The Bad Brains studio albums are great, but for me 'ROIR', this unofficial bootleg, comes closest to capturing their live sound on tape. I was living in DC in the early '80S and got into the hardcore scene, but nobody else blew me away as much as Bad Brains. I'll say it now, I have never ever, ever, ever, ever seen a band do anything even close to what Bad Brains used to do live. Seeing them live was, without a doubt, always one of the most intense, powerful experiences you could ever have. They were just... Oh God, words fail me... incredible. They were connected in a way I'd never seen before.They made me absolutely determined to become a musician, they basically changed my life, and changed the lives of everyone who saw them. Rage Against The Machine are about the only band who get near to them, but even they aren't in the same league.
Bad Brains are one of those bands where everyone who's ever heard them live has come away with a real extreme reaction, one of either love or hate. I loved 'em. The fact that there were four black guys coming on to a predominately white scene that they then just surpassed and absolutely destroyed with everything they did, just staggered you.
This is as close as I've heard to a record capturing that.
