Customer Reviews

Rise Above: 24 Black Flag Songs to Benefit the West Memphis Three [Amazon.com Exclusive Limited Edition]

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Not only can you help support the West Memphis 3 just by buying this album, but you also get 24 GREAT 'Flag covers.

I've been a huge "Flag" fan since I was about 13 years old (I'm 33 now). I didn't think anyone could pull-off Greg Ginn's amazing guitar parts but Mother Superior/Rollins Band does a freaking GREAT job!

It's ALL really good, but these are the standout tracks for me after the first listen:

3.) Iggy Pop doing "Fix Me" is a trip, considering he is one of Henry Rollins' & Black Flag's biggest influences. GREAT!

4.) Neil Fallon from Clutch does a very aggressive/straight-forward version of "American Waste".

5.) Cedric Bixler Zavala (from The Mars Volta--I'm not familar with them) does a really cool version of "I've Had It" from the Nervous Breakdown 7"--He does a really cool take on the early Keith Morris vocal sound. Familiar and original at the same time.

9.) Nick Oliveri (Queens of the Stone Age) does a really heavy version of "Jealous Again". POWERFUL!

11.) Hank III's version of "No Values" is ULTRA-COOL! Good voice, phrasing & intensity. One of the best cuts on the album!

14.) Mike Patton kills on "Six Pack"--CRAZY ...! INTENSE!!!

15.) Ice-T is a perfect choice for "Police Story" & he also does a really good job on this track.

16.) Tom Araya from SLAYER also KILLS on his cover of "Revenge".
SLAYER...God may hate them, but I LOVE them!

17.) Who is "Thirsty & Miserable"? LEMMY! Another PERFECT choice. He sounds really cool doing "Thirsty"!

24.) Is it Ryan Adams (Whiskeytown) or PJ HARVEY? The vocal phrasing on this bonus-cover of "Nervous Breakdown" sounds like something off of PJ Harvey's "Rid of Me" or "4 Track Demos" albums. Which is a good thing. I wonder if it's intentional or coinsidental? Either way it's really cool...

This is pretty much third on my Black Flag list. I saw them in Seattle in 83 and 84, and I saw Rollins tour with Tool in a discotheque under the Space Needle. I saw him do the talking thing, too.
Number one will always be Damaged. It got me through high school without killing myself or others, rough times.
Number two is "Who's got the 10.5" because, well, have you ever thought about getting yourself some? You know what I'm talking about.
This one is number three. The guitars sound too clean and controlled, not enough screw ups to make it have the real "wheels flying off and sparks spraying out about to blow" Black Flag feel. But it still destroyed anything that came out on a major label. Henry is middle aged and he is still on the high hard road. I wish Greg Ginn would have sucked it up and played some skanky guitar on some of these tracks, but no, and after reading "Broken Summer," and having listened to "Get in the Van" on cd, I guess maybe that's not realistic.
This is a must own. Buy it now. Or wallow in your own filth, weakness and failure.

Oh my god! I ordered this from Rollins' website about a month ago. It's still in my car and I love cranking the volume to 11. I like every song on the album and am amazed how Mother Superior did Greg Ginn justice! Henry's vocals are great! The guest vocalists are wonderful. This is my pick for album of the year (and it's for a worthy cause!). Henry you have outdone yourself with this project. Way to go, man!

I really liked the way TV Party was updated with shows such as Rosie O'Donnel and Ally McBeal. Hank III does a kick ... job on No Values. Tom Araya explodes on Revenge. Ice T was perfect for redoing Police Story. Ryan Adams' version of Nervous Breakdown is sublime. I often listen to that track twice. The intro by Chuck D is chilling and Rise Above has never been more rockin'.

I've been listening to Black Flag since 1981 when I was a Freshman in High School. This album has really brought back some fond memories. You owe it to yourself to buy this one immediately and buy a few for your friends and relatives!

although most of the songs can hardly be done better than the originals there are some tracks that really stand out as 'taken from a fresh perspective', and i'm not talking about lemmy struggling to keep up on 'thirsty and miserable' but Hank the 3rd really nails 'no values' and hearing Lint say 'survivor' on 'tv party' cracks me up every time, and the bonus disc with rollins's gushing praise of the artists who gave of themselves for a worthy cause was worth the price of admission by itself!

If you're here looking at the Amazon.com Limited Edition, there's a thing or two you should know. This was on my Wish List for a long time before anyone sold it here. When I finally ordered it, I got a promo CD in a slipcase that has the interviews and introductions (which make up disc 2 above). I'm not mad, I just wish I had the Rise Above album with it. I'll just go to Henry's website and buy another copy. So just so you know, that's an issue.

AWESOME! BUY IT! Do not hesitate. 100% of the proceeds go to benefit and help free (God we pray) these 3 young men unjustly incarcerated for a crime they DID NOT COMMIT!

How can you go wrong with Hank Rollins, Mike Patton, Chuck D, and Hank III on the same disc? You can't. Rollins is an unstoppable force, and this record is a fist in the face. Tribute albums generally don't compare to the original versions, but man, these tracks sound tough as [...]. Most sound better than the original (not to discount Greg Gihn's original guitar work). If you can walk away from the title track without feeling like wrestling a cage match or sparking a revolution, you're a Creed fan. This stuff is total inspiration.

I'm not that big of a fan of Black Flag. I mean they kick ass and I have three of their albums, but I'm just not that big of a fan. Anyway, I went down to my local record stor a few days ago to check out what they had, and I saw this Black Flag CD sitting in a clear case with no cover art. I ask the guy what it is and he says "some sort of promo thing". I ask what he wants for it and I get it for $5. Then I go home, pop it in, and hear the best versions of all my favorite Black Flag songs ever! I didn't even realize it was someone else singing until I came on here. Wow! What a find!

Wow! If you were a fan of Black Flag back in the day, then you really need to check out the "new and improved" harder versions! I thought Black Flag was pretty heavy when I was in high school, but music has changed so much since then. Cedric Bixler's vocals on I've Had It are totally cool, as is Hank III's version of No Values. To sum it up, it's all cool! Rise Above spent the first two weeks in my car, the only disc I was listening to! This cd is a great investment in a good charitable cause!

The music on this album is so fitting for the cause that it represents [...]. It is loud, angry, and it captures the feelings of teenagers who are misunderstood or think different. This music spoke to me back in high school, now it speaks for those who can't speak for themselves. Rollins called the music on here "Bulletproof" and that is just what it is! Rollibns and co. did a great job and you will NOT be dissapointed in this record. The updated version of TV Party is hysterical!!