Bad Brains- Build A Nation (2007)
by LFV
New York/DC Hardcore pioneers Bad Brains are legends in their own time. Both on stage and off stage, their legend precedes them. Oft cited as one of, if not the most influential band of the early 80’s hardcore scene, their career has been a roller coaster ride of lineup changes, stylistic shifts, break-ups, reunions, all adding to their legend, and all leading to 2007’s release Build A Nation. The original lineup of H.R. on vocals, Dr. Know on guitar, Darryl Jenifer on bass and Earl Hudson on drums is back together for this disc, which was good news for fans. (Their last album, I and I Survived [2002], only featured H.R.’s voice as samples.) But fans expecting the manic and legendary energy of the Brains classic discs I Against I and Rock For Light would be disappointed. While musically driving and intense, the vocals lack the intensity and power of older albums. Fans expecting to hear songs like “Big Takeover” and “Pay to Cum” will instead find solid, fast hard rock songs that are hampered by sub-par and at times weak vocals.
Then of course, there is the reggae component. Bad Brains have had reggae songs as far back as Rock For Light and while not a style of music I personally enjoy, I can respect it when done well. Sadly, the slower songs on this album are completely forgettable, especially in comparison to the stellar slower songs on Rock For Light.
Part of the problem on this CD is the production and mixing. The vocals are mixed too low, which only adds to the feeling that H.R. wasn’t really all that into the making of this CD. Overall the album’s production sounds flat and uninteresting, courtesy of the Beastie Boys’ Adam Yauch. It sounds too polished, which is a shame, because a lot of what makes the early Bad Brains records so vital is the rawness of the recordings, the sense that they just stepped into the studio and ripped through the songs. Here it feels too sterile, too distant.
The Bad Brains grew up. That’s the long and the short of it. The rawness, the anger, the aggression of their early landmark work has disappeared, replaced instead by a more tame, mature sound. It would be unfair to expect the band to be playing the same kind of songs, about the same kind of things twenty years on. I have a lot of respect for the Brains’ for continuing to play music their way, making the songs they want to make instead of churning out mindless pseudo-hardcore and making a quick buck, I just happen to prefer their older, more raw sound.
OVERALL RECOMMENDATION: C+ Unless you’re a hardcore Bad Brains fan, and you own all their other records, skip it. Go out and get I Against I or Rock for Light instead.
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