Although nobody realised it at the time, the historic importance of the MC5 is vast. Often considered a 'post-punk' band, their influence reaches far and wide, with everyone from Green Day, The White Stripes, Motorhead, Ramones, Rage Against The Machine and Bad Brains citing them. Fuelled by the radical politics of the White Panther party, the MC5 preached revolution and were often a target for the authorities. Having released three albums between 1969 and 1971, two of the band passed away and guitarist Wayne Kramer spent time behind bars for drug-related offences. Thirty years of low-key solo projects followed, before the band reunited in the new Millennium for a one-off show that turned into a full-on reunion. It details not only the seismic impact that they've had on music, but also the social climate in which they evolved.

If the MC5 were Detroit's political spokesmen for the disenchanted youth of the 1960s, then the Stooges were the loutish kids, heckling from the back of the room. While conventional wisdom says they could barely play their instruments, the Stooges left an indelible mark on the world of punk rock, and the band's initial three albums--The Stooges, Fun House and Raw Power--are bona fide classics. In The Stooges: Head On author Brett Callwood treats the band's story not just as an early chapter in the career of its famous front man, Iggy Pop, but from the Stooges' beginnings at the end of the 1960s, to its end in the early 1970s, and to its reunion in 2003 through the present. In compiling this exhaustive account of the band's history, Callwood interviewed all of the central and sometimes Stooges members, including Iggy Pop, Ron and Scott Asheton, James Williamson, Mike Watt, Steve Mackay, and Scott Thurston, and largely lets the band tell its own story in numerous long quotes. Callwood details the band's genesis as teenage friends in Ann Arbor, their time living together in their legendary party houses in the 1960s, and the recording of the three original Stooges albums. He examines the addition of James Williamson to the band on Raw Power and how it changed the band's sound and dynamic, along with the band's fateful meeting with David Bowie on its first British tour. As Iggy broke out as a solo artist during the 1970s and 1980s, Callwood charts the Asheton brothers' post-Stooges experiences, with Ron's turns in The New Order, Destroy All Monsters, and Dark Carnival, and Scott Asheton's time with the Farleys and Sonic's Rendezvous Band. He also provides an overview of Iggy's solo career, the seeds of a reunion that were planted with a collaboration on Iggy's Skull Ring album, and the eventual reformation of the band and the recording of their fourth album, The Weirdness, in 2004. Originally published in the U.K. in 2007, The Stooges: Head On has been revised to expand on the original story and also to consider Ron Asheton's untimely death in 2009 and his musical legacy, the band's fate without Ron, and the Stooges' long-overdue introduction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2010. Fans of the Stooges and those interested in the roots of punk music will enjoy this intimate and informative volume.

Along with the Stooges, the Velvet Underground, and the New York Dolls, the MC5 are recognized in music circles as one of the bands that paved the way for punk rock. While the group did not reach the heights of national celebrity or financial success during their seven years together, their musical legacy has never been more celebrated--with recently reissued recordings and documentary footage, as well as an unlikely reunion tour. In MC5: Sonically Speaking, author Brett Callwood delves into the MC5's story from the band's beginnings in 1960s Detroit to its 1972 break-up, the post-MC5 fates of its members, and the eventual reunion that cemented its legacy. Callwood interviews the band's surviving members and close associates to create a compelling firsthand picture of the MC5's history and its music. He introduces readers to the band's original members, Rob Tyner, Wayne Kramer, Fred "Sonic" Smith, Michael Davis, and Dennis Thompson, and links the power of the MC5 phenomenon to its early days as the raucous house band of Detroit's legendary Grande Ballroom. Callwood also traces the MC5's revolutionary political bent through their relationship with friend--and later, manager--John Sinclair, their firsthand experience of the 1967 Detroit riots, and the formation of Sinclair's White Panther Party. Callwood surveys the three classic albums that came out of the band's blend of political protest and hard driving rock 'n' roll, and he details the later projects of the ex-MC5 members, including Sonic's Rendezvous Band, the influential art-punk band Destroy All Monsters, and Wayne Kramer's solo recordings. He also recounts their personal struggles with drugs, incarceration, and estrangement from one another, as well as the untimely deaths of Smith and Tyner in the 1990s. With the remaining members of the MC5 still making music and coming off a hugely successful string of performances as the DKT/MC5 in the last decade, Callwood proves that the band's story and their music are as intriguing and relevant as ever. Anyone interested in musical history, Detroit rock 'n' roll, or American popular culture of the 1960s and beyond will appreciate this candid and fascinating look at the MC5, which was originally published in the UK and is available for the first time in the US in this updated version.