I Against I by Bad Brains

I Against I, Bad Brains' third studio album, came out on SST Records on November 21, 1986, and it's the sound of the Washington, D.C. band kicking down the walls of hardcore. The classic lineup was still together, H.R. singing, Dr. Know on guitar, Darryl Jenifer on bass and Earl Hudson on drums, with Ron Saint Germain producing.

The speed is still there, but now it's braided with funk, soul, reggae and heavy metal, loose-limbed and ferocious at once. The title appears to play on the Rastafarian phrase "I and I". One track was made the hard way: at the producer's suggestion, H.R. recorded his vocal for "Sacred Love" over the phone from prison, where he was locked up on a charge of distributing marijuana. It became the band's best-selling album, and it later earned a place in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.

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