 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Bad Brains" album – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(July 2011) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
| Bad Brains | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 1996 CD reissue cover | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | February 5, 1982 | |||
| Recorded |
| |||
| Studio | 171-A | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 33:56 | |||
| Label | ROIR | |||
| Producer | Jay Dublee | |||
| Bad Brains chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Alternate cover art | ||||
 1989reissue asAttitude: The ROIR Sessions. | ||||
Bad Brains (also known asThe Yellow Tape[2] orAttitude: The ROIR Sessions) is the first studio album by Americanrock bandBad Brains. Recorded in 1981 and released on the cassette-only labelROIR on February 5, 1982, many fans refer to it as "The Yellow Tape" because of its yellow packaging.[3]
In 1979, Bad Brains recorded the 16-songBlack Dots album project, and the 5-songOmega Sessions EP project was recorded in 1980, but these efforts were shelved, except for a single released as "Pay to Cum" in mid-1980. The band had no album out.[4] After being banned from all the major clubs in their hometown ofWashington, DC, Bad Brains moved to New York City in 1981.[5] In addition to their regular gigs atCBGB's, the band frequented Jerry Williams' 171-A Studios inAlphabet City. Named for its location between 10th and 11th Streets on Avenue A, 171-A was a 60-foot room with a stage at one end and an elevated sound-proof booth at the other.[6] When the Bad Brains played a gig at 171-A in May 1981, Williams recorded it onreel-to-reel tape. The band liked the sound and returned to 171-A to record between August and October 1981. 12 of the 15 tracks on the album came from these sessions, while "Jah Calling", "Pay to Cum" and "I Luv I Jah", were from Williams' live recording in May.[7]
Bad Brains was originally released on February 5, 1982, incassette-only format[nb 1] onReachout International Records (ROIR). The cover art depicts DC'sCapitol Building being struck by a bolt of lightning.[5] The original cover art, (created by seminal zinester/skatepunk/iconDonna Lee Parsons) unfolded to include a photo of the band, album credits, lyrics to all the songs, and liner notes by thenNew York Rocker andSoho News criticIra Kaplan, who would later front the bandYo La Tengo.[8] Rather than label the tape's sides A/B or one/two, the band designated them Side 1/Side A.
The original edition of the cassette had a white spine on theJ-card and a red or yellow cassette shell. Subsequent editions had an all-yellow J-card with either red, gold, or green cassette shells, in a nod toward the band'sRastafarian leanings. Later versions appeared in solid white, solid orange, solid yellow and transparent red tape shells. Because the yellow cassette shell was most common and it came in a matching yellow package, many fans referred to it as "The Yellow Tape".[3]
In 1981 theDead Kennedys' record labelAlternative Tentacles opened an office in theUnited Kingdom to issue special editions of records by American punk bands for the UK market. The single version of "Pay to Cum" had appeared on the Alternative Tentacles compilationLet Them Eat Jellybeans! and with the ROIR sessions available, a few songs were selected for a 1982 UK release as a 12-inchEP. The record's sleeve featured the same lightning-strikes-the-Capitol art that appeared on the ROIR cassette, and the back cover had the inner J-card's band photo, credits, lyrics, and Kaplan's liner notes. The record also mimicked the tape's Side 1/Side A aesthetic, differing in that one side was reggae and the other hardcore punk, unlike the cassette, which interspersed the two genres. Because Alternative Tentacles UK was a short-lived venture, theBad Brains EP is rare, and for eight years was the only appearance of these songs on vinyl.
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |  [9] |
| Christgau's Record Guide | B+[10] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [11] |
| Sounds | [12] |
| Spin Alternative Record Guide | 8/10[13] |
Reviewing forThe Village Voice in 1982,Robert Christgau said, "Turn a fusion band into hardcore propheteers and you end up with fast heavy metal. The best kind for damn sure, especially since they turn their rage into Positive Mental Attitude. I like it fine. But great punks give up more than a salubrious blur."[14]
The album was a crucial step in the evolution ofhardcore punk and the eventual fusion ofhard rock and reggae adopted later by bands likeSublime,Fishbone, and311.[citation needed]
Adam Yauch ofBeastie Boys was quoted as saying that this album is "the best punk/hardcore album of all time".[9]
To this day, many people involved in the hardcore scene regard it as one of the greatest hardcore albums of all time and a groundbreaking release for the hardcore punk genre.
Chuck Eddy wrote thatBad Brains "incorporatedmetal dynamics, Rastafaridub (for which they'd never again find a pocket as deep as the one here), and recklessR&B polypercussion. The last factor's the one they're rarely given credit for, but the first time I heard their manned collision 'Pay to Cum', the only great song they will ever record, I thought it sounded like theBuzzcocks produced byChic. Only nastier, and noisier."[15]
In 1989, In-Effect Records released aCD version, with the sametrack listing, titledAttitude: The ROIR Sessions.[nb 2]
In 1990,Dutch East India Trading, through itsimprintHomestead Records, was the first label to release the album on vinyl in the United States.[nb 3]
In 1996, ROIRreissued the original album onCD, featuring ahidden bonus track, followed by an onLP version the following year.[nb 4]
Bad Brains regained the rights to the album from ROIR in 2020, and reissued the album on vinyl, CD, and digital outlets on their own Bad Brains Records imprint via a pressing and distribution with ORG Music. A limited edition pressing of the album withBlue Note Records-inspired cover art and layout scheme, designed by former Alternative Tentacles graphic artist John Yates, was released at the same time as the original cover's reissue, on translucent green vinyl.[16]
Many of the album's tracks were re-recorded for their 1983 follow-up,Rock for Light, with the exception of "Don't Need It", "The Regulator", "Jah Calling", "Leaving Babylon", "Pay to Cum", "I Luv I Jah". The instrumental final track onBad Brains, titled "Intro", became the first nine seconds ofRock for Light's title song.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Sailin' On" | 1:55 |
| 2. | "Don't Need It" | 1:07 |
| 3. | "Attitude" | 1:19 |
| 4. | "The Regulator" | 1:08 |
| 5. | "Banned in D.C." | 2:12 |
| 6. | "Jah Calling" (live in studio) | 2:31 |
| 7. | "Supertouch/Shitfit" | 2:31 |
| 8. | "Leaving Babylon" | 4:10 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 9. | "Fearless Vampire Killers" | 1:07 |
| 10. | "I" | 2:05 |
| 11. | "Big Takeover" | 2:57 |
| 12. | "Pay to Cum" (live in studio) | 1:25 |
| 13. | "Right Brigade" | 2:27 |
| 14. | "I Luv I Jah" (live in studio) | 6:22 |
| 15. | "Intro" | 0:45 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 16. | "Jah the Conqueror" | 2:11 |
| Total length: | 34:31 | |
Bad Brains
Production
...but it may be the most impactful document of the Bad Brains' early efforts to push punk and reggae fusion past the limits of shrieking speed...
