Bad Brains (album)



Bad Brains (also known as The Yellow Tape or Attitude: The ROIR Sessions) is the debut studio album recorded by American hardcore punk/reggae band Bad Brains Recorded in 1981 and released on the cassette-only label ROIR in 1982, many fans refer to it as "The Yellow Tape" because of its yellow packaging, much in the way that the Beatles' self-titled record is often called "The White Album." Though Bad Brains had recorded the 16 song Black Dots album in 1979 and the 5-song Omega Sessions EP in 1980, the ROIR cassette was the band's first release of anything longer than a single.

Background and recording
After being banned from all the major clubs in their hometown of Washington, DC, Bad Brains moved to New York City in 1981. In addition to their regular gigs at CBGB's, the band frequented Jerry Williams' 171-A Studios in Alphabet 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. When the Bad Brains played a gig at 171-A in May 1981, Williams recorded it on reel-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.

Release
Bad Brains was originally released in February 1982 in cassette-only format on Reachout International Records (ROIR). The cover art depicts DC's Capitol Building being struck by a bolt of lightning. The original cover art unfolded to include a photo of the band, album credits, lyrics to all the songs, and liner notes by then New York Rocker and Soho News critic Ira Kaplan, who would later front the band Yo La Tengo. 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 the J-card and a red cassette shell. Subsequent editions had an all-yellow J-card with either red, gold, or green cassette shells, in a nod toward band's Rastafarian leanings. Later versions appeared in solid white, solid orange, 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".

Bad Brains EP
In 1981 the Dead Kennedys' record label Alternative Tentacles opened an office in the United Kingdom to issue special editions of records by American punk bands for the UK market. The single version of the Bad Brains' "Pay to Cum" had appeared on the Alternative Tentacles compilation Let Them Eat Jellybeans! and with the ROIR sessions available, a few songs were selected for a 1982 UK release as a 12" EP. 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 Sade 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, the Bad Brains EP is rare, and for eight years was the only appearance of these songs on vinyl.

Track listing
Side 1
 * 1) "I Love I Jah"

Side A
 * "I"
 * 1) "Sailin' On"
 * 2) "The Big Takeover"

Reception and influence
When the album was first released, fans and critics alike were stunned to learn that the musicians behind this album – one of the fastest albums of all time upon its release – were African-American Rastafarians who also were skilled at reggae.

The album was a crucial step in the evolution of hardcore punk and the eventual fusion of hard rock and reggae adopted later by bands like Sublime, Fishbone, and 311.

Adam Yauch of Beastie Boys was quoted as saying that this album is "the best punk/hardcore album of all time".

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.

Reissues
In 1989, In-Effect Records released a CD version, with the same track listing, titled Attitude: The ROIR Sessions.

In 1990, Dutch East India Trading, through its imprint Homestead Records, was the first label to release the album on vinyl in the United States.

In 1996, ROIR reissued the original album on CD, featuring a hidden bonus track, followed by an on LP version the following year.

Re-recordings
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 on Bad Brains, titled "Intro", became the first nine seconds of Rock for Light's title song.

Cover versions

 * "Leaving Babylon" was covered by Jesse Malin on his covers album, On Your Sleeve; by 311 for their 1999 album Soundsystem; and live by Living Colour and HIM.
 * Sublime often performed Bad Brains tunes during live shows. The deluxe edition of their Sublime album included "I Luv I Jah", reworked with different lyrics as "I Love My Dog". The DVD of their Everything Under the Sun also contained a live version of "Leaving Babylon".
 * John Frusciante of Red Hot Chili Peppers covered "Big Takeover" on his first solo album, Niandra Lades and Usually Just a T-Shirt. He also covered a short acoustic rendition of "Sailin On'" during a 1989 interview.
 * "Sailin' On" was covered by No Doubt for the MOM: Music for Our Mother Ocean album series; by Moby for the Never Give In: A Tribute to Bad Brains (1999, Century Media) tribute album; by Soulfly for the special edition of their album Conquer; by HIM in a live version recorded for the record Uneasy Listening Vol. 2; and live by Living Colour. Hardcore punk band Sailing On were also named for the song.
 * "I Luv I Jah" was covered live by Long Beach Dub Allstars, featuring H.R. on vocals; it appeared on their rare 1998 first album, LBDA & Friends.
 * "Supertouch/Shitfit" was covered by Hatebreed on their covers album, For the Lions, and was sampled by experimental hip hop group Death Grips on the song "Takyon (Death Yon)" from their mixtape Exmilitary.
 * Santigold and Diplo covered "Right Brigade" on their 2008 mixtape Top Ranking: A Diplo Dub.
 * "I" was covered by Mark Kozelek on his 2013 covers album, Like Rats, in a stripped down acoustic version highlighting the lyrics.
 * "Sailin' On" was covered by Stone Sour on their second 2015 covers EP Straight Outta Burbank...
 * "Fearless Vampire Killers" was covered by 88 Fingers Louie on their 1998 Back on the Streets album.
 * "Right Brigade" has been regularly performed by the Deftones during their live shows.

Appearances in other media
In 2008, the song "Right Brigade" was included in the video game Grand Theft Auto IV, for its reproduction through the in-game radio station Liberty City Hardcore (LCHC).

Personnel
Bad Brains
 * H.R. – lead vocals
 * Dr. Know – guitar, backing vocals
 * Darryl Jenifer – bass, backing vocals
 * Earl Hudson – drums, backing vocals

Production
 * Jay Dublee – producer, recording, mixing
 * Bad Brains – mixing
 * Wayne Vlcan – engineer
 * Stanley Moskowitz – mastering
 * Donna Parsons (from Ratcage) – cover art
 * Ira Kaplan – liner notes
 * Donnell Gibson; Jay Jones – logo design
 * Laura Levine – photography
 * Neil Cooper – cover concept