The Future Is Now! : An Illustrated History of the MC5

Rating:
Summary: Good At Times, But Ultimately Disappointing
Review: "The Future Is Now" is a frustrating read. There is some well researched information about the dawning of The MC5, and well detailed material on The MC5's association with John Sinclair and The White Panther movement.

The roadblock in this work hits hard though. It is an extremely condensed history (under 100 pages, and many of those are filled completely with photos), and would have worked better as a magazine article. Sinclair and The MC5's troubles with The FBI and Michigan Police make for a compelling story, but there is so much more to this one-of-a-kind rock phenomenon than their White Panther Party affiliation.

Most unforgivable is the final chapter, which is devoted almost exclusively to the demise of The White Panther Party. The MC5's troubles and eventual break up are mentioned almost as an afterthought. There is no word on any of the members activities after the group disbanded; Fred "Sonic" Smith, Rob Tyner, Dennis Thompson, Michael Davis and Wayne Kramer went forward with their lives, most remaining involved with the music industry in some form. There are some good stories buried here, and one has got to wonder why the surviving Motor City 5 members were not contacted by the authors. I can only think they are accessible; I heard Wayne Kramer interviewed by National Public Radio's Terry Gross several years back, and that piece alone revealed more than in the pages of this book.

Yes, the MC5 was a group that lasted only a few years, but it would take a few hundred pages to tell their fascinating story. I truly hope somebody takes up the challenge. The authors of "The Future is Now" have the potential to create such a work, but they do not deliver in this instance.

Rating:
Summary: Like the other guy said; save your money.
Review: "The whole story of the MC5?" Well, no, it's not. More like a brief overview of the events surrounding "Kick Out the Jams." If you want to know more than that, this ain't the place. "Back in the USA" gets relegated to a paragraph. "High Time" gets one sentence.

Rating:
Summary: Crap
Review: I waited months and months for this trash? Save yr money and buy some Charmin. It's softer and just as useful.

Rating:
Summary: the future is crap
Review: please do not spend money on this. it's basically the equivalent to one of those n' sync pocket books you find in the checkout lane at walgreens.
it's more about the mc5's association with john sinclair and the white panther party than it is about the mc5 and their music.
for some reason there are 2 authors for this "book". it took 2 people to write this crap? oh, and one of them is named cletus.

Rating:
Summary: Don't Waste Your Money
Review: This book is poorly written, uninformative, and poorly laid out. It is a compilation of books and magazine articles you've already read and pictures you've already seen. Avoid it at all cost.