Wednesday, February 06, 2008

486. Black Flag - Damaged (1981)
















Track Listing

1. Rise Above
2. Spray Paint
3. Six Pack
4. What I See
5. TV Party
6. Thirsty And Miserable
7. Police Story
8. Gimme Gimme Gimme
9. Depression
10. Room 13
11. Damaged II
12. No Moe
13. Padded Cell
14. Life Of Pain
15. Damaged I

Review

Well, I quite liked this but there are a lot of cons here as well as some pros. On the pro side this is an album so filled with barely repressed anger that it almost feels like it is going to bust through your speakers and trash your house. Also on the plus side is Henry Rollins' voice which translated that anger perfectly. This anger is of course mainly resulting from disaffection, and it is a perfect portrayal of youth, Rebels with little cause except for the disaffection of modern life... I like that.

On the con side it sounds a lot like a not very good Dead Kennedys album, and this is unfortunate. It is also a bit samey, yes you are pissed off, and you are going to drink beer and watch TV with your friends, and spray paint some walls, I get it, I was young once... oh and you are going to play guitars fast while you do it, ok. There is never also the sense of political purpose of the Kennedys but that is actually the whole point of the album.

In the end Damaged is a quite good album, not amazing, but quite good, I get what they are about and I appreciate it, it is fun, angry punk with a great sense of humour but not particularly accomplished musically. Still, worth checking out.

Track Highlights

1. TV Party
2. Rise Above
3. Damaged I
4. Life Of Pain

Final Grade


8/10

Trivia

From Wikipedia:

Black Flag had made at least two aborted attempts to record a full-length album since the release of their first EP Nervous Breakdown, with singers Keith Morris, Chavo Pederast and Dez Cadena; some of the Pederast sessions became the Jealous Again EP, while selections from two of many Cadena sessions became the Six Pack EP and the "Louie Louie"/"Damaged I" single; other session outtakes would later comprise the Everything Went Black double album

The very funny TV Party, I love Henry Rollins:

1 comment:

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