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So can you believe right after the week I was sick, shit got hectic at my work (happens like twice a year)??? Anyhow I’m gonna try and double up on a couple posts when I can for the next few days, but either way you’ll forgive me because I got a HOT TIP for you.

I found someone with a GRIP of sealed[?] HR - It’s About Luv 12 inchers - original Olive Tree press. Now in case you’re lost here wondering why I’m trying to foist a bad reggae record on you, just chill. This is the record HR made right after the original dissolution of the Bad Brains, and then released on his own label in ‘84. He also released the first Beefeater 12″, a band that only Sami Reiss and James Ritter listen to now in 2009. Unlike every other HR record clogging the dollar bins of America though, It’s About Luv is only HALF reggae. The second half in fact… the B-Side. The A-side is in the vein of the Bad Brains songs you like for the most part, and serves as a sufficient missing link between Rock For Light and I Against I. For $10 a new copy of this (original pressing, not the repress on SST) is worth it for sure. In fact I’d probably rather listen to this than the soulful funk metal that takes up most of the space on I Against I. There I said it.

Roots is a bizarre dubbed out intro track with HR wordlessly moaning like some kind of reggae ghost. I totally don’t know where he’s coming from, but it’s actually better than most of the real reggae songs he puts together which are like 4th teir Bob Marley ripoffs. Fear not though, after a minute the dexterous guitar ripping of local DC legend David Byers (R.I.P.) kicks off It’ll Be Alright which is a fucking great song. It reminds me a little bit of Let Me Help from I Against I in the semi-sung/subdued delivery, but the riffing and drumming are total high energy and tuneful. By the way Earl Hudson is on the kit here so you know things are top notch. It’ll Be Alright only lasts about a minute and change, and then it’s onto We’re Gonna Get You. This one takes essentially the same approach as the previous track. Fast ripping Bad Brains style hardcore, with slightly more soulful vocals, honestly though, this could fit in pretty easily on Rock For Light. I think the song is about HR’s battles with police over Marijuana possession as the bridge has some kind of spoken re-enactment of the police shaking him down. From here things bridge into Heaven Forbid which is a bit more rocked out and mid tempo. It’s a bit weirder and sounds transitional, but it’s not too long, and still not as funky as the worst cuts on I Against I. There’s room in this one for an extended David Byers shred session which is pretty cool, although he doesn’t have quite the ear that Dr. Know does, even if more technically proficient. Closing out the side is Let’s Have a Revolution which starts with some dialogue re-enacting some court proceedings. The song is another mid-paced rocker, albeit with some bubbly horns thrown in that kinda get things dangerously close to ska territory. As bad as that sounds it’s actually a pretty good song and still keeps a pretty good clip. There’s a surprisingly good cover of this song on a 2 song tour single that Sam Mcpheters’ Wrangler Brutes self-released around 2004. If you can find a copy of that it’s a good listen.

Anyway as stated before the B-side is the start of HR’s forgettable and shockingly prolific reggae career, that is until the last song which is a live track called Free Your Mind that as far as I can tell was never released as a studio recording. Despite the muddy live recording, this is sort of the best track on the album. It begins with crowd chatter and an amped up HR screaming “are you ready?!” at the crowd. The song begins similar to the Bad Brains Supertouch and has a great Dr. Know style riff, with a machine-gun drum roll for a chorus. By the way what was with hardcore bands in the 80’s always including a live cut at the end of their lps? Totally weird practice. 

So anyway as stated this webstore seems to have a whole stack of these, and for $10 I think it’s well worth your time. Also the cover is cool as hell with a shot of HR in full milatary fatigues and huge thick dreads flying everywhere.