Jeff's Comments

DAMAGED
 
Damaged: Still today, considered a hardcore masterpiece, 1981's Damaged 
is an incredibly intense, angst ridden 15 song borage. With then 
skinny, 20 year old Henry Rollins taking over on vocals, and former 
front man Dez Cadena playing rhythm guitar, it is the only five piece 
Flag album ever recorded. This is, Black Flag at it's loudest, fastest, 
and most aggresive. Rollins' vocals are delivered at a piercing pitch 
that you will not hear on any other record which he is featured on. 
Damaged defined the American Hardcore sound of the early 80's, and has 
been imitated ever since. Defiantly noise pollution at it's best.

EVERYTHING WENT BLACK
 
Everything Went Black: This 1982 release is a must for pure Flag 
enthusiasts. It contains otherwise unreleased material from the 
pre-Rollins days of the band, featuring Keith Morris, Chavo Reyes, and 
Dez Cadena on vocals. The songs themselves are outakes from rehearsals, 
practice sessions, and so on, but the most enjoyable part of the album 
may be the final track, featuring homemade radio commercials which were 
aired on L.A. radio in the late 70's and early 80's.

THE FIRST FOUR YEARS
 
The First Four Years: In his book "Get In The Van" Henry Rollins 
described the First Fuor Years as the thickest batch of jams he has 
ever heard. Another compilation of the three pre-Rollins vocalists, 
this album combines all the ep's released before the Damaged record. If 
you don't own many of these ep's, BUY THIS ALBUM! 16 songs in less than 
25 minutes, but each minute is equal to say five hours of Rancid.

MY WAR
 
My War: My War was the first release of new material in two years for 
Black Flag, and with the changing times, came a change in the music. 
This record is more of a fusion of hardcore punk, and hard rock. Many 
fans were initially disappointed with the effort, but guitarist Greg 
Ginn realized that every band in punk rock land was trying to sound 
like Damaged, and decided that his band would be the more original and 
creative one. The end three songs are like no other by black flag, all 
very long, strung out, and slow, very Black Sabbath sounding at times. 
This is an interesting one to say the least.

FAMILY MAN
 
Family Man: An interesting mix of early Rollins spoken word and black 
Flag insturmentals. The spoken tracks are not like the ones you would 
here on Rollins' talking CD's today. They are very short, and raw, 
mostly straight reading of things he wrote, as opposed to the long 
stories he is known for now. the instrumental tracks are pretty much 
what you'd expect, good music minus the vocals. The track Armageddon 
Man does however feature Rollins talking over the music for a good nine 
minutes, and is a classic Flag cut.

SLIP IT IN
 
Slip It In: pretty much like My War pt.2 minus the slow songs. The 
title track features a raunchy performance by Suzanne Gardner, now of 
L7 fame. Not a whole lot to be said about this one that wasn't said for 
My War, so go buy it and listen for yourself.

LIVE '84
 
Live '84: This one was recorded live at The Stone in S.F on August 26 
1984. For some reason this recording just doesn't capture the intensity 
of live Black Flag. The sound isn't bad, but it isn't loud either, 
which makes it a pretty boring listen. You would be much better off 
with one of the many bootlegs from the '84 tour which are in 
circulation. the quality is usually better, and the set list is almost 
identical.

LOOSE NUT
 
Loose Nut: The musical direction for Loose Nut has seemed to shift 
slightly from the Wy War/Slip It In sound. It's hard to say what the 
difference is, but if you listen you will notice. Perhaps it's more of 
a post punk sound, and a little less raw. Over all it seems to be a 
step up from My War, and Slip it In, and one of my personal favorites.

THE PROCESS OF WEEDING OUT
 
The Process of Weeding out: This four song insrumental is very similar 
in taste to the instrumentals of Family Man. It's that classic Greg 
Ginn guitar work that once again seperates these songs from other 
band's instrumental works. Anyone who has heard the man play knows what 
I'm talking about. With the first and third tracks extended over nine 
minutes each, this album may be too much for some to take.

IN MY HEAD
 
In My Head: The last full length studio album for Black Flag is 
defiantly the most experimental. Unlike anything that Flag had 
previously put out, this 12 song LP once again shows Greg Ginn taking 
the band in a new, adventurous direction. Many of the guitar riffs that 
dominate the record, are a far cry from the heavy chords used in the 
early days, with more of an emphasis on single notes. Rollins' vocals 
sound almost mysterious on songs such as black Love, and The Crazy 
Girl, not to mention the fact thathis voice rarley reaches the 
screaming level. If you are a closed minded hardcore fan who only wants 
a few chords and some screaming than this isn't your album, but fans of 
good music, should enjoy it.

WHO'S GOT THE 10 1/2?
 
Who's Got the 10 1/2?: A big step up from Live'84, this LP was recorded 
live in Portland Oregon on August 23, 1986. The set is dominated by 
tracks from Loose Nut, with other classics such as My War, and Slip It 
In thrown in. The intensity factor, a step above Live '84, still isn't 
as high as it should be. Rollins' voice seems to be strangely scratchy 
at times, almost horse. But the 15 song attack is still a good one, and 
worth the money just to hear Rollins' "speech" to the crowd during Slip 
It In and Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie.

WASTED AGAIN
 
Wasted Again: Unless your like me, and have to have every recording by 
your favorite bands, this compilation isn't necessary. it is however a 
good place for a Black Flag novice to start off at. The songs from 
this record span from '77 to '85 with all three vocalists. Wasted Again 
is a good example of the many changes that the band went through over 
it's 9 year existence, but for the life in me i can't figure out why 
Nervous Breakdown wasn't included on the album.

NERVOUS BREAKDOWN
 
Nervous Breakdown: This historic Black Flag recording was not only the 
first release of the band, but the first SST release as well. The title 
track, in my mind, is what Black Flag, and punk in general is all 
about. This record was made at a time when punk was looked down upon, 
and in many instances not even noticed by the popular music industry. 
This independently released 7 inch single opened the doors for a new 
musical revolution that many people just weren't reday for. Despite all 
the popular resistance, the momentum that this album started could not 
be contained, and the rest as we all know now, is history.

JEALOUS AGAIN
Jealous Again: This one was released more than two years after Nervous 
Breakdown, and contained two new faces in the band's line-up. The ever 
talented Robo took over on the drums, and Ron "Chavo" Reyes (or Chavo 
Pederast as listed on the album) took over on vocals, although by the 
time of release he was no longer in the band. Just another great early 
ground breaking Flag record, that was pretty much a slap in the face to 
anyone who tried to get in the band's way after Nervous Breakdown, with 
songs like Revenge, and No Values. The ending track You Bet We've Got 
Something Personal Against You features Mr. Chuck Dukowski on vocals.

SIX PACK
Six Pack: The second release of 1980, as well as the second vocalist of 
1980, Dez Cadena. The title song is another classic, that shows Black 
Flag in it's satirical state of mind. The final tune up before the mighty 
Damaged.

T.V. PARTY
T.V. Party: This single has an alternate version of T.V. Party from the 
one that apperas on Damaged. The second song "I've Got To Run" is a 
great cut, that would of fit in Damaged perfectly. I still don't 
understand when it was recorded exactly because of the 1985 release 
date, and SST 12 I.D. number, not to mention various members of the 
band appearing on the same record at times when they weren't all in the 
band.

I CAN SEE YOU
I Can See You: The final single for Black Flag. Three tracks directly 
from In My Head, and another called Kickin and Stickin that is also 
featured on the Lovedolls Superstar Soundtrack (SST 62)

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