The First Four Years
The First Four Years is a compilation album by the American hardcore punk band Black Flag. It was released in 1983 on SST Records. The compilation consists of all of the group's material released before Henry Rollins became the band's vocalist in 1981. It essentially collects the extended plays Nervous Breakdown (1979), Jealous Again (1980), Six Pack (1981), and the single "Louie Louie", with two tracks from various artists' compilation albums.
| The First Four Years | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Compilation album by | ||||
| Released | 1983 | |||
| Recorded | January 1978 – April 1981 at Media Art Studios in Hermosa Beach, California | |||
| Genre | Hardcore punk | |||
| Length | 24:40 | |||
| Label | SST Records | |||
| Producer | Spot, Geza X, Black Flag | |||
| Black Flag chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| Alternative Rock | 9/10[2] |
| Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [3] |
| MusicHound Rock | 2/5[4] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [5] |
Tracks 1–4 are taken from Nervous Breakdown, tracks 5–9 are taken from Jealous Again, tracks 11–13 are from Six Pack, and tracks 15–16 are taken from the "Louie Louie" single. Tracks 10 and 14 were originally released on the New Alliance Records compilation albums Cracks in the Sidewalk (1980) and Chunks (1981).
In 2007, The Guardian included the album in their list of "1000 Albums to Hear Before You Die".[6]
Track listing
All tracks are written by Greg Ginn, except where noted
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Nervous Breakdown" | 2:08 | |
| 2. | "Fix Me" | 0:57 | |
| 3. | "I've Had It" | 1:26 | |
| 4. | "Wasted" | Keith Morris, Ginn | 0:51 |
| 5. | "Jealous Again" | 1:52 | |
| 6. | "Revenge" | 0:58 | |
| 7. | "White Minority" | 1:03 | |
| 8. | "No Values" | 1:45 | |
| 9. | "You Bet We've Got Something Personal Against You!" | Chuck Dukowski, Ginn | 0:52 |
| 10. | "Clocked In" | 1:30 | |
| 11. | "Six Pack" | 2:19 | |
| 12. | "I've Heard It Before" | Dukowski, Ginn | 1:38 |
| 13. | "American Waste" | Dukowski | 1:32 |
| 14. | "Machine" | Dukowski, Dez Cadena | 1:25 |
| 15. | "Louie Louie" | Richard Berry, Additional lyrics by Cadena | 1:18 |
| 16. | "Damaged I" | Ginn, Cadena | 4:05 |
| Total length: | 24:40 | ||
Personnel
- Keith Morris – lead vocals on tracks 1–4
- Ron Reyes – lead vocals on tracks 5–8
- Dez Cadena – lead vocals on tracks 10–16
- Greg Ginn – guitar
- Chuck Dukowski – bass, lead vocals on track 9
- Brian Migdol – drums on tracks 1–4
- Robo – drums on all other tracks
Production
- Spot; Geza X, Black Flag – producers
- Raymond Pettibon – artwork
References
- Dougan, John. "The First Four Years – Black Flag | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved July 3, 2015.
- Thompson, Dave (April 12, 2000). Alternative rock. San Francisco : Miller Freeman Books ; Berkeley, CA : Distributed to the book trade in the U.S. and Canada by Publishers Group West ; Milwaukee, WI : Distributed to the music trade in the U.S. and Canada by Hal Leonard Publishing. ISBN 9780879306076 – via Internet Archive.
- Larkin, Colin (2011). "Black Flag". The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th concise ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-0-85712-595-8.
- Gary Graff, ed. (1996). MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide (1st ed.). London: Visible Ink Press. ISBN 978-0-7876-1037-1.
- Considine, J. D. (2004). "Black Flag". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 77–78. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
- "Artists beginning with B (part 1)". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved June 2, 2023.