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1984 was the pivotal year for hardcore punk: it saw the release of historically significant works like Hüsker Dü's "Zen Arcade", one of the few great alternative records that found commercial success, and Minutemen's "Double Nickels On The Dime", an album that cemented their status in the pantheon of the genre's exponents (despite being their most experimental effort). For Black Flag, however, it was the year to move towards heavier directions, while still remaining fairly faithful to the nihilistic hardcore they had championed in 1981 with their masterpiece, "Damaged". The result of such experimentalism was "Slip It In", whose actual merits were overshadowed by the success of the aforementioned "Damaged".
Usually, title tracks disappoint ("It's A Shame About Ray" by the Lemonheads serves as a valid example), yet "Slip It In" reveals itself as a captivating opener: it begins with a well-crafted bass line by newcomer Kira Roessler; Greg Ginn's guitar improvisations then make a notable impact. The track is a sensual duet between Henry Rollins and the then fifteen-year-old Suzi Gardner (future singer/guitarist of L7): over Gardner's orgasmic moans, exquisitely spasmodic guitar riffs rise along with a solo that becomes the piece's dominating spire. The lyrical climax occurs in the chorus, where Rollins, with an air of superiority, launches the heavy invective: «You say you don't want it, but then you slip it on in». The following track, "Black Coffee", doesn't disappoint either: with a metallic and noisy attitude, it unfolds between sudden pauses and memorable riffs, boasting a solo rich in passion yet sparse in notes. Rollins' hoarse and sick voice is maximally exalted in the fast-paced "My Ghetto", a fleeting hardcore piece in the style of colleagues Hüsker Dü, which expresses despair in nihilistic screams and the sounds of an amplifier that opens and closes the track, its title unfortunately recalling a topos of rap lyrics.
The Hüsker Dü, if not surpassed, are at least matched in the excellent "Wound Up": with a tense atmosphere, it climaxes in a Ginn solo that would astonish the Sex Pistols and Ramones, who never managed to pull off anything decent in their lives. In some vocal postures, Rollins vaguely recalls Jeffrey Lee Pierce of "Sex Beat", but this should be considered a fairly subjective and subtle comparison. Complementing it is a simple yet well-framed rhythm section.
The hardcore becomes a faded memory in "Rat's Eyes", where (unfortunately) metal holds the reins, even Rollins' voice is distorted and desperately attempts to adapt to the genre, clearly not in his wheelhouse. The band tries to recreate in this piece atmospheres too heavy that inevitably denature their typical sound, making it feel forced.
The hardcore-heavy metal fusion, on the other hand, is perfectly represented in the instrumental "Obliteration", where the instruments seem skillfully disconnected from each other: Ginn's guitar performs an eloquent monologue while the drums indulge in various deviations and the bass solemnly executes its martial loop.
The real innovation of "Slip It In" was a conception of track length unthinkable at the time for hardcore bands, whose songs barely touched the two, at most three minutes in duration. Black Flag demonstrated that a hardcore track could easily last even seven minutes, and to support this, they painted the concluding "You're Not Evil".
"Slip It In" suffers greatly from an inferiority complex compared to "Damaged", which boasted gems such as "Depression", "Rise Above", "Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie" and "T.V. Party"; for this reason, it will remain the most underrated album of the Californian band.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
03 Wound Up (04:23)
I walk by your house
To see if you were at home
It was my only chance
I felt so alone
It always seems
I get so wound up
To feel so let down
I get so wound up
I feel so let down
I get so wound up
I feel so let down
I get so wound up
I feel so let down
I get so wound up
Don't you ever see the way I look at you?
Could you understand why I feel the way I do?
I have a lot to show you
Feel I have something to prove
There's things I'd like to tell you
My brain is slow to move
I wish you'd give me a second
So I could make you see
That no one in the world could look at you
And see the things I see
I get so wound up
I feel so let down
I get so wound up
I feel so let down
I get so wound up
I feel so let down
I get so wound up
Don't you ever see the way I look at you?
Could you understand why I feel the way I do?
I have strong emotions
I keep them to myself
I know I can write them
I know I can sing them
That's what I'll have to do
Because in my heart
Deep in my heart
I keep a picture of you
I get so wound up
I feel so let down
I get so wound up
I feel so let down
I get so wound up
I feel so let down
I get so wound up
06 The Bars (04:37)
There was a girl I knew
She saw the prison inside
She cursed her keeper
And swore she'd get free
Every time I see
I got my hands wrapped around the bars
I want out right now
She led an angel's life
On angel's wings
Jumped out her apartment window
And hit the street below
Every time I see
I got my hands wrapped around the bars
I can't shut off my mind
And now I've waited, my hands are wrapped around the bars
I'm burning, my soul is pushed against the bars
The bars, the lies, the lies, lies, lies
Are trapped behind my eyes
My mind hates my body
My body hates my soul
I close my eyes and fight
Inside my own black hole
Every time I see
I got my hands wrapped around the bars
I want out right now!
I've lived my life
I'm doing my time
I realize life's lie
Every time I see
I got my hands wrapped around the bars
I can't shut off my mind
And now I'm waiting, my hands are wrapped around the bars
I'm burning, my soul is pushed against the bars
The bars, the lies, the lies, lies, lies
They're trapped behind my eyes
07 My Ghetto (02:05)
My ghetto My ghetto My ghetto My ghetto, MY GHETTO
My ghetto gets desperate and it drags you in
You see me with that black dog
You know that’s when you walk into my ghetto
Cause its Hungary and no ones let in
my ghetto gets jealous and it invites you in
you walk into my ghetto
my ghetto sucks in sad bad trash slaps you on the back and says howdy glad you could come on down
my ghettos gonna treat right
The sunshine rolls in with bad timing
My ghetto gets horny and it sucks you in
Cause were all tripped out and no ones let in
My ghetto gets desperate and it drags you in
Think white trash think white trash
And if I cried over love a thousand times
Stay with me, stay with me
For a moment, For forever
Cause I've got nothing
And I'd give it all to you
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By alessioIRIDE
Pop this album into the stereo, light up a nice cigarette, and open the first beer... let the party begin and don’t you worry about a thing.
Henry Rollins is one of the least talented singers in history, but one of my favorite singers.
