Everything Went Black

Performer: Black Flag (Punk)
Producer: Spot; Geza X; Black Flag
Distributor: E1 Distribution (USA)

Notes: Black Flag: Keith Morris, Chavo Pederast, Dez Cadena (vocals); Greg Ginn (guitar); Chuck Dukowski (bass); Robo (drums). Engineers include: Spot, Dave Tarling, Geza X. Principally recorded at Media Art Studio, Hermosa Beach, California. Includes liner notes by Spot. Recording information: Golden Age, Los Angeles, CA (01/1978-04/1981); Media Art, Los Abgeles, CA (01/1978-04/1981); Music Lab (01/1978-04/1981); Target Video, San Francisco, CA (01/1978-04/1981). EVERYTHING WENT BLACK was originally released as a stop-gap during a protracted legal skirmish with SST's former distributor, Unicorn Records, which temporarily barred Black Flag from using its own name. As a result, the original two-LP vinyl edition featured only the bandmembers' names for identification. Featuring live tracks and studio outtakes recorded between 1978 and 1981 with singers Keith Morris (later of the Circle Jerks), Chavo and Dez Cadena, EVERYTHING WENT BLACK is something of a hodgepodge, with several songs repeated by different lineups. Despite its patchwork nature, it's a surprisingly solid and illuminating overview of the band's pre-Rollins years, as they slowly progressed from sloppy Dictators-like goofiness into more streamlined and serious proto-hardcore. The highlight, however, is "Crass Commercialism," a side-long suite of radio ads for Black Flag shows that's a fascinating and often hilarious audio souvenir of the halcyon days of early West Coast punk.

Black Flag, founded in 1978, was one of the first California punk bands. They were originators of American hardcore, a faster, louder variant on the original British punk style. In 1980, singer Henry Rollins arrived, and the band began its journey toward iconic status. Though Black Flag didn't survive the '80s, Rollins went on to become an icon of alternative-rock culture, and the band's music inspired legions of younger punk groups.

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