BAD BRAINS: Bad Brains S/T Album Vinyl LP

Before anyone had worked out how to talk about Bad Brains without their jaw dropping a little, Bad Brains had already recorded this album, put it out on cassette, and moved on to being faster and tighter than virtually everyone else on the planet.

The 1982 self-titled is the document. HR screaming and then singing, Dr Know playing like he had something to prove to every guitarist alive, the whole thing lurching between hardcore that still sounds violent and reggae that sounds genuinely spiritual. It is not a record that aged. It was just ahead long enough that time caught up. If you know your punk history this sits at the intersection of everything, the DC scene, the Rastafari faith, the sheer technical ability that embarrassed contemporaries into playing harder. The word groundbreaking gets used too easily. Here it is accurate.

12" vinyl LP. Originally recorded 1981, released February 1982 via ROIR. USA. Hardcore punk, reggae.

Fans of: Black Flag, Minor Threat, Dead Kennedys, Fishbone, Living Colour