Customer Reviews

Nervous Breakdown

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

A simple- even Ramones-ish- guitar riff kicks off the oppening title song, followed by a spaced-out, almost drunken voice which sings "I'm about/ to have a nervous breakdown/ my head really hurts..." And so the world is introduced to Black Flag, one of the greatest and most enduring punk bands of all time.
Though Nervous Breakdown (the album, not the song) is only five minutes and twenty seconds long, its sound manages to stay so constantly fresh and exciting that you can play the entire EP ten times over and still feel like you're listining to it for the first time.
The lyrics are instantly memorable, like the chorus of "I've had it," in which Keith Morris chants "I'm.... Going.... To.... EXPLODE I'VE HAD IT!" Gregg Ginn's guitar playing, though childshly simple, is stll ferocious and brilliant, creating the perfect templete over which the lyrics can be sung.
Though not as angry or proffessionally played as later efforts, Nervous Breakdown remains my favorite Flag record, and a great landmark of Punk.

I will probably get crucified for saying this, but I feel that this is Black Flag's best release. This is true American punk at it's finest. Just to let you know where I'm coming from, I think that "Everyting Went Black" is Black Flag's second best release and Keith Morris is one of my favorite singers of all time. I have nothing against Henry Rollins, but pre-Rollins Black Flag is in my opinion the finest American punk band of all time.

Forget british punk or anything going on today, this is the REAL THING! Music made by punks for punks. Nervous Breakdown might just be the best damn punk song ever (even beating anything on Damaged). The rest are great, too, if a little short.

Agreed, this is the best punk rock EP ever released. No solos - sort of, the guitar fills form the basis of Ginn's guitar insanity. However, this and everything went black are the best part of the Black Flag era because of Keith Morris. Some people really don't care for Keith's vocals, but I'm sorry you can't hear the edgy insanity that is as close as a white boy can come to HR. Rollins made Black Flag into an art medium, but nobody matched Ginn's insanity on the vocal level like Morris. But, buy this only if you don't care for the other vocalists on the First Four Years, or unless your're a collector.

Bought this EP way back in the day, think it was in 1980. It is what Punk Rock is short, fast, loud and to the point. A no holds bar of punk energy put on for our ears to hear and hearts to experience. A must own for all us who remember the punk days of Southern Cal in the late 70's and early 80's.

Believe it or not, there was once a time when punk was not all about whining about high school, parents, and not having girlfriends. It actually used to be cool music! Well, even if the time is long past, we still have the music. Black Flag was an early hardcore punk band, but on this EP they are more punk than hardcore. But for 1978, this was some heavy stuff! Greg doesn't play solos on here, so the riffs are more straightforward. And here we have singer Keith Morris, whose voice resembles that of Johnny Rotten. In fact, all of these songs sound like Sex Pistols songs in my opinion.

Nervous Breakdown is slightly over two minutes and is the longest song on here. A very chilling song this is. Starts off with some nice punk riffs and then Keith comes in "I'm about to have a nervous breakdown/ My head really hurts" This song is quite a wild ride! Keith's voice gets pretty crazy near the end, and it all finishes with a cry of "I just wanna...DIIIIIIE" What a finish! Fix Me is under a minute long, but it still rocks. Keith simply roars on this song and Greg's riffs are just mean.

I've Had It has another nice riff at the start. Keith really sounds pissed on this one. You gotta love it when he goes "I'm going to explode, I'VE HAD IT!" Great song to play when you need to vent some anger. Wasted is another quick song. It's simple and to the point, just like punk should be.

Don't be afraid, this is not some whiny teenybopper pop punk. This is true punk music, and if your idea of punk is Good Charlotte (they suck by the way, but you already knew that) then get this and find out what punk is really about! If you don't, then you are simply cheating yourself.

This Album is perfect. However, I advise you to get "The First Four Years", because it is a better value, and showcases all the pre-Rollins material. That being said, this album is essential to any punk collection. The first song "Nervous Breakdown" is incredible. Greg Ginn's throbbing guitar and Keith Morris's raw, angry vocals give this track a 5 out of 5. Next, "Fix Me" is THE song that got me into punk rock. It gets 5 out of 5 stars. "Iv'e Had It" is a great song that gets 4 out of 5 stars. With lyrics like (I can't go to work the boss is a jerk/I ain't got time for this school 'cause the f***ers are fools)you will find yourself listening to it over and over. Finally, "Wasted" gets 3 out of 5 stars. It's good, but not great. The main point is, you need this CD, so buy it now.

I bought this as a 7" record around 1980 downtown San Diego at a used record store. But it was new. I don't know what drove me to buy it since I was a died in the wool used album buyer since about 1974. I'd heard a Black Flag song or two on the radio, late night on 91X as I recall. I knew it was potent. Turns out it's one of those records (I know this is the cd of the 7") where every song is perfection. With Raymond Pettibone's classic drawing for a cover the whole package is punk rock perfection. Nobody was ever able to duplicate Greg Ginn's perfect punk rock guitar sound. And, of course, like Sean Connery is the best Bond, Keith Morris is the best Black Flag vocalist. Any sensible person knows this and scientific evidence proves both. No, really. Here's a link to the studies that prove it:; These songs don't mess around. They're classic punk rock short, they drive, they're intense. And, the sign of real high quality art, they stand the test of time. When I play these 4 songs today I get the juice, the energy the same as I did 31 years ago. I'm fatter and older and actually have some arthritis now but the songs records in, what 1978? never lose an ounce of their power. Keith remains forever young, Greg's guitar creates perfect hardcore punk rock. If this record isn't the touchstone of U.S. punk rock I don't know which record is. Sure, the Ramones did their thing and 3 of their first 4 albums are fantastic and stand the test of time. And Minor Threat and DK's and Bad Brains all have power and perfect songs that can never be denied. Somehow, this 7" of music lyrically bares punk's soul. The tension, the pain, the passion to record without big corporate producers telling them what to do. It's all here. Straight out real musical intensity that still causes a blast, makes you move and your girlfriend or wife is gonna wonder if you're ever gonna grow up. We're forever young when we play this record and it's over in less than 5 minutes, heck, probably less than 4, maybe 3. Ha. Mark my words, 100 years from now this is one of the records that will rise above and kids in a completely different musical and industrial and technological setting will still find the immediacy, the urgency, the angst and know they find their inner turmoil given voice. yow.

Nervous Breakdown is so good it blows away whatever direction Henry Rollins steered them into. Not only do i have this on "45" but it was previously released on "The First Five Years" which was compiled onto a cassette in the 80's then eventualy a CD. It features all the other releases with other singers before the onset of "Damage" and the beginning of the Henry Rollins era, where it wasn't just a new singer every EP or Album, it was the beginning of the end, band members were leaving the band, and were replaced by Henry's friends, the only original member remaining was Greg Ginn, because it was his band.

One of the great early hardcore punk records, Black Flag's debut E.P. is a concentrated blast of raw three-chord rock 'n' roll fury. These four short songs pack a brutal wallop, kicking the listener in the teeth with the kind of righteous insanity that made punk rock so awesome in the first place. Just listen to the title track, with its barrage of twisted guitar chords supremely pissed-off vocals. "I've Had It" features a mangled classic rock guitar riff and some face-smashing drum-work, while "Fix Me" shows off vocalist Keith Morris' drunken howl. And then, of course, there's the burned-out, vicious sarcasm of "Wasted." All in all, totally way-cool awesome stuff.