Get Out the Vote [Import]

Nice audio keepsake/rarity for any Mitch Ryder fan.Appears to be an audience recording,with a few flaws.Other than that,I liked 'Get Out The Vote' for what it is.Tends to bring back a few memories when I hear tunes like "Let It Rock","C.C.Rider","Jenny Takes A Ride" and specially "Devil With A Blue Dress".Was recorded at a voter's demonstration rally(or something like that) on April 1,1970.If you can't locate a copy of it,try contacting the label themself.Last I checked,they had several copies remaining.

The Mitch Ryder 'Get Out the Vote' disc was recorded live at the University of Michigan's ornate Hill Auditorium on April Fool's Day, 1972, approximately six months prior to the 1972 election that would see Richard Nixon swept into office over Democratic rival George McGovern. The bill was topped by The Spencer Davis Group, but Ryder and his Detroit Wheels, recently revamped with the addition of lead guitarist Steve "Decator Gator" Hunter (Hunter hailed from Decator, Illinois), were certainly the home-town favorites at this gig. The band also featured drummer Johnny "Bee" Badanjek, who would go on to front his own band, and record the ode to lysergic acid, 'Linda Sue Dixon'.

While the setlist looks promising, the April Fool's Day joke's on you once the laser reads the contents. Circa-1970 live recordings from Mitch and company must be in short supply for this one to make the cut. While a previous reviewer touts this as an audience recording, I'm pretty sure it's actually from the soundboard. There is very little up-front crowd noise, and the instruments have the hard, isolated quality characteristic of soundboard recordings. Unfortunately, the mix is atrocious, and the sound tech doesn't seem to have a clue. The recording is bass and drum heavy, with Hunter's guitar leads virtually buried. There are times when Ryder's vocals are also consumed in the excess of the rhythm section, but it's hard to tell how much this results from the mix, and how much is the result of the degeneration of Ryder's vocal talents since their mid-1960's peak. Toward the end of the set, Ryder's voice is clearly losing it's punch.

Among the better tracks on the disc are Ryder's covers of Lou Reed's 'Rock and Roll', a big local hit for Mitch in Detroit, an intriguing run at the Stones 'Gimme Shelter', and a nod to Motown with the Temptations 'Can't Get Next To You'. Throw in Ryder classics like 'C.C. Rider/Jenny Take a Ride' and 'Devil With a Blue Dress/Good Golly Miss Molly', and you have a highly satisfying setlist. Even in spite of the disappointing recording quality, the excitement of the era, the inspiration of the political underpinnings, and the classic nature of the selections shines through.

The disc is released on the 'Total Energy' label, which has released live recordings from other local Detroit bands such as the MC5, and the only official CD release by The Rationals, 'Temptation's Bout To Get Me', which sadly is of even lesser quality than this Ryder release. Hopefully Total Energy will find a way to lay their hands on some quality live recordings from these bands that stood in the long shadow of Motown in the late 1960's, and then we'll really hear what these bands could do.