January 23, 2018 - Bad Brains - Sailin' On (1982)

Who says a hardcore punk band can't play reggae? And vice-versa. The first time I heard Bad Brains was when I borrowed their Rock for Light album from the library about 15 years ago. That album starts out with a few punk songs, then all of a sudden there's this reggae song. I was totally confused. I did not think it was the same band. I subsequently found out that these guys were Rastafarians that started out playing, like, jazz fusion, but were also into hard rock AND reggae AND were pioneers of hardcore punk.

Sailin' On is from their self-titled debut album, and it is high energy. The lead vocalist is H.R., and he periodically makes these amazing yowls that are like a kid throwing a tantrum. His voice ranges from low Iggy Pop croon to high-pitched whining, simultaneously at times, or so it seems to me.

The band play with crushing power, pure adrenaline. At 0:55, Dr. Know plays an 11 second solo that pummels the atmosphere. It's all very heavy and loud, but then in the final six seconds of the song they stick in this little Chick Corea light 70s fusion moment. They could do it all.