BLACK FLAG - "SELF DESTRUCT: 1984-86"

Last re-up for now. Black Flag were, by most critics' definition, the quintessential punk rock band. Formed in 1976 under the name Panic, the Flag cycled through musicians and genre influences faster and to greater effect than anyone else in the game at the time.  Although many cherish their hardcore-oriented 1982 "Damaged" LP as the band's best work, I can personally state with confidence that the '84-'86 era blows "Damaged" out of the water. By the their tragic demise in mid-1986, only superpower guitarist Greg Ginn remained from their original lineup; his brilliant, hook-filled songwriting kept their albums amazing and endlessly catchy. Vocalist Henry Rollins (who later found fame through MTV and his spoken word act) had been contributing lyrics since 1984 and persistently honing his craft. Between '84 and '86, the two of them (and the Flag's always-tight rhythm sections) produced some of the best rock music ever recorded on tape.

Their tours were absolutely relentless; in 1984 alone they played over 300 shows across nearly every U.S. state and Canadian province, hitting most of western Europe as well. Black Flag's reputation as the tightest, heaviest, LOUDEST band in America was easy to prove by attending one of their never-ending gigs. "Self-Destruct: 1984-86" presents the Flag at their peak, shredding through their later-day material (as well as updated classics) in a live setting and showing off their unbelievable prowess as performers and songwriters. Even those who dismiss "My War" and "Loose Nut" as heavy-metal trash might find this record changes their opinion on the songs themselves. All tracks are sourced from soundboard recordings (most from the master cassettes) and have been re-mixed for this release. MP3s encoded at 192kbps, fully tagged with artwork.

Get this, get this, GET THIS! It's probably my favorite compilation I've ever put together and it's most definitely in my top 10 albums of all time.

http://www.mediafire.com/?w8r13h0gv1jzzcp

NOTICE: This blog features highlights from my expansive ROIO collection, compiled with love by an obsessive fan bent on sharing great music with the world at large. The overwhelming majority of material posted has never been commercially released in any form. Please support hardworking artists by introducing their work to others, attending their shows and purchasing their vinyl output - paying for downloads is a joke.

FEAR - "THE FEAR RECORD" (2012)

Another reup. Just in case someone doesn't know what this is yet, it's FEAR's first album given the classic "Still Cyco After All These Years" treatment for no apparent reason at all. Oh yeah, as an added bonus, the tracks are clumsily reordered, a few lyrics and guitar licks are modified to be less aggressive, and Lee uses the same intro for "New York's Alright" from a 1982 live tape I sent him by request several years ago! What once sounded cool and threatening now comes off totally ham-fisted! Don't even get me started on the mind-boggling choice of effects used on "We Gotta Get Out Of This Place". Why download it at all? I was curious, maybe you are too.

Download it here: http://www.mediafire.com/?bfb373ier57zir5

NOTICE: This blog features highlights from my expansive ROIO collection, compiled with love by an obsessive fan bent on sharing great music with the world at large. The overwhelming majority of material posted has never been commercially released in any form. Please support hardworking artists by introducing their work to others, attending their shows and purchasing their vinyl output - paying for downloads is a joke.

DAG NASTY - LIVE @ BALTIMORE, MD 1985

Finally got a bunch of those earlier posts reuploaded! This one's hardly a pristine recording in terms of fidelity, but hey, it's a totally listenable glimpse into the first and largely undocumented era of DC punk rock extraordinaries Dag Nasty. How can you go wrong with that? I recently dug this tape up after sitting on it for years - it was filler on a cassette I'd traded for, and I never realized this until now. From the few scribblings on the tape itself and the tray card, I've been able to ascertain that this was one of the first ever Dag Nasty shows featuring original singer Shawn Brown (who did a great job as part of their recent reunion show). They open with a tune I've never heard before, and rip through the unreleased rarity "I Wouldn't Cry" near the end of the set.
-unknown title- / Another Wrong / Circles / Can I Say? / I've Heard / Under Your Influence / I Wouldn't Cry / Thin Line / One To Two

Download it here: http://www.mediafire.com/?g2jeyz437eqrkby

NOTICE: This blog features highlights from my expansive ROIO collection, compiled with love by an obsessive fan bent on sharing great music with the world at large. The overwhelming majority of material posted has never been commercially released in any form. Please support hardworking artists by introducing their work to others, attending their shows and purchasing their vinyl output - paying for downloads is a joke.

BLACK FLAG - LIVE @ THE 9:30 CLUB, WASHINGTON, DC

Legendary band + legendary venue + legendary personnel = a gig of great historical importance, that luckily happened to be captured on audiocassette for your post-show listening pleasure. At just about any point during their all-too-brief existence, the Flag were cranking out tunes that ran you over like a semi truck, taking the form of either furious hardcore punk rock or the more intricate psychedelic jams of their later years. If I'm remembering right, this show (February 2nd, 1983) went down about a month after the debut of Bill Stevenson on drums, before Dez and Chuck left the band later that spring - a brief yet powerful lineup, to say the least. It may have also marked Henry's first return to his hometown of D.C. following his cross-country indoctrination into the wild world of SST Records a year and a half prior. Regardless of what circumstances pushed this particular show over the edge into five-star territory, it's a beast of a recording from start to finish. Patched through the soundboard, I'd give it a B+ fidelity-wise, certainly not hard on the ears.

What Can You Believe? / Revenge / American Waste / I've Heard It Before / Depression / Can't Decide / I Love You / I've Had It / Nervous Breakdown / Jealous Again / Nothing Left Inside / Beat My Head Against The Wall / What I See / No Values / My Rules / Life Of Pain / Fix Me / Rise Above / Scream

Download it here: http://www.mediafire.com/?wnz2jlz55t1d4sc

NOTICE: This blog features highlights from my expansive ROIO collection, compiled with love by an obsessive fan bent on sharing great music with the world at large. The overwhelming majority of material posted has never been commercially released in any form. Please support hardworking artists by introducing their work to others, attending their shows and purchasing their vinyl output - paying for downloads is a joke.

PIXIES - "NO LIPS - NO TONGUE: LIVE 1986-89"

Compiled to showcase the development of both their signature songwriting and tight, fierce live sets, this album contains 20 unrelenting glimpses into the Pixies at their most intense. Recorded between late 1986 and mid 1989, all over America and Europe. Tracks were selected for inclusion based on a compromise between audio fidelity and overall quality of performance. As with most of my compilations, this one is best enjoyed start-to-finish in one sitting.
Detailed archival information coming soon.

Bone Machine / Holiday Song (radio demo) / Tame (radio demo) / Do The Manta Ray / Wave Of Mutilation (demo) / Dead / Isla De Encanta / Crackity Jones / There Goes My Gun (demo) / Gouge Away (demo) / River Euphrates // I Bleed / Vamos / Debaser / Gigantic / Hey / Monkey Gone To Heaven / Caribou / Tony's Theme / Where Is My Mind? / Wave Of Mutilation (acoustic, bonus)

Download it here: http://www.mediafire.com/?x91mitsaso7n2by

NOTICE: This blog features highlights from my expansive ROIO collection, compiled with love by an obsessive fan bent on sharing great music with the world at large. The overwhelming majority of material posted has never been commercially released in any form. Please support hardworking artists by introducing their work to others, attending their shows and purchasing their vinyl output - paying for downloads is a joke.