Anthropology

Sonic's Rendezvous Band are the great "should have been" of the mid 70s. The were the best band in America at a time when their former neighbors and tourmates like Grand Funk, Alice Cooper and Ted Nugent were all either burnt out or sinking into sad self parody (Well, the Nuge at least was still rocking it despite the silliness of the loincloth). Led by the MC5's mighty lead guitarist Fred "Sonic" Smith, the band was a haven for veterans of Detroit's burnt out rock scene of a few years earlier. With an unstoppable secret weapon in the form of the Stooges' "Rock Action" Scott Asheton holding down the kit and members of Michigan also-rans the Up and the Rationals rounding out the lineup, SRB pounded out a furious uptempo brand of rock n' roll that was equal parts motor city traditionalism and boundless proto-punk energy. Their whiplash raveups served as a launching pad for Smith's serrated guitar histrionics, and damned if the man didn't take every opportunity to remind a dwindling rock audience of the sheer power and excitement of the electric guitar.

Unfortunately, thanks to a series of bad breaks that left them with a virtually invisible historical profile and a scant recorded legacy, the band met an ignominious end some time in the early '80s amid drug abuse and critical as well as popular indifference. Their only commercial release during their lifetime was the astonishing "City Slang" single, which was pressed with the same song on both sides because the band only had enough cash to mix one track. But what a legacy! This song is an absolute barn-burner. The unstoppable momentum of the track comes courtesy of the aforementioned mister Asheton, who it must be said knew a thing or two about making a rock song move. Meanwhile, Smith goes head over ass soloing throughout the whole thing. The breakdown in the middle is so perfectly placed that it would simply be a crime against sound not to milk it for all it's worth and take off on an incendiary jam section in the song's second half. In concert they were known to push it to upwards of nine minutes in length, pretty incredible for the energy level sustained throughout. Tragically, the few bits of recorded music that do exist have been tied up in legal battles between various partners, including the now-deceased Smith's estate and they never legitimately saw the light of day.

Fortunately for us, this is the 21st Century, and you can download an extensive collection of bootlegs and studio outtakes recorded between 1975 and 1980 that has mysteriously made its way onto the cyberweb. I believe it was an unlicensed boxed set compiled by who knows in 2006, but the details are sketchy, and good luck ever finding it in an HMV. So really we are left with one option, those of us who require a mainline of the most potent Detroit rock n' roll. If you always thought the MC5's Kick Out The Jams was the only proper way of hearing the 'Five and that their studio albums were pale attempts at FM gold by burnt-out radicals high on the politics of the day, you'll be pleasantly surprised to know that the collection of SRB recordings available to you far surpasses Smith's more heralded band in quality and quantity. Imagine if you will about a dozen sides that not only kick out the jams, but permanently revoke their membership, roughly heave them out the door, and beat them up in the alley with a sock full of pennies. Go and download it all now. Don't worry, I'll wait.

Now I don't condone theft of people's intellectual property or copyright infringement. But, I do condone incredible rock n' roll. Come on guys, get your shit together. Clean up the masters, press 'em to vinyl and slap a price tag on it.

It makes me wonder just how many other great, unrecorded bands there could be out there. Food for thought. How many songs have been recorded for record companies who, for one reason or another, left their young charges twisting in the wind. How many face-melting live performances never went recorded? How many bands never even saw the inside of a studio? Record companies -- Open the vaults please! Come on, you're not going to use this shit. Stick it on the web and make it free. Ha ha, I know, I know. But seriously, get the SRB stuff out there at least. Us junkies will happily part with our hard-earned dollars.