‘Motor City is Burning: A Michigan Anthology 1965-1972’ is Coming

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Detroit, Michigan aka “The Motor City” is being celebrated for its vibrant, wildly eclectic music scene in the late ’60s and early ’70s with a 3-CD anthology spanning 66 tracks. Motor City is Burning: A Michigan Anthology 1965-1972, arrives March 21, 2025, via the Grapefruit imprint of U.K. label Cherry Red Records. The collection features such classic tracks as ? (Question Mark) & The Mysterians’ “96 Tears,” The Temptations’ “Ball of Confusion (That’s What the World is Today),” and “Indiana Wants Me” from R. Dean Taylor, alongside songs from Rare Earth, Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, Mitch Ryder & the Detroit Wheels and Alice Cooper. It’s available to pre-order in the U.S. here and in the U.K. here.

From the label’s announcement: The most populous city in the state of Michigan, Detroit exuded a rock ‘n’ roll mentality like no other American town. Many of the tracks on Motor City is Burning: A Michigan Anthology 1965-1972 stretch from the Motown and Invictus labels. The city was home to proto-punk bands The Stooges and MC5, a plethora of teen garage bands, blue-collar heartland rockers, the P-Funk psychedelic soul crew and hard rock heavyweights like Grand Funk Railroad and Frijid Pink, all of whom are represented.

Named after the John Lee Hooker/MC5 song that referenced the heavily reported Detroit civil unrest of July 1967, Motor City is Burning is a four-hour primer of the Michigan music scene during it’s late ’60s/early ’70s heyday. It also features such acts as Tommy James & The Shondells, Freda Payne, Chairmen Of the Board, Diana Ross & the Supremes and Rodriguez. A 48-page booklet with rare photos and the story behind each track chronicles Michigan’s leading venues, principal recording studios, local labels and key backroom players as well as the bands themselves.

Motor City is Burning Anthology Track Listing
DISC ONE
1 96 TEARS – ? (Question Mark) & The Mysterians
2 JENNY TAKE A RIDE! – Mitch Ryder & The Detroit Wheels
3 (I CAN’T GET NO) SATISFACTION – Terry Knight & The Pack
4 NEXT TO YOUR FIRE – The Pack
5 MYSTERY MAN (demo version) – Dick Wagner & The Frost
6 BABY WON’T YOU LET ME TELL YOU HOW I LOST MY MIND – The Spike Drivers
7 IT’S TOO LATE – The Pedestrians
8 WHO DO YOU LOVE? – The Woolies
9 MO JO HANNAH – The Underdogs
10 I’M SO GLAD – The Scot Richard Case
11 I NEED YOU – The Rationals
12 SHE MAKES ME HAPPY – The Shaggs
13 WHERE YOU GONNA GO? – The Unrelated Segments
14 TELL ME WHY YOUR LIGHT SHINES – The Lykes Of Us
15 ACTION! (SPEAKS LOUDER THAN WORDS) – Tidal Waves
16 MYSTIC CLOUD – The Pagens
17 THINGS ARE DIFFERENT NOW – The Innsmen
18 NIGHT WALKIN’ – The Unknown
19 DON’T PUT ME ON – The King’s Court
20 TILL TOMORROW – House Of Commons
21 A WINNER NEVER QUITS – The Solitary Confinement
22 HELP ME FIND MYSELF – The Troyes
23 CHRISTIANNE – The Hearsemen
24 COME SEE ABOUT ME – Dearborn City Limits
25 OUTSIDE WOMAN BLUES – Felix
26 STRANDED IN THE JUNGLE – The Apostles
27 SOMEHOW – The Thyme
28 I’M ALIVE – Tommy James & The Shondells

DISC TWO
1 1969 – The Stooges
2 TEENAGE LUST – MC5
3 UP ALL NIGHT – SRC
4 ROAD RUNNER – Brownsville Station
5 ALL ALONG THE WATCHTOWER – Savage Grace
6 HALO OF FLIES – Alice Cooper
7 LIFE EVERLASTING – Earthen Vessel
8 INSIDE LOOKING OUT – Grand Funk Railroad
9 RIGHT AWAY – Head Over Heels
10 PRETTY GIRL WHY – Resolution
11 DREAMS SELECTION – Sunshine
12 WAKE UP PEOPLE – Kopperfield
13 SPIDER’S EYES – Bump
14 I CAN SEE THE LIGHT – The Glass Sun
15 BRAVE NEW WORLD – Boa
16 PAIN IN MY HEART – Frijid Pink
17 I GOT A RIGHT – Iggy & The Stooges

DISC THREE
1 BALL OF CONFUSION (THAT’S WHAT THE WORLD IS TODAY) – The Temptations
2 I CALL MY BABY PUSSYCAT – Parliament
3 PSYCHA-SOULA-FUNKADELIC – The Politicians
4 REFLECTIONS – Diana Ross & The Supremes
5 FLOWER GIRL – Smokey Robinson & The Miracles
6 SCORPIO – Dennis Coffey & The Detroit Guitar Band
7 INNER CITY BLUES – Rodriguez
8 THE MOTOR CITY IS BURNING – John Lee Hooker
9 HEY BLACK MAN (part one) – Ed Robinson
10 HANGING ON TO A MEMORY – Chairmen Of The Board
11 BRING THE BOYS HOME – Freda Payne
12 INDIANA WANTS ME – R. Dean Taylor
13 TWENTY NINE – Marshall & Newell
14 SIDEWALK CAFE – Rare Earth
15 WALK DOWN THE PATH OF FREEDOM (single version) – Sunday Funnies
16 CAN’T TURN AROUND NOW – Fork In The Road
17 CRUMBS OFF THE TABLE – The Glass House
18 1200 MILES – The Flaming Ember
19 EVERYDAY FUN – T.N.T.
20 THRILLS OF LOVE – Warlock
21 GIMME SHELTER – Ruth Copeland