(リヴィング・カラー)、ティム・マキラス(ライズ・アゲインスト)などといった豪華ゲスト・ミュージシャンが参加。ズシズシと響き渡るヘヴィなサウンドでありながら砂埃巻き上げ猛スピートで疾走していくようなMC5サウンドが炸裂。本作は1枚組ヴァイナル。

In the interest of truth in packaging, it needs to be said that 2024s Heavy Lifting is not an MC5 album. It may say MC5 on the cover, but this is really the work of Wayne Kramer, who was a vitally important part of that great band as guitarist and songwriter. That said, he was by no means the MC5 in and of itself. By the time he began work on this album, the only members of the group who were still living were Kramer and drummer Dennis Thompson, and though Thompson plays drums on two tracks, his contribution isnt strong enough to challenge the fact Kramer was calling the shots on this project from start to finish. There is a curious poignancy to all this, since both Kramer and Thompson died in 2024, months before Heavy Lifting could see release (and before the MC5s long overdue induction into the Rock & Roll of Fame), turning the album into a celebration of ghosts instead of a true revival. Heavy Lifting doesnt sound like the MC5, either; the bombastic hard rock production from Bob Ezrin lacks the singular fire of the bands greatest moments, while Kramers songs have a feel and spirit very different than what the 5 created on 1969s Kick Out the Jams, 1970s Back in the USA, or 1971s High Time. Not surprisingly, Heavy Lifting is much more of a piece with the three fine albums Kramer cut for Epitaph Records in the 1990s (1995s The Hard Stuff, 1996s Dangerous Madness, and 1997s Citizen Wayne), reflecting the eclecticism and deep-focus songwriting he showed on those LPs, as well his fearless exploration of his own life experiences, both good and bad. Heavy Lifting feels a bit different from those albums, aiming for a lot more swagger, a more professional production, and a finish that sounds radio ready, though its crafted with the 1980s and 90s in mind, rather than what would get played in 2024. (The presence of guest guitarists Slash, Tom Morello, and Vernon Reid would have carried more weight then than now, regardless of the strength of their contributions.) Though Heavy Lifting isnt quite up to the level of Kramers 1990s work, it comes close enough that it would have reaffirmed his status as a veteran guitar hero and proto-punk sage, full of hard-won wisdom, good tunes, and an admirable reserve of piss and vinegar. As an MC5 album, it is instead a curious footnote to the career of a great band that appeared at a time when there was no one left to take a bow. It deserves to be remembered instead as the final work of one figure in 1960s rock who never burned out or became quaint, and came roaring back for an impassioned and powerful final act. ~ Mark Deming

2024年2月に逝去したウェイン・クレイマーが数年がかりで進めていたという、実に53年ぶり(!)のアルバム。ドン・ウォズが全編でベースを弾くほか、スラッシュやトム・モレロらが要所で客演し、5月に亡くなった初期ドラマーのデニス・トンプソンも2曲で演奏。猛々しい疾走感が漲るなか、エドウィン・スター"Twenty-Five Miles"のカヴァーがモーターシティの熱い血脈を伝える。
bounce (C)出嶌孝次