Despite popular belief, there’s nothing particularly hard about the current troupe of “hard” rock. Korn and Limp Bizkit? Hah! If you want the real deal go to the self-proclaimed “aging alternative icon” Henry Rollins.
Rollins is concentrated intensity. Starting with punk icons Black Flag in 1981 and moving to the self-named Rollins Band, Rollins has built his reputation on taking no guff and rocking harder than the rest. Continuing his mission to destroy the world through rock, the Rollins Band released “Get Some Go Again.”
Separating from the last incarnation of the Rollins Band, “Get Some Go Again” was recorded with the Los Angeles trio Mother Superior guitarist Jim Wilson, bassist Marcus Blake and drummer Jason Mackenroth. The result is a stripped down, raw recording without any production sheen.
It’s almost shocking how raw the album sounds. At times, it seems as if Rollins is channeling the ghost of Jim Morrison, roaring and howling, holding on to the microphone for dear life. On tracks such as “I Go Day Glow” and “Illumination” it seems as if Rollins is in your living room giving it his all.
Mother Superior make worthy conspirators, rocking harder than Fred Flintstone and tighter than Jordache jeans on a sumo wrestler.
As with other Rollins Band records, the lyrics focus on personal growth with a dollop of social commentary, both exemplified in the hilarious “L.A. Money Train,” featuring Wayne Kramer of the legendary Detroit band The MC5 (“Kick Out The Jams!”). The songs decry the vapidness of the Los Angeles lifestyle in a casual spoken word style.
With lines like “Then there’s the actress from Houston who spends six years preparing for her big screen debut/By dancing naked on stage and ends up realizing her celluloid dreams by going straight to video co-staring in ‘Ten Miles of Tuff Tongue.’/Hey, it’s work.” Rollins makes the point with humor by hitting on simple truths.
The whole album is a highlight but special attention should be paid to the title track “Get Some Go Again,” barely two minutes of high-grade “RAWK,” and “Love’s So Heavy,” an honest-to-god love song from the self-proclaimed “half-man, half-machine.”
The most surprising song is “Are You Ready,” a song so jam-packed with rock cliches (“Are you ready to rock?/Are you ready to dance?”) that it seems like a joke until you realize it’s a cover of the Thin Lizzy song featuring Scott Gorham, the guitarist from Thin Lizzy. Then it makes sense in the idea that Rollins is returning to the source. Very well then. Rock on.
“Get Some Go Again” should please Rollins fans and those who say rock is dead. Have a go if you think you’re hard enough.On the net
- Rollins Band videos from the official site
- Get Some Go Again(Real Video)
- Illumination(Real Video)
- Illumination(QuickTime)
