The Bad Brains’ first full-length release: 1982.
By DeadSun

With little occurrence of dissention, 1976 through 1980 are regarded as the Punk and (yes) the New Wave Years--- the years when the ideas were still young, fresh, and potent as all hell. If as much can be said of the primal “Punk years”, then the sub-cultural movement that issued forth from it--- Hardcore music--- fell in between 1980 and 1986.

To the extent that punk grew out of a collective rage to rise up and kick an aging “arena rock” dinosaur square between the legs, so too did hardcore emerge as the reaction to punk, which by the dawn of the eighties, had become laden with much of the glammy, artsy fashion baggage that it had once sought to tear down. Hardcore denounced New Wave--- really just a euphemism for the major label’s attempts to house train Punk--- and sought to reaffirm the nihilism and aggressive cut of Punk. In those days, the popular appellation was “hardcore punk”, which was eventually shortened to Hardcore.

With scarce room for contention, the first breath that Hardcore took occurred in Southern California, whose first potential adherents crystallized their tastes from the sounds of outfits like Sham 69 (UK), Ramones, The Avengers, Fear, and the Germs. Depending on which true-blue old schoolies you could track down and ask (and I’m too young to be among this elite), the first prototype records cited, that laid the brickwork which gave Hardcore its own unique sound apart from Punk were:

1.) Middle Class “Out of Vogue” (1978)… 7”EP released on the Joke label.
2.) Bad Brains “Pay To Cum” (1980)… 7”EP released on BB001

As far as the Eastern United States is concerned--- Hardcore was parented and solidified into a genuine tour de force under the Bad Brains. And although scenes had sprouted on the West Coast “beach towns”, before and simultaneous to 1980’s “Pay To Cum”, the music laid down by the Bad Brains between 80-82 is, to most, the very essence of Hardcore’s dawn. Its impact was incredible. From DC to NYC, to San Fran, LA, Orange County, to Detroit and Austin--- Bad Brains’ stuff was THEE material to get your hands on. While all Hardcore outfits bashed out their songs with blitzkrieg speed and furious loudness--- the Brains not only did as much, but they had a very real mastery over those notes, which only served to fuel the mania that surrounded those now legendary shows. Their influence on young impressionable misfits, who went on to become Hardcore giants is well-documented: Ian Mackaye, Drew Stone, John Joseph, Al Barile, et al. They found favor among Brit Punk forefathers like the Clash and the Damned--- with the former being partially responsible for the Brains’ earliest fusions between the volatile rage of Hardcore, and the lazy, chugging rhythms of dub reggae. 

… and the music, when one considers during what time it was laid down, is mind-blowing. 

Bad Brains’ first full length release (1982)--- initially put out exclusively in cassette format, is one of the most important pieces of Hardcore music laid down during that chaotic, first surge of Hardcore, from 1980-1986. With very, very small exception, it was the fastest record of its time. Imagine the Ramones’ debut release--- played on a turntable at 78 rpm--- but heavier. 

Much, much heavier.

Luckily, a few good and thoroughly dedicated souls have made this historic recording--- utterly vital to any person looking for perspective as to the earliest examples of a distinct Hardcore identity--- available on compact disc format.

The overall impact of the early Hardcore movement is incalculable--- death metal, speed metal, grindcore, metalcore, thrash, et al, even (I dare say it) “nu” metal--- each of them influenced in their own way by the Hardcore sound, despite the attempts of first wave purists to keep Hardcore undiluted and free of what were known as “cross-over bands”. This, interestingly enough, arguably weakened the scene in the end, as no music or sub-culture with a revolutionary vein to it can remain static for very long. 

If you care to study the Hardcore tree--- then the best place to begin your search would be at its first roots. One of these days, I may touch upon this in far more depth than I obviously could in a “Favorites” article.

… but I tell you this: when examining those primal roots of Hardcore, there is hardly no better first acquisition than the Bad Brains’ first full length release from 1982.

Get it. Get perspective. Open another door.

Until next month, this is DS… signing off.

DS 

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Dredg – el cielo
By Scott Slapp

People bitch that I'm always telling them what I don't like and never what I do like. So for this month's favorites I asked our boss to reprint this review I wrote in 2002.  It has been 3 years and this CD is still one of my favorites.  So if you missed my words of wisdom about dredg the first time, consider yourself Slapped and read them now – Scott 

When I was handed this CD by my editor, I took a quick glance at it and saw the Interscope logo on it and thought, “great, another s***ty nu-metal band!”  I couldn’t have been more mistaken if I tried. I was totally unprepared for what was about to explode out of my speakers! 

I’m still a bit speechless; this album is beyond simple words and cliché’s. For a loudmouth with an opinion about everything, this has been a bit of a shock to those that know me. The music can literally take you to another place, sort of like a good Pink Floyd album. Drop a couple tabs and pop this puppy in and you’ll be in seventh heaven. Naw man, this ain’t acid rock. It’s in a class all it’s own. 

The Floyd comparison isn’t far off, I’d say take Pink Floyd and put them together with A Perfect Circle and you’ll wind up with a band like Dredg. Their sound is a surreal, mindbending exploration in sound and melody that totally engulfs you and holds you in its grasp. 

I’m in state of utter shock that a major label like Interscope would have enough taste to release something like this. It’s not your run of the mill blandness that we usually get from the majors. Actually, no words can be put down to describe Dredg because regardless of what you say, it still comes up far too short to do the music justice. This album is a modern masterpiece that is simply beautiful. Yeah, I said beautiful.. ok hell ain’t quite freezin’ over but I gotta tell you after attempting to write this damn review for a month, the best I can tell you is to stop reading my mindless dribble, move your ass out of that seat and go buy this thing. I’m tellin’ you right now this album has my vote for album of year! Hands down!  Dude, you still hear?  Come on, you can skip buying that dimebag today, and buy this CD instead. I’m telling you it will give you a much more intense buzz! 

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Enuff Z'nuff – Tweaked
By Keavin Wiggins

This month marks the 6-month anniversary of Favorites. It has been a fun ride to look back at great albums of the past and revisit them. I'm sure many that know me expected an Enuff Z'nuff review here months ago, as they are one of my favorite bands. The wait is over!  You can pay off your bets now. 

Out of Enuff Z'nuff's 13 albums, Tweaked has been at the top of my list since its release in 1995.  Or rather 1996 when I got my hands on it.  When Enuff Z'nuff's debut came out in 1989, I picked it up after hearing Paul Stanley praise them in an interview and then hearing "Fly High Michelle" on the radio.  I'm a Beatles nut and a diehard metal and hard rock fan. And the fab-four influence was readily apparent in this group, but it was the blending of that with hard rock that really appealed to me. I didn't really care for the image, but luckily I heard the music before I saw how Atlantic was marketing the group.  I liked the debut but Enuff Z'nuff were just another band in my CD collection.  A couple years later, I was out with some friends at an all night "Rock n Bowl" and the DJ played a few cuts from the band's second album Strength.  I immediately recognized Donnie Vie's voice but the music was so much better than what I remembered from the debut. The next day I picked up the CD and was blown away. The band had grown leaps and bounds musically and the dark somber tone of the album really helped divorce the band from the image that many had of them.  They quickly jumped to the top of my favorite bands list and at the time, I was going through a rough spot in life trying to figure things out, so I made an immediate connection with the music and lyrics.  It was the perfect album at the perfect time for me and in a strange way, the dark mood prepared my ears for the grunge revolution that was to come soon after. 

I was a bit disappointed with the next album, Animals with Human Intelligence, at first listen.  I was hoping the band would pick up where they left off with Strength but this was a more polished, upbeat album.  The follow-up, 1985, came a year later. It was a cool collection of the band's early recordings.  The funny thing about it is in many ways it contained a lot of the elements of the pop-punk that would come out a few years later to much success. 

Then Enuff Z'nuff dropped off the radar screen.  They remained a favorite of mine and I constantly played their albums and checked the bins every time I visited the record store in hopes of finding a new album.  But I didn't find any new albums, so I figured the band had broken up. 

Then in March of 1996 two things happened.  The first thing was I was browsing through the entertainment section of the local paper and saw an upcoming concert listing for Enuff Z'nuff!  I immediately called ticketmaster and bought tickets.  Since they were touring that must have meant that they had a new album out.  My brother had just gotten online.  I had yet to "surf the web" but talked him into letting me use his computer to see what I could find out about the band.  A couple click later at Yahoo I found the original Enuff Z'nuff website and discovered that the band not only had a new CD out (Peach Fuzz), they had also released one the year before (Tweaked).  I immediately got on the phone and started calling record stores trying to find these albums.  Two hours later, I found Tweaked at a record store about 30 miles away.  I jumped in my truck and rushed off to pick it up.  I was on a mission. 

I got to the store, bought the CD, ripped it open as I rushed back to my truck and then the moment of truth arrived when the first notes of "Stoned" came on.  The hard rock Beatles-eastern influence was there and the dark somber tone that I loved about Strength was there in abundance but it was Donnie's emotional vocals that won the day. 

It turned out that Tweaked was thematic album.  I would say concept album, but those typically tell a full story, Tweaked explores the theme of the horrors of addiction.  Not really a topic that you would expect to hear on Top 40 radio, but the music really connected and was honest. Donnie's brilliance at melody making was still there but he once again let his emotions rule the day with these songs. The heavy rock Beatles influenced "Stoned" started the disc off strong with Donnie singing about hanging on to a thread to the one he loves, telling her that without her by his side, he was in real danger of letting his demons take over. That led to the STP like "Bullet from a Gun", then another highpoint came with "Mr Jones" where Donnie laid it all out on the line singing about how "Mr Jones" had taken control of his life.  That led into the Queen like "My Dear Dream," another new classic. The band even explored the heavy blues with songs like "Without Your Love,"  "If I Can't Have You" and "How Am I Supposed To Write A Love Song?". Donnie kept the struggles with addiction theme going with "It's Too Late".  Chip Z'nuff even hit on the theme when he sang about watching his best friend destroy his life in "My Heroin". 

The album was pure brilliance in my opinion. One critic at the time called it Enuff Z'nuff's Revolver.  I found out later that many hardcore fans found the album too dark but to me it was a masterpiece and above all, an honest album that came along when mainstream music was slipping back into plastic image groups and gimmicks. Tweaked was part two of what I call the Dark Trilogy from Enuff Z'nuff that started with Strength and ended with 1999s Paraphernalia. 

A lot of people that have heard of Enuff Z'nuff have a preconceived notion of them from their early success and unfortunately that notion is not positive.  I've had the fortune to turn quite a few people around in their thinking about this band by playing them Tweaked as well as their more middle of the road rock album Seven (recorded at the same time as Tweaked).  While I haven't made everyone that I tried to turn this band on to a diehard fan, almost all of them walk away with a new appreciation for them and those old image problems are gone.  If you are a fan of hard rock with melody and have an appreciation for dark music, I would highly recommend that you check out Tweaked.  At the very least, it will give you an understanding of what this band is really all about. And maybe, just maybe you will connect to it the way that I did. 

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