Rise Above 24 Black Flag Songs To Benefit The West Memphis Three Music Cd

Ice Queen - Rise Above 24 Black Flag Songs To Benefit The West Memphis Three

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Rise Above: 24 Black Flag Songs to Benefit the West Memphis Three      Artist : Various Artists      List Price : $11.98 USD        Your Price : $11.98 USD      ProductGroup: Music      Release Date : 2002-10-08      Studio : Sanctuary Records      Label : Sanctuary Records      Avg. Customer Rating : (25 reviews)

Reviews Customer Reviews for Rise Above 24 Black Flag Songs To Benefit The West Memphis Three      Outstanding!      Rating:      I think this CD is a true gem. I really enjoy all the tracks. Yes, ALL THE TRACKS! I approached this album with the intention of hearing someones else's take on a Black Flag song. Every artist delivers a unique insight to the original song. I feel the cover songs are done respectfully, sincerely, and with the accomplishment of capturing the true emotion of the original tracks! This compilation is very worthy of household recognition. I recommend to anyone. Black Flag fan or not, this release is very enjoyable. Oh yea. It is a benefit album too. I don't have to much insight of the cause. But I do know, it good to see a diverse group of musician come together.     Customer Reviews for Rise Above 24 Black Flag Songs To Benefit The West Memphis Three Cd      Some outstanding performances, and a good cause make this worth getting.      Rating:      Okay, not everybody is in agreement about the West Memphis Three. I don't see one iota of actual evidence that proves they're guilty. That said, I'm here to review the music on this CD, not go on about my opinon. Black Flag was of course a great band for a good 5 or 6 years. Their last material was dire (witness 'Annihilate This Week'; nothing can make that song good folks, not to my ears). The best covers on here partly belong to Henry Rollins himself, he of the classic Damaged. Never mind his self-congratulatory liners, when given the right material, he's awesome here. My War in particular is fantastic, maybe better than the original; the version of Slip it In with Inger Lorre of the Nymphs is also fantastic, with the lyrics ringing clearer than ever before in their meaning. Rise Above, with Chuck D. (who I don't hear on it, except the intro!) is incredible, and best of all, is the great Keith Morris, of both Circle Jerks fame (Group Sex being the best hardcore punk album ever made), and also the original singer of Black Flag, on their finest moment, the Nervous Breakdown E.P. His re-recording of Nervous Breakdown is just F-----g INCREDIBLE. Worth it for that alone. The others? Well, Police Story by Ice-T is quite good, surprisngly for me (never a fan of his), and um... there's not much else, which is why I gave this three stars. Lemmy's version of Thirsty and Miserable is fair, and of course all Motorhead completists must have this I guess. Ryan Adam's Nervous Breakdown ("bonus track" --???) is nowhere near Keith Morris's, but it's fair. The lyrics of Jealous Again are much clearer her as done by Nick Oliveri, but it's not a great version; I'll take the Everything Went Black version by Dez as the best one. Most of these covers aren't that good, I give it three stars for the few truly incredible ones. Interesting to hear Hank Williams III doing No values, but not any good either. Iggy Pop tops them all in terms of sheer awfulness with his version of Fix Me, which has to be heard in all completion to see what a joke it, like he, is. Pathetic. That all said, the songs on here that ARE done well are SO great, it's worth having if you're a Black Flag fan at all. And if you believe they're innocent, well, there ya go... I've definitely heard Worse benefit albums! By FAR. Editorial Reviews for Rise Above 24 Black Flag Songs To Benefit The West Memphis Three Audio Cd      Amazon.com      Holy countercultural confluence! For the cause of fundraising for the defense of a trio of legally bound Arkansas headbangers--one of whom is currently on death row on the basis of hearsay testimony--Henry Rollins has resurrected the sacrosanct songs of his legendary former Los Angeles hardcore band Black Flag. Much as he first joined the popular Flag by jumping on stage and grabbing the microphone, Rollins here assigns lead vocals to a bewildering array of guests, including Iggy Pop, Dean Ween, Corey Taylor of Slipknot, Tom Araya of Slayer, Queens of the Stone Age, and Ice T. The Rollins Band convincingly serves as caustic backing band throughout. Protest music godfather Chuck D. of Public Enemy appears as well, though simply to introduce the album. Many of the singers, whether inspired by the cause itself or the muscular caliber of Black Flag's music, deliver the rebellious message with heartfelt intensity. Motorhead leader Lemmy's ripping version of "Thirsty and Miserable" is a stunning highlight, as is Hank Williams III's psychotic "No Values." Former Flag singers Keith Morris and Chuck Dukowski bring their veteran intensity, and Rollins himself shouts "My War," "TV Party," "Black Coffee," "Annihilate This Week," "Slip It In," and the title track. (Flag guitarist-lyricist Greg Ginn is notably absent, though his trademark clear Lucite guitar joins the West Memphis Three defendants on the cover artwork.) The participating musicians' anger and frustration over the West Memphis Three case, which has been detailed in HBO's Paradise Lost documentaries, is well matched with the giant fury of this band. --Ian Christe