| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| cassandra is |
Posted - 11/17/2006 : 01:25:44
This is a band I just knew by name. I just bought their first album too weeks ago and I'm really enjoying it. It's amazing.
If there's any fans here, I was wondering which album would you recommend me to purchase after the first one? I heard that the second (Rock For Light) and the third one (I Against I) were really good too.
pas de bras pas de chocolat |
| 14 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| The King Of Karaoke |
Posted - 07/17/2007 : 15:44:45
http://youtube.com/watch?v=StwoLfhkzS0
Please give this more than the one star rating it currently has. Damn haters. I think for the Bad Brains tune alone it deserves more than that. |
| Carl |
Posted - 07/17/2007 : 13:49:31
Ohio.com.
Posted on Sun, Jul. 15, 2007
Bad Brains not so good
`Build a Nation' is lacking vocal power. Some legends are better off left dormant
By Malcolm X Abram
Beacon Journal music writer
When legendary rock bands reform to tour, it's often to make money they may not have made the first time around (i.e. the Pixies' lucrative victory lap) or a chance to bask in the adulation that escaped them in their first incarnation (the reformed Stooges have played to exponentially larger crowds than in their first go-round).
But when a dormant legendary group reforms and goes into the studio, the results can often be underwhelming (see the Stooges' recent The Weirdness) and occasionally embarrassing.
Hard-core punk/reggae band Bad Brains is indeed legendary, having broken out of the D.C. hard core/punk scene in the early '80s with its unusual melding of punk with roots reggae, Rasta philosophy and hints of jazz fusion and metal. Its legend is built largely on its first three releases -- the self-titled debut, the Ric Ocasek-produced Rock for Light and the slightly controversial metal-flavored I Against I -- and its history is a storied and messy melange of on-again-off-again.
Much of the mess is centered on volatile lead vocalist H.R., who argued with other band members (except drummer/brother Earl Hudson) about the direction of the music, hasn't proven to be the most dependable of folks and has twice been replaced.
But it's also H.R.'s malleable, acrobatic vocals that helped separate guitarist Gary ``Dr. Know'' Miller's riffs, be they metal, punk or reggae, from the rest of the hard core/punk pack that followed.
For its first album of new material since 1995's God of Love, Bad Brains enlisted Beastie Boy/fan Adam Yauch to produce Build a Nation. Though leagues ahead of God of Love and 1993's Rise, Nation isn't likely to spread the band's legend much beyond whatever dedicated fan base it still has.
The bulk of the elements that made the band great are there.Dr. Knowcan still whip out a catchy punk riff or metallic flourish, as heard on the punk/metal mash-up Give Thanks and Praises, and the rhythm section of Daryl Jennifer and Hudson can still ride an authentic reggae groove as easily as a breakneck hard-core chord progression or plodding metal riff.
But H.R.'s vocals simply cannot match up to his arsenal of vocal tricks, crazed octave leaps, guttural growls and exhortations in the band's previous work. The guy turned 50 this year, so his diminished power isn't that surprising, but there are moments when he simply doesn't sound particularly interested in the proceedings.
H.R., who has recorded several reggae albums as a solo artist, sounds more comfortable on the 14-track disc's five reggae numbers, particularly the album-closing dub-flavored Peace Be Unto Thee, and engaging in some old-school dance-hall toasting on Natty Dreadlock 'Pon the Mountain Top.
On the harder stuff, such as the funk-metal Expand Your Soul, Yauch tries to compensate for H.R.'s lack of energy (or ability) by bathing his voice in echo and other effects. There are tracks when it all comes together. The chugging Let There Be Angels (Just Like You) finds H.R. almost using his famous mutant operatic baritone, and on Universal Peace (which sounds like arewrite of Sail On) and Send You No Flowers, he actuallyraises his voice and sounds passionate for a few moments.
Fans who have followed the band through its various incarnations and more recent recordings will probably be pleased that Build a Nation leans back to the lean punk/reggae mix of Rock for Light rather than the metal-fusion-dominated I Against I or 1998's Quickness. But if the first three albums are your Bad Brains bible, then Build a Nation is more of a pleasant epilogue than a brand-new chapter.
Malcolm X Abram can be reached at mabram@thebeaconjournal.com or 330-996-3758. |
| SPEEDYMARIEGONZALES |
Posted - 05/25/2007 : 06:15:09
http://youtube.com/watch?v=fga787iJ-1Q
http://youtube.com/watch?v=ff27gTdy748
http://youtube.com/watch?v=SEImpnq-Z5k
http://youtube.com/watch?v=3EZAHn0O6tM
i love bad brains the upcoming tour or shows should be intersesting
h.r. singing that should be great
here are some vids from a show i was at in daytona i found on youtube
i live near there so it was great to see them here, i wasnt on spring break or anything
i just went to the show, but it was interseting the spring break crowd at a bad brains show
Manuel wants to keep his pet rat.
Manuel: Mrs. Fawlty, please understand. If he go, I go!
Basil Fawlty: Well, goodbye! |
| Carl |
Posted - 05/24/2007 : 12:08:05
http://www.portlandmercury.com/portland/Content?oid=330238&category=22153
Don't Call it a Comeback
All Praises to the Bad Brains
BY ANDREW TONRY
When a band past its prime reunites, what usually follows is a steady stream of hot trash. They're either washed up, bored, or broke. Lately we've been up to our ears in this soggy garbage; the Stooges recording The Weirdness, the Pixies touring despite hating each other, and Queen daring to play without Freddie Mercury.
But the seminal Bad Brains are one of the few, very rare exceptions to the rule. And as bassist Darryl Jenifer puts it, you can't even call it a comeback. "For us to be gone, come back, be gone, come back, that's just the way we roll," Jenifer says. "It's not a nostalgia tip for us. It's a mission. It's the life we're living. In terms of money, in terms of records, you know it's not about that. This is all God's work to us." And so the Brains, with their original lineup of Dr. Know, H.R., Earl Hudson, and Jenifer, continue their lifelong commitments to music and Rastafari.
"Some people got to worry about their success and monetary things, these seemingly important things," explains Jenifer. "But when you're a spiritual cat or a great spirit respecting youth, all things are not what they seem."
In this way Jenifer and his band mates avoid the pitfalls that have plagued so many other bands—they just don't force it. Whatever happens, happens. And when and if the forces come together, the Bad Brains move.
The most recent wave blew in two years ago. Jenifer and Doc started working on some riffs, they called in Beastie Boy Adam Yauch to produce, and the Brains' new album, Build a Nation, which drops in June, was born.
"I thought Yauch brought a really real, positive thing to our production. I think it's one of our better records, to tell you the truth," says Jenifer.
Indeed, Build a Nation is not the Bad Brains' Weirdness. The compositions, energy, and style of the new album are every bit as tight and raw as their classic I Against I. After spending time in the studio, the band is anxious to get back on the stage, where they expertly blend the maximum chaos of hardcore with ghostly dub reggae, one allowing the other to breathe, and in turn, accentuating the other's mania.
The two Portland shows are the Brains' first since a three-night stand which marked the closing of New York's CBGB's in the fall of 2006, and the only scheduled club dates before the band joins the summer festival circuit. It's quite a lucky break for our city, especially considering what happened to the Brains here back in 1995.
"Someone broke into our tour bus and stole family photos, pictures of our sons together when they had diapers on," says Jenifer. "We don't care, we don't want to know who you are, but if those pictures are there, please return them." But the incident hasn't soured the Brains' on Portland. Says Jenifer, "One rat don't spoil the situation." Thank God.
Bad Brains
Fri May 25 & Sat
May 26
Berbati's Pan
10 SW 3rd |
| danjersey |
Posted - 02/20/2007 : 22:01:43
seeing as fugazi and bad brains are in the works
maybe take a look at Glen E. Friedman's books.
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| Daisy Girl |
Posted - 02/20/2007 : 19:07:15
cool... I vaguely remember when I saw bad brains... I remember it was a really good show... wish i could remember more....
can't wait to hear your reccos on the albs... it's been too long since i have listened to them... |
| Homers_pet_monkey |
Posted - 02/20/2007 : 05:05:12
Another band that I will be seeing at the Primavera Festival in Barcelona.
 I'd walk her everyday, into a shady place
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| vilainde |
Posted - 02/20/2007 : 02:21:00
Yeah I've been meaning to get some Saints for a while but they seem to be hard to find here. I also have The Damned, The DK and X-Ray Spex on my wishlist. Oh, and Black Flag, and Minor Threat. Sigh...
Denis
"Can you hear me? I aint got shit to say." |
| Cheeseman1000 |
Posted - 02/20/2007 : 02:07:04
quote:
Originally posted by vilainde
I bought Rock For Light last week. It's pretty good. "Big Takeover" has little to see with the only version I knew, a cover by John Frusciante on his first solo album.
I've bought a load of punk records recently and I'm getting a kick out of them (although I can't listen to them at home obviously). Got me some Ramones, Undertones, Richard Hell, Stooges, Bad Brains, The Fall and Hüsker Dü.
Denis
"Can you hear me? I aint got shit to say."
Denis, next step: The Saints. BLT, back me up.
 Numberwang? |
| vilainde |
Posted - 02/20/2007 : 01:41:38
I bought Rock For Light last week. It's pretty good. "Big Takeover" has little to see with the only version I knew, a cover by John Frusciante on his first solo album.
I've bought a load of punk records recently and I'm getting a kick out of them (although I can't listen to them at home obviously). Got me some Ramones, Undertones, Richard Hell, Stooges, Bad Brains, The Fall and Hüsker Dü.
Denis
"Can you hear me? I aint got shit to say." |
| cassandra is |
Posted - 11/19/2006 : 03:16:11
thanks BLT and Crispy for the advice... I think I'm gonna look for "I Against I" one of these days...
pas de bras pas de chocolat |
| Crispy Water |
Posted - 11/17/2006 : 16:31:39
The original lineup has been together again for years, I saw them in late 2001 and if I could take the memories of only five musical performances to my deathbed this would be in there hands down.
At the time I saw them they were going by the name Soul Brains, the result of some dispute with their old label - can't remember the details offhand.
For a new fan that doesn't mind a rough edge or two, I'd suggest picking up Black Dots. This was recorded straight-up live at their producer's house, with the band in separate rooms, outside, wherever they had to be to make it sound decent. It wasn't released until the mid-'90s but was actually the first album they ever made. Most of the songs would be re-recorded and find their way onto later releases, but I just like the sound here - very raw sounding and harder than hell.
If that doesn't sound like your cup o' tea, give Rock for Light a shot. I Against I is also a very good album; it was even cited by one of the guys from Soundgarden (I want to say Cornell but I'm not sure) as the album most listened to and aped by all those soon-to-be famous bands in the northwestern U.S. BLT is right though, it sounds much more like metal.
Nothing is ever something. |
| Carl |
Posted - 11/17/2006 : 12:10:15
I'm not too familiar with their music, but aren't the original line-up getting back together?
 |
| BLT |
Posted - 11/17/2006 : 07:58:39
You have the "ROIR" album which IMO is much better than "Rock for Light", which contains many of the same songs but suffers from flat production. I would say you should get "I Against I" next but be prepared for a more metallic Bad Brains.
 "Ghettoes are the same all over the world: They stink." |
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