Black Flag
Everyone reading this probably already knows the whole Black Flag story, as it’s been covered in several books and rehashed around the web (KFTH sums it up pretty well). I’ll reserve comment on “Henry Rollins ruined Black Flag/Best Vocalist/Worst Albums” debates for some other time. I’m most intrigued by the legendary short-lived 5 piece lineup of the band circa ‘82 when drummer Chuck Biscuits joined Greg Ginn, Rollins, Chuck Dukowski, and Dez Cadena. 1982 and 1983 saw the band entangled by legal issues stemming from the release of Damaged. During this period the band would record a demo that was never officially released. Most of the tracks would eventually appear on My War or Slip It In, but many sound better here in their rawness. A comment on Mark Prindle’s site sums it up perfectly:
This would have been a perfect and logical segue between the Damaged and My War eras. Not only would Biscuit’s significant contribution have been catalogued for all to hear, there would be this “middle ground” album easing us from the Damaged sound into the Kira/Stevenson sound.
So, I’ll lay the whole thing out. The two unreleased tracks “What Do You Believe” and “Yes, I Know” are decent, but for me the highlights are “Slip It In”, “My War”, and the ponderous 11 minute medley of “Nothing Left Inside” and Scream”. Enjoy:
Black Flag - What Do You Believe.mp3
Black Flag - Yes I Know.mp3
Black Flag - Slip It In.mp3
Black Flag - Modern Man.mp3
Black Flag - My War.mp3
Black Flag - Black Coffee.mp3
Black Flag - Beat My Head Against The Wall.mp3
Black Flag - I Can’t Decide.mp3
Black Flag - I Love You.mp3
Black Flag - Nothing Left Inside/Scream.mp3
Notes:
>> I believe that Strange Reaction had the two unreleased tracks way back.
>> 7inchpunk has been dishing out the Flag singles
>> Good Music For Bad Times has the Licorice Pizza promo
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this is swell! thanks for posting. by any chance, you wouldn’t also have — and can post — the pre-damaged demo they did, would you? i’ve been looking for it for quite some time now, but have only managed to get a few of the tracks….
Thanks for this. I hadn’t heard these tracks before. If you have the Neanderthal “Fighting Music” 7″, could you post that? Someone stole mine. That record was totally brutal and I miss it.
hey, thanks for posting this - i really appreciate it. i hadn’t heard this stuff…listening to it now, liking it a lot.
thanks again!
Beautiful stuff, one seriously tight band at the top of their game, surfing the razor blade’s edge of chaos. Ginn’s relentless band practice sessions definitely show themselves in this. Viva Dez! Thanks for posting!
YES!!
I’ve been searching for this all week (I don’t do P2P)! Merry Crizmuz to me!! I have the 7″ with Slip, Modern Man, and WCUB and didn’t know about the rest till recently. I’ve been on a real SST sludge punk tear lately (my new group ’sSQUIRMm’ leans heavily on the style) and have been feverish to hear the rest of this set (which, to my ears, may be their best Rollins era work). Any chance of a Bl’ast repost??? Pleeze?
thanks!
Most of these songs are from “My War”, a classic album and one of my favorites. But this album came out in 1984. I think these demos were recorded no earlier than 1983, not 1982.
yes I know and what can you believe were later recorded and released on SST by The Dez Cadena 3 (A.K.A. the DC3). The songs had different titles and different lyrics but musically they were the same songs. Worth noting is that band featured keyboards performed by Paul Roessler (any relation to Kira?)
I’m pretty sure that Paul and Kira are siblings. Thanks for the DC3 info
thanks for yet another awesome post. if anyone digs the first song here, “what do you believe?”, the DC3 version is far superior and was recorded just after these recordings were made and put on the their first album, “this is the dream”, a rad 70’s-style hard rock release in the vein of hawkwind and mountain, with a definite psych-bent. definitely uncool in the mid-80’s, very hip now. kira had actually been jamming with this band BEFORE greg asked her to join flag. paul roessler is indeed her brother and played in a final line-up of the screamers, amongst others
Chuck Biscuits is a way bitchen drummer.
Yeah man, it’s a crime there aren’t more recordings of the “5-piece Mega-Flag” as Carducci called ‘em. Though I like My Way and Slip It In, these versions eat them alive. And I’ll take Duke over Kira anyday(though Kira was a vast improvement on “Dale Nixon”). Getting ridding of him was far more detrimental to the sound and soul of the band than any changes Rollins’ presence wrought. I never hear anyone talk or post the tracks from “TV Party” EP. Awesome 5-piece recordings of “My Rules” and “I’ve Got to Run, possibly Flag at their most hardcore.
I love this album…..the Nothing Left Inside/Scream track is absolutely devastating…I love it. There is also a “Radio Tokyo Sessions” that is usually included with this album as a bootleg (and as a common download on filesharing services), the versions of “My War” and “Swinging Man” on the Tokyo sessions are completely insane…Rollins screams so viciously that he must have broke a blood vessel. I don’t see what’s with the Henry hating…..he was intense as hell and knew how to “freak out” as if possessed by the music.
One of the best lineups the Flag had… Biscuits on the drums, Dez on second guitar. I can’t imagine witnessing it first hand. Fuck.
This is a great bootleg/demo. I like this version of “Modern Man” much better than the one on Loose Nut.
for my money, the definitive take of “scream” was the live version on the first “rat music for rat people” comp. remember putting needle to vinyl the first time, hearing that and having to pick my jaw up from the floor……
-tumors ela
totally, that take of “scream” from the “rat Music” comp album is the best one. I listened to that over and over and over, I thought it was the most intense thing that I ever heard at the time, and it was.
i remember putting on “my war” the week it came out, going straight for the studio version of “scream,” bracing myself, and after about two minutes, going, “what the fuck?!? why am i not a splatter staining the back wall yet?” totally let down after hearing the “rat” version so many times. yes, it was a high standard to meet, even by their standards, but i expected it to at least come close. that live version was the most intense thing i’d heard at the time, too, and they never reached its height again…..
once again, unreal post. goes to show that rollins really had little do with ruining the band. sure, a few of his vocals parts are kinda weak, but those later albums suffer from shit production and weak rhythm sections. i mean bill stevenson trying to play like chuck biscuits? its just not gonna happen.
Loving all the comments. See some familiar faces in there, too.
Random memories that this post brought back: being a schoolgirl embarrassed by the song “You Slip It In”; hanging with Henry “Rollins” around that time when he was back home in DC/Baltimore with new ink; giving away DC3 records, because my hardcore-only ears heard them as mellow gold; sporting Eric Brewer’s lacross sweatshirt like an ‘i’m-gettin-some’ badge of honor; busting my jaw skating; circling all the things I couldn’t wait to hear in the SST catalog; looping RAT MUSIC and YOU SLIP IT IN for months in a fancy new contraption called a walkman
Hey folks, thank you for the little time travel! Love it!
This version of My War slays.
Just downloaded ‘Slip It In’. Ooooh, luvverly. That’s the stuff. Cheers!
This bootleg is so great. I remember finding it in the late 1990s and it’s still one of my favorite records. The 1984 radio interview/session that is tacked onto most verisons of the CD is probably my favorite BF recording. Nice to read some comments re: the abscence of proper recordings of the 5 piece/Biscuits line-up. As good as “My War” is it would have been so much better with this line-up, probably the most destructive BF line-up ever. I have always been fascinated with how strange some of the studio produciton was (my war/Loose nut/In my head) and how vastly different the songs were live. It kind of furthers the neurotic Ginn persona. From what I understand he nearly lost his mind trying to “teach” Bill Stevenson to drum like a drum machine (which Ginn demoed a lot on) for the Loose Nut/In My head sessions, only to turn around and let Anthony Martinez completely reinvent the songs on Who’s Got the 10 1/2 and the 1986 tour. These 1982 (or 1983?) demos are similarly interesting, being much different on the studio records.
Could someone please forward me an mp3 of the “Rat Music” version of Scream. I ahve wanted it for years but that comp goes for $60+ on ebay. I love the version of Scream at the into to the BF target video VHS… hoping this infamous “rat Music…” verison is as intense.
sean
Hey Sean - look no further than here
Yes, great tracks indeed.
Apparently, Paul ? (the guy that ran CD Presents and put out the Rat Music comp.) has the whole Flag set recorded but never released it. Damn shame, based on the intensity of “Scream,” I bet the whole set shreds.
There are videos of varying quality out there circa ‘82-’83, but good luck finding them. If you do, please share.
thank you for posting these demos. these are must haves for black flag fans.
[…] Black Flag “Slip It In” Album - The Complete 1982 Demos Plus More! More information here - Something I Learned Today […]
[…] You can find the entire demo here. […]
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