Bad Brains-I Against I

[josephbass86]

This is one of the best hardcore punk/metal/alternative albums out there.
I wondered if anyone else felt the same way?
I know some people hate it cause they went in a completely different direction from their earlier fast thrash oriented material,
but I love they way the combined funk and soul with metal and punk in a unique way.

You can definitely hear it’s influence on a lot of alternative bands from the late 80s/early 90s like Jane’s Addiction, Living Colour, Faith No More, etc.

My only real gripe is the production, mainly the gated drum sounds. It’s very dated and 80s.

I love Daryl Jennifer’s playing on it. Awesome tone, groove, and lots of attitude. Anyone know what he was playing on this album?

 

[Michedelic]

One of the all-time bad-ass albums; besides the glossy production, my only complaint is that there’s little of what really made them unique…the fusion of reggae with the thrash. The Clash opened the door with that idea, but the BB took it to fullest extent after that. In 1989, I was mixing and doing effects for a band that was sort of a mashup of Canned Heat and Motorhead, with some Residents thrown in. They opened for the Bad Brains in what was essentially a metal and concrete barn in the middle of a Kansas corn field. The kid putting on the show was in over his head, not having the Brains’ fee up front, and while my guys were playing, there was a chance that they might refuse to go on. Word got out, tensions in the crown were high, and the crew would probably have demolished the place had that happened. But the Brains went on, and I observed from the stage the most amazing act of crowd control. Instead of coming out blazing, they launched into a spacey dub reggae groove, totally diffusing the agro audience. It was like watching tires deflate. They then kicked into high gear after that, very cathartic. This joint was an insane place, here’s a little taste of it…

 

[josephbass86]

I wanted to share this track from the album because it’s a cool song that’s a bit of an anomaly in the Brains catalog. Not thrashing hardcore or groovy reggae but more of a dark funky pop tune.

But it also has one of my favorite slap bass tones.

 

[cazzo]

Love this album! Nuff said

 

[bassbrad]

I love the album they did with Ric Ocasek

 

[josephbass86]

I love the album they did with Ric Ocasek

Man I can’t hear the bass at all on that album. And everything is so tinny sounding. It’s almost as bad as And Justice For All production wise. All IMO of course.
Definitely had some great songs on it though.

 

[Kawai2g4b]

I wouldn’t be at all surprised if he was using his custom green Jazz bass with an early Modulus Neck. He has had that bass forever.

 

[josephbass86]

I wouldn’t be at all surprised if he was using his custom green Jazz bass with an early Modulus Neck. He has had that bass forever.

Yeah that makes sense. I know it was awhile ago but I wonder if anyone knows what amplification he was using then.

 

[Bob_Ross]

Great album. I stuck "Reignition" in the middle of the hard rock/heavy metal CD I keep around the studio for demo'ing monitors, and people always ask who it is and then do a double-take when I tell them!

 

[ugly_bassplayer]

Bad Brains are one of the best bands ever, PERIOD!!!!
Darryl Jenifer is a straight bass legend.

/

 

[Hot Rats]

Man I can’t hear the bass at all on that album. And everything is so tinny sounding. It’s almost as bad as And Justice For All production wise. All IMO of course.
Definitely had some great songs on it though.

The original version of that album is much better than when Rick and Darryl went completely insane and remixed it and sped it up. The original is slower and mixed better.

 

[StereoPlayer]

Here is a terrible video of a band I was in doing “I against I”. It was quite a few years ago.

 

[josephbass86]

Here is a terrible video of a band I was in doing “I against I”. It was quite a few years ago.

Yeah, I’m not gonna lie, that was really rough, but I’d rather see people do mediocre covers of the Brains, then most other rock bands so .

 

[superheavyfunk]

Don’t have much to add here other than Bad Brains is f*cking amazing and I’m glad there’s a convo on TB about something other than Paul McCartney and Geddy Lee

 

[StereoPlayer]

Yeah, I’m not gonna lie, that was really rough, but I’d rather see people do mediocre covers of the Brains, then most other rock bands so .

Yea, it was a rehearsal as I remember… we played it out a lot.

 

[josephbass86]

Don’t have much to add here other than Bad Brains is f*cking amazing and I’m glad there’s a convo on TB about something other than Paul McCartney and Geddy Lee

I feel Bad Brains are underrated in general and deserve way more props in the rock world. The same goes for King’s X and Living Colour.
It’s crazy how many musicians sight them as an influence.

 

[StayLow]

Yeah that makes sense. I know it was awhile ago but I wonder if anyone knows what amplification he was using then.

Don’t believe he ever used anything other than SVT & 8x10. At least not by choice.

+1 for one of the best and most influential bands in rock history.

 

[deff]

Daryl was likely using the jazz bass with the CF neck he always used. Not sure on amp though. I against I is just about a perfect record.