Let's dwell a bit on this monster lineup. The dual guitars of Greg Ginn and Dez Cadena are truly the way Black Flag was meant to be. Anyone who knows Greg Ginn's work knows this guy was the master of atonal noise, lightening fast riffs and bizarre guitar leads. He doesn't disappoint here. 2nd guitarist Dez Cadena provides the perfect rhythm guitar for Ginn to lead over. The twin guitar assault wall of sound was perfect for Black Flag. I always wondered why Black Flag did not recruit another guitarist after Dez left the band.
Chuck Dukowski's distorted bass sounds meaner than anything I've ever heard. It's perfect. Chuck Biscuits (who later drummed in another favorite band of mine, Danzig) drums on this and was truly Black Flag's greatest drummer. He's fast and hard hitting here. The perfect compliment to Dukowski's bass playing. Probably the best rhythm section in punk rock. And I don't care what anyone says, Rollins was the best singer in Black Flag.
The set features a wide array of songs including stuff that would not be officially released on albums until a few years down the road. The versions of "Scream" and "Modern Man" annihilate the versions that ended up being recorded with a totally different line up years later. The band also does plenty of pre-Rollins material which is really cool to hear with Hank on vocals. Damaged-era material is also obviously found on here as well as live versions of the b-sides from the TV Party 7" which is a pleasant surprise.
How does this compare with other live Black Flag releases? Well, this is way better than the atrocious "Who's Got The 10 1/2" live album. The "Live In 84" albums is great and also a must have but I got to say this tops even that. Kira and Bill were awesome on bass and drums but they just weren't as good as the rhythm section of Chuck "The Duke" Dukowski and Chuck Biscuits.
A few things to take note of:
-"No Martyrs" is better known to Black Flag fan's as the song "Yes I Know" of which there is no official studio recording. Many fans know it from the excellent 1982 demos bootleg which contains a great studio version of the track.
-"My Life" is actually the song "Damaged I".
-Dez's guitar can be a little low in the mix sometimes which is pretty much the only complaint I have about this otherwise magnificent release
-The version of "Depression" from the first show is pretty bad but the version of it from the 2nd show is perfect.
-Last, but not least, this is the greatest live album from Black Flag!
http://www43.zippyshare.com/view.jsp?locale=en&key=49729307
Aucun commentaire:
Enregistrer un commentaire