Life Time | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 1987 | |||
Recorded | Off Beat Studios, Leeds, UK Kortrijk, Belgium | |||
Genre | Post-hardcore [1] | |||
Length | 64:07 | |||
Label | Texas Hotel | |||
Producer | Ian MacKaye | |||
Rollins Band chronology | ||||
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Life Time is the debut studio album by the American rock band Rollins Band, fronted by ex-Black Flag singer, Henry Rollins. The 1987 album was produced by Ian MacKaye. It was reissued in 1999, 2014 and 2021.
The album was recorded in 1987 at Off Beat Studios in Leeds, England. [2] It was produced by Ian MacKaye who was active in the hardcore punk scene; as a musician and co-owner of Dischord Records. Rollins was a childhood friend of MacKaye and had worked as a roadie for MacKaye's band, The Teen Idles.
The album has a more punk-influenced sound when compared to the band's better-known work from the 1990s. Guitarist Chris Haskett later said that, "Lifetime is our first album playing together and there are a bunch of different styles from the individual players but they haven’t combined yet." [3]
Life Time was originally released in 1987 and included four live tracks recorded in Kortrijk, Belgium in October 1987.
The album was subsequently re-mastered and re-released in 1999 without the live tracks but with the addition of three tracks from the Do It album; "Do It", "Move Right In," and "Next Time". [4]
In 2014, it was reissued on Dischord, including the original live tracks but not the 1999 bonus tracks. [5] [6]
In 2021, the album had a digital and limited vinyl release. [7]
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
Allmusic | [4] |
Alternative Press | [8] |
Spin Alternative Record Guide | 5/10 [9] |
In an AllMusic review, Chris True says "When Henry Rollins emerged from the breakup of Black Flag, many thought he couldn't be successful without guitarist Greg Ginn. If nothing else, Life Time proves the detractors wrong. With Ian MacKaye of Fugazi in the production chair, Rollins Band was able to distance themselves from Black Flag with a tight, visceral, and sometimes bluesy album. While more abrasive than later Rollins Band releases, this is worth picking up to better understand the progression of Rollins Band's unique style of emotional funk metal. [4]
Henry Lawrence Garfield, known professionally as Henry Rollins, is an American singer, writer, spoken word artist, actor, and presenter. After performing in the short-lived hardcore punk band State of Alert in 1980, Rollins fronted the California hardcore band Black Flag from 1981 to 1986. Following the band's breakup, he established the record label and publishing company 2.13.61 to release his spoken word albums, and formed the Rollins Band, which toured with a number of lineups from 1987 to 2003 and in 2006.
Ian Thomas Garner MacKaye is an American musician. Active since 1979, he is best known as the co-founder and owner of Dischord Records, a Washington, D.C.-based independent record label, and the frontman of hardcore punk band Minor Threat and post-hardcore band Fugazi. MacKaye was also the bassist for the short-lived band the Teen Idles, and frontman for Embrace, and Pailhead, a collaboration with the band Ministry. MacKaye is a member of The Evens, a two-piece indie rock group he formed with his wife Amy Farina in 2001 and in 2018 formed the band Coriky with Farina and his Fugazi band mate Joe Lally.
Rollins Band was an American rock band formed in Van Nuys, California. The band was active from 1987 to 2006 and was led by former Black Flag vocalist Henry Rollins. They are best known for the songs "Low Self Opinion" and "Liar", which both earned heavy airplay on MTV in the early-mid 1990s.
Dischord Records is a Washington, D.C.-based independent record label specializing in punk rock. The label is co-owned by Ian MacKaye and Jeff Nelson, who founded Dischord in 1980 to release Minor Disturbance by their band the Teen Idles. With other independent American labels such as Twin/Tone, Touch and Go Records, and SST Records, Dischord helped to spearhead the nationwide network of underground bands that formed the 1980s indie rock scene. These labels presided over the shift from the hardcore punk that then dominated the American underground scene to the more diverse styles of alternative rock that were emerging.
Fugazi was an American post-hardcore band formed in Washington, D.C., in 1986. The band consisted of guitarists and vocalists Ian MacKaye and Guy Picciotto, bassist Joe Lally, and drummer Brendan Canty. They were noted for their style-transcending music, DIY ethical stance, manner of business practice, and contempt for the music industry.
Embrace is the first and only release by the American post-hardcore band Embrace.
The Teen Idles were an American hardcore punk band formed in Washington, D.C., in September 1979. Consisting of teenagers Nathan Strejcek, Geordie Grindle, Ian MacKaye and Jeff Nelson, they recorded two demo sessions and the 1980 Minor Disturbance EP before breaking up in November 1980. The influential independent record label Dischord Records was originally created with the sole purpose of releasing The Teen Idles Minor Disturbance 7" record. They were an early landmark in the D.C. hardcore movement, and MacKaye and Nelson would later form the seminal punk rock outfit Minor Threat.
State of Alert was an American hardcore punk group formed in Washington, D.C., in October 1980, and active until July 1981. S.O.A. was fronted by Henry Rollins, then using his original surname Garfield.
Washington, D.C., hardcore, commonly referred to as D.C. hardcore, sometimes styled in writing as harDCore, is the hardcore punk scene of Washington, D.C. Emerging in late 1979, it is considered one of the first and most influential punk scenes in the United States.
Skewbald/Grand Union, also known as 2 Songs, is the eponymous archival EP featuring the only studio recordings by American hardcore punk band Skewbald/Grand Union.
Come In and Burn is the fifth full-length studio album by Rollins Band. Released in 1997 on DreamWorks Records, it is their major label debut. It is also the last album before vocalist Henry Rollins dissolved the band's "classic" lineup of guitarist Chris Haskett, bassist Melvin Gibbs, drummer Sim Cain and sound technician Theo Van Rock. Rollins later formed a new version of Rollins Band with musicians from Mother Superior, who provided his backing band from 1998 until 2006, when the classic Rollins Band lineup briefly reunited.
Void was an American hardcore punk band formed in Columbia, Maryland, in 1980. The group was a pioneering force in the thriving Washington, D.C., hardcore scene during the early 1980s, successfully combining elements of punk with heavy metal in a style that was accepted by the scene's otherwise exclusive community. Void's punk metal fusion sound was marked by guitarist Bubba Dupree's innovative guitar work and the "unhinged" vocals of John Weiffenbach, which resonated in the band's chaotic but popular live performances. Like many of their contemporaries, Void had a short-lived recording career, limited to the split album Faith/Void Split with the Faith on Dischord Records. However, they have enjoyed an enduring cult following among hardcore aficionados.
The Faith was an early American hardcore punk band, from Washington D.C., with strong connections to the scene centered on the Dischord label. Along with Minor Threat, the Faith were key players in the early development of hardcore, with a (later) melodic approach that would influence not just associated acts like Rites of Spring, Embrace and Fugazi, but also a subsequent generation of bands such as Nirvana, whose Kurt Cobain was a vocal fan.
Minor Disturbance is the debut EP by the American hardcore punk band the Teen Idles, released in December 1980. It was the first release by Dischord Records. Comprising eight songs, Minor Disturbance referenced a number of issues pertinent to the band, from being turned away at local concerts due to their age to what they felt was the increasing complacency of many first wave punk bands. Upon its release, Minor Disturbance received positive reviews from local fanzines and gained airplay on local radio stations.
Get Some Go Again is the sixth studio album by Rollins Band, released in 2000. It is also the first album by lead singer Henry Rollins after dissolving his longtime lineup featuring guitarist Chris Haskett and others. On this album, and its follow-up Nice, Rollins was backed by the band Mother Superior.
Michael Hampton is a guitarist in the Washington, D.C., hardcore punk scene.
Do It is the first EP after the first full-length album Life Time from Rollins Band, fronted by ex-Black Flag singer Henry Rollins.
Turned On is a live album from the Rollins Band, fronted by ex-Black Flag singer, Henry Rollins, recorded in Vienna, Austria on November 27, 1989. Even though the album sleeve has the individual tracks listed, the CD is entirely contained in one track.
20 Years of Dischord is a three-disc box set compiled by Washington-based record label Dischord Records to commemorate its 20th anniversary.
The single play record "Me and You", also known as Egg Hunt, and 2 Songs, is the first and only stand-alone release by the American experimental post-hardcore duo Egg Hunt.