I like Group Sex just fine, but I like Nervous Breakdown (actually, all of The First Four Years) and Damaged and the '82 Biscuits demos much, much more.

Probably the only non-Minutemen hardcore-era punk rock I like as much or more than that Black Flag stuff is early Bad Brains, early Die Kreuzen, "In My Eyes," and a couple of Negative Approach songs. That's it.

Flag, with ease.

There is not a battle...the Circle Jerks to me are zero.

Brett Eugene Ralph wrote:the '82 Biscuits demos

Jeez. I totally forgot about this.

I used to have it, but I lost it when my computer crashed.

The '82 demos, without any doubt whatsoever, are easily the best performances Black Flag ever recorded. Ginn should clean them up, remaster them, and officially release them. Every '82 version of the material that ended up on later releases absolutely atomizes the performances that were officially released. The version of "My War" is the audio equivalent of getting trampled by Pamplona bulls. Listening to the '82 demos really makes me think that Dez (whose rhythm guitar adds a whole new dimension to the sound while also keeping Greg in line) and especially Dukowski were much more responsible for the chemistry and energy of early Flag than anyone ever acknowledged, and Biscuits makes Robo look like a slouch. Meanwhile, Greg and Henry sound pretty much the same as on Damaged, but slightly more unhinged.

Absolutely brutal.

SecondEdition wrote:

Brett Eugene Ralph wrote:the '82 Biscuits demos

Jeez. I totally forgot about this.

I used to have it, but I lost it when my computer crashed.

The '82 demos, without any doubt whatsoever, are easily the best performances Black Flag ever recorded. Ginn should clean them up, remaster them, and officially release them. Every '82 version of the material that ended up on later releases absolutely atomizes the performances that were officially released. The version of "My War" is the audio equivalent of getting trampled by Pamplona bulls. Listening to the '82 demos really makes me think that Dez (whose rhythm guitar adds a whole new dimension to the sound while also keeping Greg in line) and especially Dukowski were much more responsible for the chemistry and energy of early Flag than anyone ever acknowledged, and Biscuits makes Robo look like a slouch. Meanwhile, Greg and Henry sound pretty much the same as on Damaged, but slightly more unhinged.

Absolutely brutal.

Yes, Dez on second guitar is a bonus, and Dukowski was the soul of that band. I might be a bit kinder to Robo, though. Everybody pales next to Biscuits, but Robo added an arty, robotic element to a lot of those songs on Damaged, linking them to Devo and Gang of Four.

Circle Jerks were fun and put on a great show but Black Flag was where it's at. That's the shit I'd listen to when I was pissed off in high school (early '80s).

"My....WAR! You're one of THEM, you SAY that you're my friend but YOU'RE...ONE...OF...THEM!!!"

Fuck yeah Henry. They certainly were.

When discussing Black Flag vs. the Circle Jerks, it comes down to The First Four Years and Group Sex.

Group Sex is fun to listen to the initial two or three times, but after that, the record sounds repetitive and stale. The First Four Years, though, is still sounds great and refreshing.

I don't like either.

Heliotropic wrote:I don't like either.

Neither do I, and I still voted.