BLACK FLAG: WHO'S GOT THE 10½? (1986)
1) Loose Nut; 2) I'm The One;
3) Annihilate This Week; 4) Wasted; 5) Bastard In Love; 6) Modern Man; 7) This
Is Good; 8) In My Head; 9) Sinking; 10) Jam; 11) The Best One Yet; 12) My War;
13) Slip It In / Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie; 14) Drinking And Driving; 15) Louie
Louie.
At the time when this live album was released
(March 1986; the actual show was played in Portland in August 1985), Black
Flag were still a functional unit, and would remain that way until August 1986,
when Ginn broke up the band: as it seems, he was simply fed up with stuff, and
decided to explode it before genuine stagnation would set in. The scenario is
well confirmed by this live album — in terms of production, energy, and
tightness, if not necessarily the setlist material, it is arguably their most
successful statement of live power.
The original single LP was later expanded to
include most, if not all, of the show, so that the latest CD edition includes
over an hour of material. The setlist includes nearly all of Loose Nut, with the exception of ʽNow
She's Blackʼ — not because of political correctness, of course, but because the
song's author, drummer Bill Stevenson, was no longer with the band at the time,
replaced by the less «brutal», but more polished Anthony Martinez. There are
also a few previews from the yet unreleased In My Head (including some of its best tracks, such as ʽDrinking
And Drivingʼ); a few scattered reminiscences from the 1984 albums; and virtually
nothing from Damaged, except for
ʽGimmie Gimmie Gimmieʼ, reworked into a rather silly «comical» sex-based
performance in which we learn that, of all people, it is Kira who got the 10½ — gender discourse in a hardcore paradigm can
be a terrifying thing.
Not having a huge lot to say about the studio
counterparts of these songs, I certainly have even less to say about the live
renditions — except that the band is tight, playing most of the songs at slightly
speedier tempos, with the new drummer keeping everything in good shape and
Henry trying to actually sing wherever some singing is required. On a whim, I'd
also say that there is a little less «sludge» to Ginn's guitar playing live
than there was in the studio; this means that, if any of those albums gave you
a headache, there is no harm in trying out the live equivalent with its ever so
«thinner» guitar sound, if only a little bit. There is a four-minute ʽJamʼ
there which is quite skippable (just Ginn trying out a bunch of ideas or what
looks like ideas), but other than that and the dubious inch-measuring game
played by Henry, it's just song after song of solid late period Black Flag
material. And, for dessert, a Black Flag-style ʽLouie Louieʼ which you can probably
imagine how it goes even without hearing it.
In short, it isn't exactly like Loose Nut —
the new drummer kicks tighter ass, and the guitars buzz and squeal instead of
growling and howling, so there's no harm in comparing the two and deciding for
yourself what kind of sound you like best. Personally, I might even prefer the
live stuff, but even if not, it still deserves a thumbs up, simply for the sake of
being the tightest, most focused, clenched-teeth-disciplined live album from
these guys ever. This is as «un-sloppy» a hardcore record as hardcore ever
gets. No wonder they exploded after that — too much discipline tends to
overload the engine.
Check "Who's Got The 10 1/2?" (CD) on Amazon
Check "Who's Got The 10 1/2?" (MP3) on Amazon
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