Bad Brains discography

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Bad Brains discography
Bad brains 1983.jpg
Bad Brains at 9:30 Club, Washington, D.C., 1983
Studio albums9
Live albums4
Compilation albums1
EPs4
Demos1

This is a comprehensive discography of Bad Brains , a Washington, D.C.-based hardcore punk band that also plays reggae and uses styles of funk and heavy metal into their music. To date, the band has released nine full-length studio albums (including an instrumental dub album), four EPs, four live recordings, one compilation album, one demo album, and more than a dozen singles.

Contents

Studio albums

YearTitleComments
1982 Bad Brains
  • Debut studio album.
  • This album was originally released only on cassette.
  • In-Effect Records released a CD version with the same track listing entitled Attitude: The ROIR Sessions in 1989.
1983 Rock for Light
  • Contains a number of re-recorded tracks from their first album.
  • Reissued by Caroline Records in 1991. The reissue was remixed by the album's producer Ric Ocasek and bassist Darryl Jenifer.
  • Bad Brains broke up for the first time after the release of this album.
1986 I Against I
  • First release on SST Records.
  • Regarded as the highest selling album in the band's catalogue, I Against I is a critically acclaimed album of American hardcore punk mixed with funk, soul, and heavy metal.
  • This is the only Bad Brains album that does not include reggae music.
1989 Quickness
  • Earl is credited for drumming but didn't actually play on the album. Mackie Jayson of Cro-Mags handled the drum tracks instead.
  • On this album, the band continues the same style they used on I Against I.
1993 Rise
  • First Bad Brains album on a major label.
  • The only Bad Brains album without H.R. and his brother Earl. Their respective replacements were Israel Joseph I on vocals and Mackie Jayson, who was a session drummer on Quickness.
1995 God of Love
  • The first Bad Brains album recorded with the original lineup in nine years.
  • Final album before disbanding again.
2002 I & I Survived
  • Mostly an instrumental dub album featuring a large amount of reggae, ska, and dub elements with only occasional forays into hard rock and punk music, as opposed to their other albums which are the other way around.
  • Contains remakes of Bad Brains' past material.
  • H.R. does not appear on this album.
2007 Build a Nation
  • Bad Brains' first album of original material in 12 years.
  • The first Bad Brains album to appear on the Billboard 200 , debuting at #100.
  • Produced by Adam Yauch of the Beastie Boys.
2012 Into the Future

Live albums

YearTitleComments
1988 Live
  • Label: SST Records
  • Format: CD, Vinyl LP, Cassette
  • This recording's concert is from the band's 1988 tour.
1990 The Youth Are Getting Restless
  • Label: Caroline Records
  • Format: CD, Vinyl LP, Cassette
2001 A Bad Brains Reunion Live from Maritime Hall
  • Recorded live in 1999.
  • During this time, the band were unable to use the name "Bad Brains" as they were embattled in legal turmoil with their prior management company. For over three years, the band had to tour under the name "Soul Brains" even though the original lineup of Bad Brains was intact.
2006 Live at CBGB 1982
  • Recorded live at the now-defunct New York City club CBGB's in 1982.
  • A DVD of this concert was also released.

Compilation albums

YearTitleComments
2003 Banned in D.C.
  • This compilation spans all their material up to Quickness.
2006

This is a bootleg, not an authorized release.

Pay to Cum 1979-1981
  • Label: Bad Brains Records
  • Format: Vinyl LP
  • Dots Studio 1979, Inner Ear Studios 1979, Omega Studios 1980, 171-A Studios 1981

Demo albums

YearTitleComments
1996 Black Dots
  • This album - which served as the band's demo - was recorded at Inner Ear Studios in 1979, which at the time was in Don Zientara's basement.

Extended plays

YearTitleComments
1982Bad Brains
  • Songs from ROIR sessions
  • Part of a series of EPs by American bands that Alternative Tentacles released exclusively in the UK
1982I And I Survive
  • Label: Bad Brains Records
  • Format: 12" vinyl
  • From Rock for Light sessions, produced by Ric Ocasek
  • Released in the UK by Food for Thought Records
1991 Spirit Electricity
  • Last release on SST Records.
  • The EP was actually recorded live during the I Against I tour.
1997 The Omega Sessions
  • The material on this EP was recorded in 1980 but wasn't released until 1997.

Singles

YearTitleComments
1980"Pay to Cum"
b/w "Stay Close to Me"
  • Label: Bad Brains Records
  • Format: 7" vinyl
  • First release by the band.
  • The A-side was featured on the Let Them Eat Jellybeans! compilation, released by Alternative Tentacles in 1981.
  • The 1990 single of "Pay to Cum" released by Caroline Records is a different version, recorded live in 1987 and taken from The Youth Are Getting Restless.

Music videos

YearTitleDirector
1986"I Against I" Paul Rachman [1]
"Hired Gun"
1989"Soul Craft"Paul Rachman [2] [3]
1993"Rise"
1995"God of Love" Samuel Bayer [4]
2007"Give Thanks and Praises/Jah Love" Shavo Odadjian [5]
2013"Ragga Dub (Perro Bravo Remix)" featuring Angelo Moore of Fishbone Jeff Pliskin [6]

Other appearances

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References

  1. Blush, Steven (2010). American Hardcore: A Tribal History. Feral House. ISBN   9781932595987. Archived from the original on April 26, 2022. Retrieved April 26, 2022. p. 334.
  2. "Bad Brains – Soul Craft video". Metal Storm. Archived from the original on April 26, 2022. Retrieved April 26, 2022.
  3. "mvdbase.com - Paul Rachman technician videography". mvd base. Archived from the original on April 11, 2015. Retrieved April 11, 2015.
  4. Harrington, Richard (July 30, 1995). "Lame Brains". The Washington Post . Archived from the original on April 27, 2022. Retrieved April 27, 2022.
  5. Paul, Aubin (August 3, 2007). "Bad Brains: 'Give Thanks And Praises/Jah Love'". Punknews.org. Archived from the original on May 28, 2022. Retrieved May 28, 2022.
  6. "Dub Rockers Volume 1 Available In Stores and Digitally This Week". VP Records. August 28, 2013. Archived from the original on May 28, 2022. Retrieved May 28, 2022.