@@TheWinston7777 any favorites to look out for!! I noticed they have 6 self titled albums. Gonna check them out. Thanks for recommendation!! Love your videos and concert footage👌🏼
Listen up you dirty punk poseurs! I saw Greg Ginn back in the 1960's when he first stole the chords for the song "Depression" and he was all by himself playing on a cheap acoustic guitar in his dirty and dingy parent's garage. He even played terribly back then with his little greasy fingers and his pale yellowish skin - However, he was actually playing a bit better than when I saw him on tour this year and all I witnessed was a battle between his old Turkey-Neck flapping and he tried to move his rhythmless neck, and his stiff skinny fingers trying their hardest to hit chords and notes that he kept missing and skipping because his brain isn't quite communicating with his extremities anymore... However, he was awesome just being his bad playing, no rhythm self! If he would have played as good as "Flag" I would have been pissed cause "Flag" sounds like some pumped-up fake good cover band version of Black Flag and Ginn sounds like a really bad version of Black Flag and THAT is what I EXPECT and Respect!
I Can See You is a prog-jazz-hardcore masterpiece. The title track is experimental and pioneering, and you let me down is a comical yet dark and brooding tune. The whole EP is one of my favorites from the band's entire repertoire. I suppose I'm a little biased, being an avant-garde musician and a huge fan of the genre myself, but albums like I Can See You and The Process Of Weeding Out are what got me to begin to even tolerate punk. I abhorred it and regarded it as juvenile low talent music until I heard the searching, inventive and angular work of Ginn on the aforementioned albums. In short, my feelings were hurt by your best to worst scale.
@@papermallard no, Armageddon man is good, I can’t stick any of you is good, the spoken word stuff is cool but I don’t listen to it and the rest is not good
I have SST Records instrumental comp. Black Flag, Gone, Pell Mell, Henry Kaiser, Lee Ranaldo, Fred Frith, Elliot Sharp, Steve Fisk, wide variety of instruments and synths
My personal favorite album from black flag is In My Head. I just absolutely love the song structures and lyrics to each song on that record. Plus you can really feel and tell how on point the band members were together through that entire album. They could do a one take of the entire album and boom, be finished. And I wouldn’t be surprised honestly. Black flag is one of the hardest working bands ever
Listen up you dirty punk poseurs! I saw Greg Ginn back in the 1960's when he first stole the chords for the song "Depression" and he was all by himself playing on a cheap acoustic guitar in his dirty and dingy parent's garage. He even played terribly back then with his little greasy fingers and his pale yellowish skin - However, he was actually playing a bit better than when I saw him on tour this year and all I witnessed was a battle between his old Turkey-Neck flapping and he tried to move his rhythmless neck, and his stiff skinny fingers trying their hardest to hit chords and notes that he kept missing and skipping because his brain isn't quite communicating with his extremities anymore... However, he was awesome just being his bad playing, no rhythm self! If he would have played as good as "Flag" I would have been pissed cause "Flag" sounds like some pumped-up fake good cover band version of Black Flag and Ginn sounds like a really bad version of Black Flag and THAT is what I EXPECT and Respect!
"Hardest working?" I guess so! It's Sept 2023 & in the last 3 years I've seen them 5 times in Texas (I did travel to 3 different cities because I'm _that_ punk rock)! They're still touring like crazy. I wish they'd put out some spectacular album, something to redeem the "What The" garbage! There are a few OK songs on it, but mostly it sucks BAD.
The song "My War" is possibly my favorite song of all time and is actually what got me into punk. I love the rest of the album as well and would probably put it in 2nd place for my favorite Black Flag albums right behind Damaged.
That's the song they're opening with on the tour they've been on for the last 3 years! They play the whole album, take a 20 min break, then play all their hits/favorites. This current 2023 Black Flag is my least favorite version, but they still kick ass!
even though the second side is awful (apart from scream), I think my war is better than damaged because the riffs and refrains are better. I also believe the songs are structured far better and the guitar tone is less tiring. I’d still give damaged a 7-8 but my war is at least a 7.5 to me
@@BIGBADNEWS I'm not a musician so can't say much about riffs, refrains, or tiring guitar tones, but I do know that I really like Nothing Left Inside a lot, I like Scream, and Three Nights is good, or at least I don't hate it. I love the distortion on Greg's extensive guitar work on side B. People rag on & insult Greg and the current Black Flag, and I get it, but Mike Vallely is a monster on these three songs. He screams well & looks like he's possessed and does a great job IMO. I've seen this band 4 times in the last 3 years and I often hear people in the audience complimenting Mike and the way he belts out these slow songs.
Loving DRI from the Dealing With It album playing in the background while you're talking about Black Flag. That's one of my all time favourite albums in any genre. So pissed off. How does a teenager write "Nursing Home Blues"? Such amazing empathy- and the bass on that track- sooooo gnarly.
Greetings from Accra, Ghana! Saw Black Flag in Olympia, WA in 85 during the Slip It In tour. I got to chat it up with Henry Rollins and that is an experience I will always treasure. One of the realist kats ever. Btw, are you in Portland? Wipers were the first live show I ever saw. Greg Sage is an amazing human being!
Loose Nut is a great Rock album. I agree with you on My War. Side one kicks ass. Side two drags. I disagree on Slip It In. I love the song. Damaged is not only my favorite Black Flag album I think it is the best Punk album ever.
It's like listing your favorite ice cream. It's all good. I wasn't a fan of the dirge metal at the time but I've gotten older since first getting into punk and thrash. Damaged is still a fave, you can tell how much they put into it. They pioneered the shift from punk performance to more skilled and intentional musicianship and they held it together for a long time, considering. Think about how many bands never really changed over their careers. Rollins' West Memphis Three benefit is my favorite revisit, with Flag a close second. Thanks for posting this.
hey, props for not putting Damaged on top as I'm sure most would do. (Not that there's anything wrong with that--It is a TREMENDOUS album.) But Everything Went Black contains the first 3 BF singers and is mandatory. Ron Reyes is currently my fav of all the BF singers and that 12" EP that you have on top is terrific. Just look at him in the Decline film! The guy brings it!
those are good picks, I had most of the ones mentioned, to me Jealous Again and Damaged are about equal, when HR spoke, "..my name's Henry and you're here with me now.." you could imagine a dark and sweaty and angst filled place in his voice..and on Jealous Again it was full throttle all the way high energy..I saw them recently, I enjoyed hearing all the old familiar songs, and I'm pleased that the band is still carrying the torch..
Gotta be honest, I disagree with alot of your opinions but I gotta give you props for the collection. You're the only person I've seen with the last show on vinyl. Pretty sick!
Aside from the top 2 and the new one with dinosaur jr album art, you hit it , been a black flag fan my whole life , as far as top 2 I think nervous breakdown is best , hey you should do a GBH worst to best, thanks
oddly enough this video came up today and weirdly enough I was thinking how amazing "Slip it in" (the song), is. The drum intro, the bass intro, the guitar work... all make that song stellar. Listen to "A song for the Deaf" from QOTSA. You might recognize those slip it in drums. But, I can see how the lyrical content could turn someone off.
I think Greg was trolling Rollins with the mix on that one (Rollins is mixed way to the back), but that's ok cuz to me the best part of the band is Greg's crazy guitar work.
I Can See You: I recognize at least two of the song titles from the In My Head cassette, back in the day. (Maybe they were bonus tracks?) I thought they were perfectly good songs. Some info on these tracks would be nice-for example, are they all full songs, or are some instrumentals? Who's Got the 10 1/2: I think the cassette version of this release was longer (maybe the full show?). Surprising 2nd place choice! Somehow, this one got lumped in with ‘The Process of Weeding Out’ in my mind and never seemed like a real album. Maybe a missing link. Also: No ‘Family Man’ on this list?
(Sorry for following long-winded comment, but I find myself reminiscing and such..) So back in tha' day, I was as hardcore a Black Flag fan as you could find (I got the bars tattoo'd on the underside of my scrotum,🤔🙄😏🤫!!!), and am stoked to hear your comprehensive BF LP breakdown! Great job btw!! However, nowadays it appears as tho I'm in the minority on this one(as I love the vocal stylings of Keith, Chavo & Dez for sure and Henry was rude to me in person a couple of times...but he's not alone on that one...) but around the time of the live84 cassette recording, when they were on tour supporting the SlipItIn album, those guys were phenomenol and really hitting their stride(imo). And I gotta keep it real, Henry (up their WITH IGGY) is one of the greatest if not THE greatest frontman of all-time!..I was 14 and this was my second concert and first hardcore show!!!Holy fuck, this was the loudest show I've ever been to,( the windows apparently we're so overstressed at the ol'BlueNote bar in Columbia, Missour, that they cracked and shit fom the sheer velocity of the loudness!). At this moment in time, october of 84', me and my friends couldn't get enough of Black Flag and we wore out that SlipItIn LP big-time! We used to look at it like this----Black Flag: Heavier than heavy metal/Harder than Hardcore and louder than any muthafukkin' band on the planet!! The 'slip it in -into Gimme gimme gimme' masterpiece on the following tour in 85 kicked ass, but they kind of lost something following Kira's departure, but that's another conversation... Anyhow, at this point, Flag opened with the Process of weeding out instrumental as they would normally open with a lengthy instrumental to warm up with, and then Henry would get in the stage, and the shit was on....Go time baby, they even played 'No More' from Damaged at this show(the 84 show) They just kicked ass and basically, single handedly got me thru some really rough personal times in junior high, blah blah blah.. like Dez says, I'm sure you've all 'heard it before' ..,.. but as a parting gift, I shall leave you with a moderately humorous story from that show.,.,.... So I bravely entered the pit(first time ever), i was literally sucked into the vortex of the circle of slammers which appeared to be some violent, scary looking people( I mean, what can I say? I was pretty green as far as loud hardcore RockandRoll concerts go at this point ) Anyhow, by the time I made it back to the starting point of where I entered the vortex, I was totally horizontal about 6 feet high/ literally sucked in and spit out, then thrown into a group of 2or3very redneck looking couples( maybe just there cuz they heard the circus was in town or something! I don't know,) but .,..uuhhmm...So yaa, I got violently thrown into these 2 redneck couples with mixed drinks &beers in their hands, at which point their drinks exploded, beer bottles exploded and some severe anger at my young punker ass(naively underestimating the ferocity of a Black Flag concert) seemed to be quickly generating as I soaked the allz of them with booze and knocked the allz of them, including myself and others to the floor! The bouncers or compassionate bystanders or combination of the 2 prevented me from getting a beatdown if I recall correctly! Don't really remember exactly, but In retrospect, I probably would have been pretty pissed if the roles were reversed.... Anyhow, this be back when pits were survival of the fittest and all who entered the circle, left battered and bruised... Crazy days and Good times! Anyways, CHEERS
This is a valid list and pretty accurate to my own critique of their discography also, but where's your copies of the Six Pack/I've Heard it Before/ American Waste EP, the Louie Louie/Damaged 1 EP and the TV Party/I've Got to Run/My Rules EP? Those are essential parts of the collection. Dez totally killing it on vocals with the first two and Henry going off on the third. Plus, Emil on drums on TV Party. His only released recording with the band.Those are mega kick ass documents of the band in full throttle, even with all the vocalist changes. I mean, you've got the Nervous Breakdown EP, so where are the others? Sorry to nitpick, but I'm a longtime Black Flag maniac and just wanted to interject my two cents. As for the overall video, it's cool you have Everything Went Black so high up on the list (and a real deal blacked out copy might I add) because that double album is pure fire. Every version by all three singers works great for some crazy reason. All different and all killer. They all brought something. The Keith vocals on the earliest songs are probably my favorite, but then the version of Police Story with Dez is mind blowing, so it's hard to actually choose. I say just listen to them all right? All the Dez era songs are perfect with him singing too. But no one tears up Jealous Again like Ron and that's the truth. He owns that one. Revenge too. That EP is perfect I agree. I saw Black Flag with Ron singing in Brooklyn, NY a few years ago with that horrid drummer (so bad) and like you said, he saved the show. Shit, he saved the whole tour! Awesome to see and hear him do those old tunes nowadays and do them well too. I won't recap your whole list, but I wanted to add how surprised I was to hear your thoughts on Now She's Black from Loose Nut. Glad you acknowledged it. Man, what a song!! The screams at the end that Henry unleashes are blood curdling. I love when he screams "I'm black!" and then says "let me in" in a calm tone. Start to finish that songs rules. A definite hidden gem. Wish a live version existed somewhere. So yeah, cool video and legit ratings list of a truly legendary bands efforts. One of my all time favorite groups. What a great story they have.
Thanks for the reply. I do need to get the Dez recordings.Check out my footage of the 2019 lineup in Detroit Michigan. By the way Detroit is a nice place to live. The anti Detroit TH-cam videos you see are racist nonsense. I am doing just fine living on 8 mile. The deed to my home is in my home, not in a bank. That fact allows me to support wild rock and roll bands.
@@TheWinston7777 Been to Detroit a few times years back. I was in the Corktown area mainly. My old band played Corktown Tavern next to the old Tigers Stadium. We ended up at some other odd places with locals. Had some fun. I actually like the Omega Man vibe of downtown too. At least when I was last there. 2005 or so? Cool city.
@@angryeel2864 I like Detroit because it is affordable. Houses can be payed off in 5 years with a little hard work. The winter weather is a tough one but with thermal underwear you get through just fine. Keep a good charge on the car battery also.
love them all personally. the later slower sludge metal premise of their later period is very special. a bit of a black horse but i really like "the process of weeding out" LP these days. will say "I can see you" next to "what the" has the worse artwork.. the bootleg "Damaged with dez" which collects all of the dezo era with a nice addition of him doing rise above is great purchase too if you can find it.
Basically it goes from Newest to Oldest…lol…Slip It In is an awesome gateway album for rock people wanting to try out more hardcore style punk. This was my entry to Black Flag in ‘84, being a hard rock/metal guy. Next was Damaged and that was something else. Lot of time in the Walkman going to the mall or out on the BMX back in the 80’s. And personally I love the song Slip It In…lol
In my head is the best record of theirs in my opinion. As you said, every song is good. It did change my life as I sat in front of my stereo and figured out all of Greg Ginns guitar lines. I swap that out with Damaged. I find that record unlistenable now. In addition, the earlier versions of the songs on that album where much better. I don't listen to Hardcore music anymore, but I can still listen to In my head for that nostalgia kick.
Interesting takes and while I appreciate them, I much prefer Damaged and Slip it in to most of their other albums. I think they peaked with Rollins but also had too much talky bullshit later on
your list is pretty spot on with me, but i would def put my war ahead of slip it in. i think slip it in is really good, but the title track lyrics suck and just stupid. instrumentals is excellent
I saw Black Flag with Ron Reyes around this time of year in 2013. Regret not taking the chance to interact with Ron when he was walking around and hanging out before the show. Of course Greg was being reclusive. By the way I was in the front row but off to the side of the crowd by the rails across from the PA. Still had a ringing in my ears the next morning.
I met Greg on that tour, here in New Orleans. I'd just bought a Process of Weeding Out shirt that he insisted I wear, over the shirt I had on. lol! I happily complied! I was connected w/ him on Facebook at the time & I used to order lots of SST stuff from him in the early '90s, so he knew who I was. When the band was setting up to play, I talked him up again for about 10 minutes. We mostly talked about cats. I'm glad I reached out to him, as the opportunity will probably never present itself again.
I just listened to I Can See You today, lol. I agree the title track blows, the other 3 are listenable to me. To me OFF is more of the real black flag that the band on that green record.
That live 84 album is hard to find. I don't think it's an official release on vinyl is it? I know the cassette is. That was actually the first Black Flag I ever got, the Live in 84 cassette when I was in 7th grade. I was a little late to the party that was 1987-88. Been hooked ever since.
Damn you were at who's got the 10 1/2? Fucking dope, I know the old punk rock shows were like genuinely dangerous and would have skinheads and shit but I still kind of want to go anyway lol. I'm sure it was different in Oregon.
I absolutely love the Loose Nut album. I've been trying to like In My Head but besides the title track I'm not feeling it. It and Family Man are the only Black Flag albums I don't absolutely love. Maybe it will grow on me. I'm a 44 year old Metalhead that just recently got into Hardcore Punk!! I've been diving deep into all the old Hardcore Punk bands.
@@Rob78169 Well actually ‘In My Head’ has a slight metal edge to it with a little more dissonance with Greg Ginn’s guitar playing. It might grow on you over time. Come back to it every now and then.
@@richmoreno9938 it's to much atonal guitar!! I found Loose Nut has a Jazzy Metal feel. I'm sure it will grow on me. Really digging the band. Been only listening to them and all their albums the last few months. I used to have Wasted Years on cd a long time ago but I was a Death Metal only guy then!!
@@Rob78169 I’m 54. Still love 80’s Thrash Metal and Black Metal. I saw the Venom, Slayer and Exodus tour in 1985. It was fuckin epic. Still have their records in my collection. Anyway, all this talk of ‘In My Head’ has me listening to it now. 😂 It’s probably been a few years since I’ve spun it. It’s a slow burn but I love it. ‘White Hot’ is one of my favorite tracks, pretty doom-ish guitar riffs on that one. It’s a bit of a mental record hence the title. And BTW welcome to the world of Hardcore! I was also a metal head turned punk in late ‘85. The amount Hardcore/Punk from the 80’s is endless. Enjoy your discoveries!
Just gave a listen to the I Can See You EP for the first time since probably 1986 and it's even worse than I remember. They broke up about a year too late.
I knew even before you got there that you were biased towards the ron reyes / keith morris era of Black Flag. And I Can See You was a good E.P. The only lineup of Black Flag that matter to me was Ginn, Rollins, Stevenson, Kira. The albums they churned out were the best. As a teen in the 80s, after first hearing My War, and Slip It In. Then hearing the brilliance of Family Man and In My Head, there's no questions, no doubts. But this is my preference. Just like you have yours.
No Family Man or Process of Weeding Out? Also I Can See You is decent. The track Out of This World on there is so good and should’ve been on In My Head
'Out of This World' is a damn good one. Kira co-wrote that one. It wasn't on the original press of 'In My Head', but it was on the 1990 CD reissue that I used to have.
I have it but it is boring. Check out the new bootleg Black Flag live 1984 The stone. On police story records. It's the full show and if you play it at 40 rpm's it is beyond great.
I just got the bootleg of the live 1984 from the Stone in San Francisco. It is the two record copy that has the full show on it. If you play it at 40 rpm's it is wonderful.
Man. You have the live albums ranked to lo. They rule. If you get the Annihilation bootleg. You can actually piece the Who's got the 10 and a half together and get the whole show.
The I Can See You EP came out I think in 1989. After they broke up. I always liked the non album song Kickin n Stickin lol the reunion album What the…. Is horrible lol I so glad I never bought it
In My Head and Loose Nut are great but the production and performance is so blah. I listen to the last show recording when I want to hear that material. It really makes those songs shine. It's a great and powerful performance
I appreciate your video, but I don't 100% agree with some of the placing. I would kill for a copy of that last show on vinyl. I have the board copy of that show and I think that it's a powerful performance.
The best are Damaged & the TV party 7". Then first 4 years, Slip it in, My War, Loose nut & In my head; nervous breakdown, jealous again & 6pck are all great too;; the other lives, comps & the What the... aren't even worth mentioning.
The song Out Of This World absolutely kills! The only terrible song on I Can See You is Kickin & Stickin. I Can See You & You Let Me Down aren't the best songs, but they both have cool distortion. 10 1/2 "lacks energy?!?" Did you even _listen to_ Loose Nut on that album? It's lit! That's Rollins at his finest! You call Portland "fabulous," so I'm not surprised at your musical taste!
You're being too hard on the I Can See You EP. The title track sounded much better live, but it's still a catchy little number, and "Out of This World" kicks up some dust. What The... should have been last on the list. That album's an atrocity. Pure, rotten piss. A disgrace to the name Black Flag. My expectations were low and it still managed to disgust me. I also think you're misremembering what the Last Show LP sounds like - they literally play every song faster than on the studio albums! Agree with you, also, that Who's Got the 10 1/2? shoulda included the whole set. Fantastic takes of "Forever Time" and "I've Had It" (and the guitarless jam that follows it) are both phenomenal and their absence is mind-boggling. I woulda liked to see Family Man included in your list. What an intense dichotomy of a record. The A-side may be completely worthless, but that's fine - Hank's talents as a poet and storyteller were still embryonic then. And I thought the B-side sucked, too, until I started smoking pot and suddenly realized what an incredible mindfuck those songs are. Thankfully, when I put down the pipe several years back, I still retained my deep appreciation for the unique brilliance of those jams. Since you're obviously into collecting vinyl, you should keep your eyes open for the bootleg LP of the band's session at Radio Tokyo Studios in mid-1984. I think it was broadcast on KPFK at the time - a few generated and tinny-sounding FM-sourced cuts wound up being tacked onto the 1982 Demos bootleg in the mid-'90s - but a pre-FM master source surfaced about a decade and a half ago, and the 12" comes from the upgraded master. And man, does it ever rip.
Did you skip Six Pack EP and Louie Louie single cause you don’t have them? The first 4 years has all those early singles on it. That and Everything Went Black are my favorites
Trying to show people black flag and the whole last half of my war is just Henry screaming and the songs are super slow. Not exactly a party punk rock album, I mean none of them are but that one slogs in the depression.
I played Damaged to death back in high school, love that album.
Yeah not getting laid in HS blows.
Slip It In is amazing. I love Black Coffee, it's my favorite Rollins song
Slip It In's great. It and Loose Nut are almost like a double-album to me.
You look awesome, by the way. Or are you Siouxie? 😄
Black Coffee is a favorite of mine also.
Damaged got me through one of the coldest winters in my memory. Everything went Black is also a wonderful accompaniment to starving in your apartment.
The SPITS are wonderful.
@@TheWinston7777 any favorites to look out for!! I noticed they have 6 self titled albums. Gonna check them out. Thanks for recommendation!! Love your videos and concert footage👌🏼
@@Rob78169 The SPITS record with the song I'm Scum, is the best.
@@TheWinston7777 thanks man!! I'll check it out. They are pretty damn good from what I heard so far!!✌🏼
Listen up you dirty punk poseurs! I saw Greg Ginn back in the 1960's when he first stole the chords for the song "Depression" and he was all by himself playing on a cheap acoustic guitar in his dirty and dingy parent's garage. He even played terribly back then with his little greasy fingers and his pale yellowish skin - However, he was actually playing a bit better than when I saw him on tour this year and all I witnessed was a battle between his old Turkey-Neck flapping and he tried to move his rhythmless neck, and his stiff skinny fingers trying their hardest to hit chords and notes that he kept missing and skipping because his brain isn't quite communicating with his extremities anymore... However, he was awesome just being his bad playing, no rhythm self! If he would have played as good as "Flag" I would have been pissed cause "Flag" sounds like some pumped-up fake good cover band version of Black Flag and Ginn sounds like a really bad version of Black Flag and THAT is what I EXPECT and Respect!
1982 demos were way better recordings in terms of energy than the actual recordings of my war and slip it in.
I 100% agree with your comment. 1982 demons 🔥
100%.
I Can See You is a prog-jazz-hardcore masterpiece. The title track is experimental and pioneering, and you let me down is a comical yet dark and brooding tune. The whole EP is one of my favorites from the band's entire repertoire. I suppose I'm a little biased, being an avant-garde musician and a huge fan of the genre myself, but albums like I Can See You and The Process Of Weeding Out are what got me to begin to even tolerate punk. I abhorred it and regarded it as juvenile low talent music until I heard the searching, inventive and angular work of Ginn on the aforementioned albums. In short, my feelings were hurt by your best to worst scale.
I liked I can see you
He also didn't include Family Man in the list which is one of their best.
Hmmm...hope you like Hole's "Pretty on the Inside" if ur still not sure about Punk.
“Out Of This World” is a kick ass track on “I Can See You” EP. The whole EP is solid in my opinion.
@@papermallard no, Armageddon man is good, I can’t stick any of you is good, the spoken word stuff is cool but I don’t listen to it and the rest is not good
Thanks for sharing your collection with us. Really awesome records!
Thank You.
I love Process of weeding out and Family man Side B as well.
Instrumental Black Flag is sick.
^nailed it.
2 of the best ones
I have SST Records instrumental comp. Black Flag, Gone, Pell Mell, Henry Kaiser, Lee Ranaldo, Fred Frith, Elliot Sharp, Steve Fisk, wide variety of instruments and synths
I ❤ Kira
My personal favorite album from black flag is In My Head. I just absolutely love the song structures and lyrics to each song on that record. Plus you can really feel and tell how on point the band members were together through that entire album. They could do a one take of the entire album and boom, be finished. And I wouldn’t be surprised honestly. Black flag is one of the hardest working bands ever
People underestimate how much hard work it takes to make great punk music
Listen up you dirty punk poseurs! I saw Greg Ginn back in the 1960's when he first stole the chords for the song "Depression" and he was all by himself playing on a cheap acoustic guitar in his dirty and dingy parent's garage. He even played terribly back then with his little greasy fingers and his pale yellowish skin - However, he was actually playing a bit better than when I saw him on tour this year and all I witnessed was a battle between his old Turkey-Neck flapping and he tried to move his rhythmless neck, and his stiff skinny fingers trying their hardest to hit chords and notes that he kept missing and skipping because his brain isn't quite communicating with his extremities anymore... However, he was awesome just being his bad playing, no rhythm self! If he would have played as good as "Flag" I would have been pissed cause "Flag" sounds like some pumped-up fake good cover band version of Black Flag and Ginn sounds like a really bad version of Black Flag and THAT is what I EXPECT and Respect!
Drinking And Driving is my favourite song by them so based
"Hardest working?" I guess so! It's Sept 2023 & in the last 3 years I've seen them 5 times in Texas (I did travel to 3 different cities because I'm _that_ punk rock)! They're still touring like crazy. I wish they'd put out some spectacular album, something to redeem the "What The" garbage! There are a few OK songs on it, but mostly it sucks BAD.
The song "My War" is possibly my favorite song of all time and is actually what got me into punk. I love the rest of the album as well and would probably put it in 2nd place for my favorite Black Flag albums right behind Damaged.
That's the song they're opening with on the tour they've been on for the last 3 years! They play the whole album, take a 20 min break, then play all their hits/favorites. This current 2023 Black Flag is my least favorite version, but they still kick ass!
even though the second side is awful (apart from scream), I think my war is better than damaged because the riffs and refrains are better. I also believe the songs are structured far better and the guitar tone is less tiring. I’d still give damaged a 7-8 but my war is at least a 7.5 to me
@@BIGBADNEWS I'm not a musician so can't say much about riffs, refrains, or tiring guitar tones, but I do know that I really like Nothing Left Inside a lot, I like Scream, and Three Nights is good, or at least I don't hate it. I love the distortion on Greg's extensive guitar work on side B. People rag on & insult Greg and the current Black Flag, and I get it, but Mike Vallely is a monster on these three songs. He screams well & looks like he's possessed and does a great job IMO. I've seen this band 4 times in the last 3 years and I often hear people in the audience complimenting Mike and the way he belts out these slow songs.
The B-side of MY WAR is a blast. My favorite BLACK FLAG album, it's the first i had, hated it in '84, love it now
Loving DRI from the Dealing With It album playing in the background while you're talking about Black Flag. That's one of my all time favourite albums in any genre. So pissed off. How does a teenager write "Nursing Home Blues"? Such amazing empathy- and the bass on that track- sooooo gnarly.
Greetings from Accra, Ghana! Saw Black Flag in Olympia, WA in 85 during the Slip It In tour. I got to chat it up with Henry Rollins and that is an experience I will always treasure. One of the realist kats ever. Btw, are you in Portland? Wipers were the first live show I ever saw. Greg Sage is an amazing human being!
Loose Nut is a great Rock album. I agree with you on My War. Side one kicks ass. Side two drags. I disagree on Slip It In. I love the song. Damaged is not only my favorite Black Flag album I think it is the best Punk album ever.
MY WAR was the first i heard and it is my favorite
I love Loose Nut. It's one of my favorites!!
It's like listing your favorite ice cream. It's all good. I wasn't a fan of the dirge metal at the time but I've gotten older since first getting into punk and thrash. Damaged is still a fave, you can tell how much they put into it. They pioneered the shift from punk performance to more skilled and intentional musicianship and they held it together for a long time, considering. Think about how many bands never really changed over their careers. Rollins' West Memphis Three benefit is my favorite revisit, with Flag a close second. Thanks for posting this.
I would have made an identical list. Jealous again is my favorite as well. It was life changing for me. Thank you for sharing.
hey, props for not putting Damaged on top as I'm sure most would do. (Not that there's anything wrong with that--It is a TREMENDOUS album.) But Everything Went Black contains the first 3 BF singers and is mandatory. Ron Reyes is currently my fav of all the BF singers and that 12" EP that you have on top is terrific. Just look at him in the Decline film! The guy brings it!
I agree.
100% agree too, Keith #2.
those are good picks, I had most of the ones mentioned, to me Jealous Again and Damaged are about equal, when HR spoke, "..my name's Henry and you're here with me now.." you could imagine a dark and sweaty and angst filled place in his voice..and on Jealous Again it was full throttle all the way high energy..I saw them recently, I enjoyed hearing all the old familiar songs, and I'm pleased that the band is still carrying the torch..
Gotta be honest, I disagree with alot of your opinions but I gotta give you props for the collection. You're the only person I've seen with the last show on vinyl. Pretty sick!
Aside from the top 2 and the new one with dinosaur jr album art, you hit it , been a black flag fan my whole life , as far as top 2 I think nervous breakdown is best , hey you should do a GBH worst to best, thanks
GBH worst to best comming up.
Loved watching this. Instant sub. My favorite is the Dez stuff. Six Pack EP & Damaged With Dez. Curious where you'd rank those
Enjoyed this and like the new set Red red red. 🦞
oddly enough this video came up today and weirdly enough I was thinking how amazing "Slip it in" (the song), is. The drum intro, the bass intro, the guitar work... all make that song stellar. Listen to "A song for the Deaf" from QOTSA. You might recognize those slip it in drums. But, I can see how the lyrical content could turn someone off.
For some reason I love in my head! The sound on it is amazing
I like it too. My fav is MY WAR
I think Greg was trolling Rollins with the mix on that one (Rollins is mixed way to the back), but that's ok cuz to me the best part of the band is Greg's crazy guitar work.
You ever hear the "My War" demos? Five piece line up with Chuck Biscuits on drums. Really makes you wonder what could've been...
I Can See You: I recognize at least two of the song titles from the In My Head cassette, back in the day. (Maybe they were bonus tracks?) I thought they were perfectly good songs. Some info on these tracks would be nice-for example, are they all full songs, or are some instrumentals?
Who's Got the 10 1/2: I think the cassette version of this release was longer (maybe the full show?).
Surprising 2nd place choice! Somehow, this one got lumped in with ‘The Process of Weeding Out’ in my mind and never seemed like a real album. Maybe a missing link. Also: No ‘Family Man’ on this list?
(Sorry for following long-winded comment, but I find myself reminiscing and such..) So back in tha' day, I was as hardcore a Black Flag fan as you could find (I got the bars tattoo'd on the underside of my scrotum,🤔🙄😏🤫!!!), and am stoked to hear your comprehensive BF LP breakdown! Great job btw!! However, nowadays it appears as tho I'm in the minority on this one(as I love the vocal stylings of Keith, Chavo & Dez for sure and Henry was rude to me in person a couple of times...but he's not alone on that one...) but around the time of the live84 cassette recording, when they were on tour supporting the SlipItIn album, those guys were phenomenol and really hitting their stride(imo). And I gotta keep it real, Henry (up their WITH IGGY) is one of the greatest if not THE greatest frontman of all-time!..I was 14 and this was my second concert and first hardcore show!!!Holy fuck, this was the loudest show I've ever been to,( the windows apparently we're so overstressed at the ol'BlueNote bar in Columbia, Missour, that they cracked and shit fom the sheer velocity of the loudness!). At this moment in time, october of 84', me and my friends couldn't get enough of Black Flag and we wore out that SlipItIn LP big-time! We used to look at it like this----Black Flag: Heavier than heavy metal/Harder than Hardcore and louder than any muthafukkin' band on the planet!! The 'slip it in -into Gimme gimme gimme' masterpiece on the following tour in 85 kicked ass, but they kind of lost something following Kira's departure, but that's another conversation... Anyhow, at this point, Flag opened with the Process of weeding out instrumental as they would normally open with a lengthy instrumental to warm up with, and then Henry would get in the stage, and the shit was on....Go time baby, they even played 'No More' from Damaged at this show(the 84 show) They just kicked ass and basically, single handedly got me thru some really rough personal times in junior high, blah blah blah.. like Dez says, I'm sure you've all 'heard it before' ..,.. but as a parting gift, I shall leave you with a moderately humorous story from that show.,.,.... So I bravely entered the pit(first time ever), i was literally sucked into the vortex of the circle of slammers which appeared to be some violent, scary looking people( I mean, what can I say? I was pretty green as far as loud hardcore RockandRoll concerts go at this point ) Anyhow, by the time I made it back to the starting point of where I entered the vortex, I was totally horizontal about 6 feet high/ literally sucked in and spit out, then thrown into a group of 2or3very redneck looking couples( maybe just there cuz they heard the circus was in town or something! I don't know,) but .,..uuhhmm...So yaa, I got violently thrown into these 2 redneck couples with mixed drinks &beers in their hands, at which point their drinks exploded, beer bottles exploded and some severe anger at my young punker ass(naively underestimating the ferocity of a Black Flag concert) seemed to be quickly generating as I soaked the allz of them with booze and knocked the allz of them, including myself and others to the floor! The bouncers or compassionate bystanders or combination of the 2 prevented me from getting a beatdown if I recall correctly! Don't really remember exactly, but In retrospect, I probably would have been pretty pissed if the roles were reversed.... Anyhow, this be back when pits were survival of the fittest and all who entered the circle, left battered and bruised... Crazy days and Good times! Anyways, CHEERS
Lol what did Henry say to you?
"now she's black" is just a masterpiece. so raw, thrilling yet beautiful
Play Now She's Black at 40 rpm's if you have a turntable that allows that. It becomes even better.
My War and Damaged are my favorite. I'm an old metalhead first so I love side b on My War. That album influenced the Melvins among others.
Damaged was the first Punk / Hardcore music I ever heard in 1984.
Changed my life.
This is a valid list and pretty accurate to my own critique of their discography also, but where's your copies of the Six Pack/I've Heard it Before/ American Waste EP, the Louie Louie/Damaged 1 EP and the TV Party/I've Got to Run/My Rules EP? Those are essential parts of the collection. Dez totally killing it on vocals with the first two and Henry going off on the third. Plus, Emil on drums on TV Party. His only released recording with the band.Those are mega kick ass documents of the band in full throttle, even with all the vocalist changes. I mean, you've got the Nervous Breakdown EP, so where are the others? Sorry to nitpick, but I'm a longtime Black Flag maniac and just wanted to interject my two cents.
As for the overall video, it's cool you have Everything Went Black so high up on the list (and a real deal blacked out copy might I add) because that double album is pure fire. Every version by all three singers works great for some crazy reason. All different and all killer. They all brought something. The Keith vocals on the earliest songs are probably my favorite, but then the version of Police Story with Dez is mind blowing, so it's hard to actually choose. I say just listen to them all right? All the Dez era songs are perfect with him singing too. But no one tears up Jealous Again like Ron and that's the truth. He owns that one. Revenge too. That EP is perfect I agree. I saw Black Flag with Ron singing in Brooklyn, NY a few years ago with that horrid drummer (so bad) and like you said, he saved the show. Shit, he saved the whole tour! Awesome to see and hear him do those old tunes nowadays and do them well too.
I won't recap your whole list, but I wanted to add how surprised I was to hear your thoughts on Now She's Black from Loose Nut. Glad you acknowledged it. Man, what a song!! The screams at the end that Henry unleashes are blood curdling. I love when he screams "I'm black!" and then says "let me in" in a calm tone. Start to finish that songs rules. A definite hidden gem. Wish a live version existed somewhere.
So yeah, cool video and legit ratings list of a truly legendary bands efforts. One of my all time favorite groups. What a great story they have.
Thanks for the reply. I do need to get the Dez recordings.Check out my footage of the 2019 lineup in Detroit Michigan. By the way Detroit is a nice place to live. The anti Detroit TH-cam videos you see are racist nonsense. I am doing just fine living on 8 mile. The deed to my home is in my home, not in a bank. That fact allows me to support wild rock and roll bands.
@@TheWinston7777 Been to Detroit a few times years back. I was in the Corktown area mainly. My old band played Corktown Tavern next to the old Tigers Stadium. We ended up at some other odd places with locals. Had some fun. I actually like the Omega Man vibe of downtown too. At least when I was last there. 2005 or so? Cool city.
@@angryeel2864 I like Detroit because it is affordable. Houses can be payed off in 5 years with a little hard work. The winter weather is a tough one but with thermal underwear you get through just fine. Keep a good charge on the car battery also.
@@TheWinston7777 Under Armour saves the day in modern times LOL
I completely agree with your first three picks! That was Black Flag at its finest!
I LOVE SLIP IT IN. ITS A GREAT ALBUM AND BASICALLY MY FAVORITE ALBUM
Love the TSOL shirt!
My top 5 Black Flag albums:
1. Loose Nut
2. My War
3. Slip it In
4. In My Head
5. Damaged
Yes, I like the more metal version of Black Flag.
Valid
Who's got the 10 1/2 - I love and played the shit out of that back in the day!!!!
I did too!
love them all personally. the later slower sludge metal premise of their later period is very special. a bit of a black horse but i really like "the process of weeding out" LP these days. will say "I can see you" next to "what the" has the worse artwork.. the bootleg "Damaged with dez" which collects all of the dezo era with a nice addition of him doing rise above is great purchase too if you can find it.
01:15 - your comment about the record makes me laugh OUT LOUD 😂 i think i'm gonna make a record named "Trying hard and just not working out" 😂😂😂
Awesome video
The first four years and damaged are my personal favorites.
The production on Jealous again album was really good for its time and it is one of the best Black Flag albums
I forgot to include the BLACK FLAG songs from THE DECLINE Soundtrack. They would have been at the near the top.
JEALOUS AGAIN is not an album
@@anfrankogezamartincic1161 The way the songs on it were played, sang and recorded make it anything it needs to be.
This is great!
Basically it goes from Newest to Oldest…lol…Slip It In is an awesome gateway album for rock people wanting to try out more hardcore style punk. This was my entry to Black Flag in ‘84, being a hard rock/metal guy. Next was Damaged and that was something else. Lot of time in the Walkman going to the mall or out on the BMX back in the 80’s. And personally I love the song Slip It In…lol
I can see you is waaaaaay better than what the? Kickin' and stickin' is such a good ass song despite the lyrics lol
💯 agree with your list! I love Jealous Again.
Slip it in has my favorite BF riff & the riff from Black Coffee is a close 2nd.
In my head is the best record of theirs in my opinion. As you said, every song is good. It did change my life as I sat in front of my stereo and figured out all of Greg Ginns guitar lines. I swap that out with Damaged. I find that record unlistenable now. In addition, the earlier versions of the songs on that album where much better. I don't listen to Hardcore music anymore, but I can still listen to In my head for that nostalgia kick.
Interesting takes and while I appreciate them, I much prefer Damaged and Slip it in to most of their other albums. I think they peaked with Rollins but also had too much talky bullshit later on
I own every one of those vinyls except the first green one, and now I don't feel bad for missing it.
your list is pretty spot on with me, but i would def put my war ahead of slip it in. i think slip it in is really good, but the title track lyrics suck and just stupid. instrumentals is excellent
I see the Angry Samoans sticker in the background
You should do a ranking on them
Ok. I will. Today.
Thank you so much they are my favorite band
Excellent
Great video man! Out of curiosity what's the band playing in the background? Sounds like some powerviolence band
I can't remember.
I thought I heard a DRI song early in the video.
I think I heard D.R.I.
Might be good to give the line up for each one for those of us who are not as ...hardcore.
Where would you rank The Process of Weeding Out on the list?
And Family Man! 😃
I guess he must not own them. Strange that he would include a bootleg of their last show in '86 but not those official releases.
I saw Black Flag with Ron Reyes around this time of year in 2013. Regret not taking the chance to interact with Ron when he was walking around and hanging out before the show. Of course Greg was being reclusive. By the way I was in the front row but off to the side of the crowd by the rails across from the PA. Still had a ringing in my ears the next morning.
BTW I figured your vinyl copy of Live 84 was not official since it was originally a cassette only release.
I met Greg on that tour, here in New Orleans. I'd just bought a Process of Weeding Out shirt that he insisted I wear, over the shirt I had on. lol! I happily complied! I was connected w/ him on Facebook at the time & I used to order lots of SST stuff from him in the early '90s, so he knew who I was. When the band was setting up to play, I talked him up again for about 10 minutes. We mostly talked about cats. I'm glad I reached out to him, as the opportunity will probably never present itself again.
My War is my favorite from them. I love the slower songs. They didn't stick to one style. I respect that.
I like that record also.
I just listened to I Can See You today, lol. I agree the title track blows, the other 3 are listenable to me. To me OFF is more of the real black flag that the band on that green record.
That live 84 album is hard to find. I don't think it's an official release on vinyl is it? I know the cassette is. That was actually the first Black Flag I ever got, the Live in 84 cassette when I was in 7th grade. I was a little late to the party that was 1987-88. Been hooked ever since.
Yep it was only available on tape at first.
In My Head has the sickest Ray P. artwork too.
I keep trying to concentrate but can't stop thrashing to the D.R.I in back ground.... I need that live 84 record someone sell it ot me.
Damn you were at who's got the 10 1/2? Fucking dope, I know the old punk rock shows were like genuinely dangerous and would have skinheads and shit but I still kind of want to go anyway lol. I'm sure it was different in Oregon.
Damn I gotta remember to listen to pre Rollins black flag, I just usually think of damaged as their first album and jump into that.
It is their debut, they just had a few eps before it with dez!
I love "I can see you"...much better than the new stuff
My thoughts exactly on Slip it In. That fucking title track, man.
Hi, what about TV Party? saludos desde Argentina
Skipped some albums and added some EP's
Ok so you like pre Rollins black flag vs Henry bf? I do like the other vocalist but Henry was there way longer and is black flag to me.
I love I Can See You!
honestly slip it in should be rated below my war mainly because of the title track itself which just completely slaughters it
Oh man, ‘I Can See You’ is excellent. It sounds like it’s from the same sessions as ‘In My Head’ and ‘Loose Nut’ which are also great in my opinion.
It is in fact from the same session and some versions of in my head even include it
I absolutely love the Loose Nut album. I've been trying to like In My Head but besides the title track I'm not feeling it. It and Family Man are the only Black Flag albums I don't absolutely love. Maybe it will grow on me. I'm a 44 year old Metalhead that just recently got into Hardcore Punk!! I've been diving deep into all the old Hardcore Punk bands.
@@Rob78169 Well actually ‘In My Head’ has a slight metal edge to it with a little more dissonance with Greg Ginn’s guitar playing. It might grow on you over time. Come back to it every now and then.
@@richmoreno9938 it's to much atonal guitar!! I found Loose Nut has a Jazzy Metal feel. I'm sure it will grow on me. Really digging the band. Been only listening to them and all their albums the last few months. I used to have Wasted Years on cd a long time ago but I was a Death Metal only guy then!!
@@Rob78169 I’m 54. Still love 80’s Thrash Metal and Black Metal. I saw the Venom, Slayer and Exodus tour in 1985. It was fuckin epic. Still have their records in my collection. Anyway, all this talk of ‘In My Head’ has me listening to it now. 😂 It’s probably been a few years since I’ve spun it. It’s a slow burn but I love it. ‘White Hot’ is one of my favorite tracks, pretty doom-ish guitar riffs on that one. It’s a bit of a mental record hence the title. And BTW welcome to the world of Hardcore! I was also a metal head turned punk in late ‘85. The amount Hardcore/Punk from the 80’s is endless. Enjoy your discoveries!
You are 100% correct on the Slip It In assessment.
Remove that and the album is Raw Black Flag!
Greg Ginns guitar sound was insane.
What? The title track rules!
BLACK FLAG
Ron Reyes, Keith Morris, Dez Cadena , and Henry Rollins.
Sing and dance to all albums EVERY day like it is my last! 🏴🏴
I Can See You cassette ep was the first of anything BF related I ever saw and the cover haunted me. Good thing I didn't hear it lol
Just gave a listen to the I Can See You EP for the first time since probably 1986 and it's even worse than I remember. They broke up about a year too late.
I never listen to it. It just sits in the collection.
I love drinking and driving in in my head.
Ya lost me at "...fabulous Portland, Oregon."
How about a little information with each record, like year of release, lineup, etc??
That would take an hour.
Basically all black flag before Rollins is beyond reproach. Most everything else sucks
Who’s Got the 10 1/2 is my favorite. Seems wild it was rated so low.
I like 'Live '84' a lot more. :)
Are you missing a few albums? I have a Black Flag LP called Family man with a purple cover. I didn’t see it in your list
I have it. I should make a new BLACK FLAG video.
I knew even before you got there that you were biased towards the ron reyes / keith morris era of Black Flag. And I Can See You was a good E.P. The only lineup of Black Flag that matter to me was Ginn, Rollins, Stevenson, Kira. The albums they churned out were the best. As a teen in the 80s, after first hearing My War, and Slip It In. Then hearing the brilliance of Family Man and In My Head, there's no questions, no doubts. But this is my preference. Just like you have yours.
No Family Man or Process of Weeding Out? Also I Can See You is decent. The track Out of This World on there is so good and should’ve been on In My Head
I got those records after the video was made. I am not excited about them. They would be at the bottom of the list.
'Out of This World' is a damn good one. Kira co-wrote that one. It wasn't on the original press of 'In My Head', but it was on the 1990 CD reissue that I used to have.
Any thoughts on “Family Man”??
What happened to the Family Man album? I did not see it in the video.
I have it but it is boring. Check out the new bootleg Black Flag live 1984 The stone. On police story records. It's the full show and if you play it at 40 rpm's it is beyond great.
What about THE FIRST FOUR YEARS? That, along with DAMAGED get the tie for 1st place in my award winning critique book.
I just got the bootleg of the live 1984 from the Stone in San Francisco. It is the two record copy that has the full show on it. If you play it at 40 rpm's it is wonderful.
Man. You have the live albums ranked to lo. They rule. If you get the Annihilation bootleg. You can actually piece the Who's got the 10 and a half together and get the whole show.
The I Can See You EP came out I think in 1989. After they broke up. I always liked the non album song Kickin n Stickin lol the reunion album What the…. Is horrible lol I so glad I never bought it
Swap Jealous Again with Nervous Breakdown, and I'd be more inclined to agree.
Process of Weeding Out on Live 84 is hands down the best track on all of them.
In My Head and Loose Nut are great but the production and performance is so blah. I listen to the last show recording when I want to hear that material. It really makes those songs shine. It's a great and powerful performance
I appreciate your video, but I don't 100% agree with some of the placing. I would kill for a copy of that last show on vinyl. I have the board copy of that show and I think that it's a powerful performance.
The best are Damaged & the TV party 7". Then first 4 years, Slip it in, My War, Loose nut & In my head; nervous breakdown, jealous again & 6pck are all great too;; the other lives, comps & the What the... aren't even worth mentioning.
loose nut and in my head are amazing albums.
The song Out Of This World absolutely kills! The only terrible song on I Can See You is Kickin & Stickin. I Can See You & You Let Me Down aren't the best songs, but they both have cool distortion. 10 1/2 "lacks energy?!?" Did you even _listen to_ Loose Nut on that album? It's lit! That's Rollins at his finest! You call Portland "fabulous," so I'm not surprised at your musical taste!
I didn't even know I can see you existed lol
You're being too hard on the I Can See You EP. The title track sounded much better live, but it's still a catchy little number, and "Out of This World" kicks up some dust. What The... should have been last on the list. That album's an atrocity. Pure, rotten piss. A disgrace to the name Black Flag. My expectations were low and it still managed to disgust me.
I also think you're misremembering what the Last Show LP sounds like - they literally play every song faster than on the studio albums! Agree with you, also, that Who's Got the 10 1/2? shoulda included the whole set. Fantastic takes of "Forever Time" and "I've Had It" (and the guitarless jam that follows it) are both phenomenal and their absence is mind-boggling.
I woulda liked to see Family Man included in your list. What an intense dichotomy of a record. The A-side may be completely worthless, but that's fine - Hank's talents as a poet and storyteller were still embryonic then. And I thought the B-side sucked, too, until I started smoking pot and suddenly realized what an incredible mindfuck those songs are. Thankfully, when I put down the pipe several years back, I still retained my deep appreciation for the unique brilliance of those jams.
Since you're obviously into collecting vinyl, you should keep your eyes open for the bootleg LP of the band's session at Radio Tokyo Studios in mid-1984. I think it was broadcast on KPFK at the time - a few generated and tinny-sounding FM-sourced cuts wound up being tacked onto the 1982 Demos bootleg in the mid-'90s - but a pre-FM master source surfaced about a decade and a half ago, and the 12" comes from the upgraded master. And man, does it ever rip.
Did you skip Six Pack EP and Louie Louie single cause you don’t have them? The first 4 years has all those early singles on it. That and Everything Went Black are my favorites
Trying to show people black flag and the whole last half of my war is just Henry screaming and the songs are super slow. Not exactly a party punk rock album, I mean none of them are but that one slogs in the depression.
My War is my favourite
I don’t care for Pettibones art on the What The lp.