1984

After untangling themselves from an excruciating legal battle lasting over two years, BLACK FLAG comes charging out of the blocks with mass quantities of desert island punk rock in 1984. In addition to the scorching, metallic dirge of the "My War" record, the boys packaged up some of the greatest punk rock singles of all time in the form of "The First Four Years" compilation. While the material on the disc was recorded between 1978-83, the front-to-back quality of these pre-Rollins tunes demands inclusion here. Ginn's guitar tone could melt lead in Keith Morris' version of "Fix Me" (clocking in at 58 seconds). Dez Cadenza's vocals in the twisted "Machine" are strong enough to stand on their own, and practically do if you acknowledge that Ginn's background noodling in the track sports hardly any cadence whatsoever. "I've Heard It Before" is an incredibly potent nugget of hateful Dez vocals and cyclonic guitar venom from Ginn that eventually morphed into the Rollins-era track "Room 13". The list goes on and on. Suffice to say that the rage, the boredom, the aggression, the battles with the cops -- it's all here, boiled down to these short, fiery performances and adorned with Raymond Pettibon's one-of-a-kind artwork for you to purchase post haste.

Picks of the litter, 1984: