The First Four Years

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The First Four Years
Compilation album by Black Flag
Released	1983
Recorded	January 1978 - April 1981
Genre	Hardcore punk
Length	24:40
Label	SST
Producer	Black Flag, Geza X, Spot
Professional reviews
All Music Guide link
Black Flag chronology
Everything Went Black (1982) The First Four Years (1983) My War (1984)

The First Four Years was a compilation of early Black Flag songs recorded before Henry Rollins became the band's vocalist in 1981. Released in 1983 on SST Records, it essentially collects the EPs Nervous Breakdown, Jealous Again, Six Pack, and the single Louie Louie, with a couple of bonus tracks from various artists' albums. Tracks 1-4 are taken from the Nervous Breakdown EP, tracks 5-9 are taken from the Jealous Again EP, tracks 11-13 are from the Six Pack EP, and tracks 15-16 are taken from The Louie Louie/Damaged I split single. The remaining tracks are studio extras found solely on this album.

[edit] Track listing

1. "Nervous Breakdown" (Ginn) – 2:07
2. "Fix Me" (Ginn) – 0:55
3. "I've Had It" (Ginn) – 1:20
4. "Wasted" (Ginn/Morris) – 0:51
5. "Jealous Again" (Ginn) – 1:52
6. "Revenge" (Ginn) – 0:59
7. "White Minority" (Ginn) – 1:02
8. "No Values" (Ginn) – 1:45
9. "You Bet We've Got Something Personal Against You!" (Dukowski/Ginn/Pederast/ROBO) – 0:52
10. "Clocked In" (Ginn) – 1:30
11. "Six Pack" (Ginn) – 2:20
12. "I've Heard It Before" (Dukowski/Ginn) – 1:39
13. "American Waste" (Dukowski) – 1:33
14. "Machine" (Cadena/Dukowski) – 1:25
15. "Louie, Louie" (Berry) – 1:20
16. "Damaged I" (Cadena/Ginn) – 4:06

[edit] Personnel

• Keith Morris - vocals on tracks 1-4
• Chavo Pederast - vocals on tracks 5-8
• Dez Cadena - vocals on tracks 10-16; guitar on 11-14
• Greg Ginn - guitar
• Chuck Dukowski - bass; lead vocals on 9
• Brian Migdol - drums on tracks 1-4
• ROBO - drums on all other tracks