I Against I

I Against I
Studio album by Bad Brains
Released November 1986
Genre Hardcore punk, alternative metal
Length 31:53
Label SST (065)
Producer Ron Saint Germain
Bad Brains chronology
Rock for Light
(1983)Rock for Light1983		 I Against I
(1986)		 Live
(1988)Live1988
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[2]
Spin Alternative Record Guide9/10[3]
The Village VoiceB−[4]

I Against I is the third studio album by the American hardcore punk band Bad Brains. It was released in November 1986 through SST Records with the catalog number SST 065. The best-selling album in the band's catalog, I Against I is an album that mixes American hardcore punk with funk, soul, reggae and heavy metal. It is also included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. The album featured an MTV video for the title track directed by Paul Rachman who later went on to direct the documentary feature film American Hardcore.

The title I Against I presumably refers to a common Rastafarian phrase, I and I, which is used in place of the first-person plural (i.e. we) in order to signify the union of the speaker, audience, and Jah (God) in love and peace.

At the producer's suggestion, the vocals to "Sacred Love" were recorded over the phone from the prison where H.R. was serving time on a marijuana distribution charge.

Track listing

All songs written by Paul Hudson, Darryl Jenifer, and Gary Miller except where noted.

  1. "Intro" (Jenifer, Miller) – 1:02
  2. "I Against I" – 2:50
  3. "House of Suffering" (P. Hudson, Miller) – 2:29
  4. "Re-Ignition" – 4:16
  5. "Secret 77" – 4:04
  6. "Let Me Help" – 2:17
  7. "She's Calling You" (P. Hudson, Jenifer) – 3:42
  8. "Sacred Love" – 3:40
  9. "Hired Gun" – 3:45
  10. "Return to Heaven" – 3:19

Accolades

Year Publication Country Accolade Rank
1989OORNetherlands "The Best Albums of the 80s"29[5]
1995Alternative PressUnited States "Top 99 Of '85 to '95"9[6]
1995BigOSingapore "The 100 Best Albums from 1975 to 1995"99[7]
1999Tylko RockPoland "100 Albums that Shook Polish Rock"39[8]
2000TerrorizerUnited Kingdom "100 Most Important Albums of the Eighties"*[9]
2002RevolverUnited States "The 69 Greatest Metal Albums of All Time"32[10]
2003BlenderUnited States "500 CDs You Must Own Before You Die"*[11]
2004Les InrockuptiblesFrance "50 Years of Rock'n'Roll"*[12]
2005Robert DimeryUnited States 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die*[13]
2006Gary MulhollandUnited Kingdom "261 Greatest Albums Since Punk and Disco"*[14]
2008VOLUMEFrance "200 Records that Changed the World"*[15]
2008Tom MoonUnited States "1000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die"*[16]
"*" denotes an unordered list.
  • In 1998, the main riff of "Re-Ignition" was sampled as the main hook in "Ultrasonic Sound" by Hive, which later appeared on The Matrix soundtrack.
  • The "Re-Ignition" riff in "Ultrasonic Sound" was also used by Lil Jon & The Eastside Boyz on a remix of their song "Roll Call", featuring Ice Cube.
  • A live version of "Re-Ignition" was featured in Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock.
  • Ska punk band Sublime used to cover "House of Suffering" during some of their live performances (such as the "Las Palmas theatre" show in February 17, 1995) as a follow up to their version of "5446, That's My Number".
  • The popular Canadian teen drama Degrassi: The Next Generation, which is known for naming each episode after a 1980s hit song, named an episode after the song "I Against I".
  • "House of Suffering" was also covered by the rock band The Bled for the 2005 game Tony Hawk's American Wasteland with different guitar sounds and drum sounds.

Other uses of the title

I Against I has been used by other music acts.

Personnel

Bad Brains
Production

Release history

Region Date
United States November 1986
United Kingdom February 1987

References

  1. ↑ Anderson, Rick. "I Against I – Bad Brains". AllMusic. Retrieved July 8, 2012.
  2. ↑ Frere-Jones, Sasha (2004). "Bad Brains". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian. The New Rolling Stone Album Guide. Simon & Schuster. pp. 34–35. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  3. ↑ Weisbard, Eric; Marks, Craig, eds. (1995). Spin Alternative Record Guide. New York: Vintage Books. ISBN 0-679-75574-8.
  4. ↑ Christgau, Robert (May 5, 1987). "Christgau's Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Retrieved September 17, 2013.
  5. ↑ "OOR - The Best Albums of the 80s". OOR. Retrieved February 2, 2010.
  6. ↑ "Alternative Press - Top 99 of '85 to '95". Alternative Press. Retrieved February 2, 2010.
  7. ↑ "Blender - The 100 Best Albums from 1975 to 1995". BigO. Retrieved February 2, 2010.
  8. ↑ "Tylko Rock - 100 Albums that Shook Polish Rock". Tylko Rock. Retrieved February 2, 2010.
  9. ↑ "Terrorizer - 100 Most Important Albums of the Eighties". Terrorizer. Retrieved February 2, 2010.
  10. ↑ "Revolver - The 69 Greatest Metal Albums of All Time". Revolver. Retrieved February 2, 2010.
  11. ↑ "Blender - 500 CDs You Must Own Before You Die". Blender. Retrieved February 2, 2010.
  12. ↑ "Les Inrockuptibles - 50 Years of Rock'n'Roll". Les Inrockuptibles. Retrieved February 2, 2010.
  13. ↑ Dimery, Robert. 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. p. 856.
  14. ↑ "Gary Mulholland - 261 Greatest Albums Since Punk and Disco". Gary Mulholland. Retrieved February 2, 2010.
  15. ↑ "VOLUME - 200 Records that Changed the World". VOLUME. Retrieved February 2, 2010.
  16. ↑ "Tom Moon - 1000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die" (PDF). Tom Moon. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 5, 2009. Retrieved February 2, 2010.
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