Damaged by Black Flag (Punk) (CD, Oct-1990, SST)

When I bought this CD and put it in my stereo, it was the first time I had ever heard Black Flag. I've usually heard them credited as the forerunners of hardcore punk, so I had (somewhat naive) expectations that it would sound something akin to Stretch Arm Strong or Sick of It All. What it DOES sound like is basically poppy Ramones punk with yelling vocals which hit no pitch in particular. The production is really rough and the syncronization of the instruments is not exactly tight. That being said, I think Black Flag has accomplished with this album exactly what they wanted to. This is how it's SUPPOSED to sound. The production sounds like crap because that's how punk production SHOULD sound. Admittedly, if I'm disappointed, it's probably because I expected it to sound different than it does. It's grown on me, and I think it has some really strong songs on it. For all I know, the more I listen to it and get more acclamated to what they were going for, I'll probably like it more.