 "I didn't like it then, but I LOVE it now!" | 2005-01-04 |
| - Reviewed By brutalblackmetal |
When this stuff....My War, Slip It In, and Live '84....cam out, I was one of those "punk rockers" who thought that Black Flag (and hell, ANY band that really learned how to play) had "sold out". Greg Ginn is the type of musician that could not simply keep on playing minimalistic chords, over-and-over, like the classic Jealous Agaim e.p. He had chops, man, and when My War came out, I listened to the album (um, it was actually on vynil) and I thought side one was decent enough, what with all of the paranoid/insane screaming on the song "My War" and the emotional agony expressed on "Can't Decide"...but then it got real, real SLOW (and slow was a "sin" back in the early 80's M.D.C./Verbal Abuse speed/hardcore/punk time), and well, the songs were all over 1:25 minutes long. Man, this just sucked, or so I thought. So I grabbed ahold of my old Black Flag albums, along with D.R.I. (before they became a metal band), Wasted Youth, Verbal Abuse, M.D.C., Free Beer, etc.
But NOW I realize that the mid-80's era Black Flag was actually brilliant, and Live '84 showcases a band that was way ahead of it's time in a lot of ways. You have it all here; the punk rock of "Nervous Breakdown", the sexual twistedness of "Slip It In", the suffocating atmosphere of "Black Coffee"....man, this cd has it all.
The sound quality is good too.
If you want to experience a band that was highly misunderstood within the confines of the hardcore punk scene in the mid-80's, then by all means, buy this! This is a soundtrack to the emotional state of most of us at the time, and byt the way, for those of you who are young; it "rocks"
Thanks! |
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| "A Fantastic Live Album!!" | 2004-08-12 |
| - Reviewed By User: A2BN7IF9ENCG94 |
| I love Black Flag and "Live 84'" is a great live album by them. It is filled with songs that have been classics from previouse albums. Just great stuff. Not much more to say about it but awesome! |
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| "20 years ago? No way!" | 2004-05-20 |
| - Reviewed By hincho |
| By far, this is Black Flag's best. They never were much of a studio group, but once the songs found their way onto the stage, Ginn & Co. would mangle them into pure, raw musical terror. I survived two Black Flag shows, including one in '84, and this CD, especially the first six tracks, captures the amazing power that this group wielded. Hard to believe twenty years have passed since this recording, and it's even harder to believe that anyone could take "punk" or any other purportedly "hardcore" group seriously after listening to "Live '84." |
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| "EXCELLENT!" | 2003-06-16 |
| - Reviewed By User: A3VWXYZNRSAWJA |
| HENRY ROLLINS AND GREG GINN LIVE AND RAW, ENOUGH SAID! Everybody says oh Damaged was Black Flag's greatest record, but I don't think so. This record really showcases the ax precision of Mr. Greg Ginn, and it shows the hardcore lyrical talent of Mr. Henry Rollins. This is an amazing album to say the least. If you like punk and hardcore you should definitly pick this cd up, you will not be dissapointed. |
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| "Inimitable Greg Ginn" | 2002-11-30 |
| - Reviewed By jmsdh |
| I love it! Nice to see some people here who think along the lines I do, bringing up for comparison "Ascension" from Coltrane's late period, and the guitarist Derek Bailey who collaborated with jazz avant-gardist Anthony Braxton. I was lucky enough to attend numerous Flag concerts, and '84 was the year they attained their technical, musical, and philosophical maturity. Sadly, it was the year the band peaked, as drivel like "Loose Nut" attests. But in their concerts and three 1984 releases, Black Flag forged a devastating meld of punk, metal, and free jazz, and articulated a rage against society, nature, consciousness, you name it. There is a paranoia in the closing three songs of "My War," for instance, that is not only interpersonal but metaphysical; if you don't believe me, listen to the words for yourself. Later I came to believe that what Werner Herzog undertook in his films, Black Flag tried to do in its music, to resist all the pressures and influences surrounding your life, to arrive at whatever genuine existence you have. Even if this project was flawed by circuitous reasoning from the start, there was a nobility in the effort. This live album has the most of Greg Ginn, a supreme guitarist who got buzzes and pierces from his instrument like no one else I've heard. It has enough of Henry Rollins without too much, thank goodness, and the rhythm section of Kira Roessler and Bill Stevenson was the tightest the band ever had and played off Ginn the best. The album has a raw feel, and the songs simply feel less scripted than on their studio versions. It may be an unlikely candidate, but "Live '84" is probably Black Flag's shining moment of darkness. Glad to see it's on CD; it was first released on cassette only, and I've been hanging onto my tape, trying to preserve it for all these years! |
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| "I LOVE GINN GUITAR!!!!!!!" | 2002-05-05 |
| - Reviewed By Anonymous |
| Forget about Henry "WWF" Rollins; the real star of the show is Greg Ginn. The sound of that guitar, solos that go nowhere, wrong notes, noise for the sake of noise...I can't get enough of it. More than most any other punk rock, it's completely deranged and ugly. Like Derek Bailey, Ginn has created a new musical language which is based on the sounds you're NOT supposed to play on guitar. Of course, it sounds absolutely fantastic. |
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| "This CD makes me want to break things... in a good way." | 2000-04-15 |
| - Reviewed By Anonymous |
| I know a lot of the punkers don't like Flag's post-Damaged material, maybe because it's not as political and doesn't have enough power chords and catchy chorus hooks, but this is an album more for music fans than punks. Greg Ginn was and is an underestimated guitarist. His proficiency is much more evident here than on any of Black Flag's post-Damaged studio recordings, which seem contrived and have a deflated sound quality that fails to capture the band's intensity. This is, like people always say, Black Flag at their peak. |
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| "Live '84" | 1999-12-08 |
| - Reviewed By sean12179 |
| Who agrees with me? I think this is the best Black Flag LP. The sound isn't perfect (few live recordings are), but that sound makes many of the tracks (from My War and Slip It In) even heavier. It sounds much less rehearsed than "10 1/2?". If you're a fan of "angry vocals", you'll like this one. Check out track 6. |
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| "If this is punk, gimme gimme gimme more..." | |
| - Reviewed By Anonymous |
| I'll admit it, I'm a jazz fan, but I'm always up for hearing self-expression when done with thought, no matter the genre. I was told to check out this album, and I did, and I'm damn glad I did. I can't believe that there are people out there complaining about the songs being too long or tedious. My word, people who think a song should be nothing but an introduction, words and an ending should just go listen to Britney Spears. Because, let's face it, there's really no difference between Blink 182 and Britney in the long run. But this truly blew my mind, and I'm a better person for having heard this album. Jeez, if these songs are too long, I'd love to see your face after hearing Ascension by John Coltrane, which in its own way, is punk music too... |
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