I Against I

I Against I
Studio album by Bad Brains
Released	November 1986
Genre	Punk rock, Funk metal, Heavy Metal, Hardcore punk
Length	31:53
Label	SST (065)
Producer	Ron Saint Germain
Bad Brains chronology
Rock for Light (1983) I Against I (1986) Live (1988)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[2]
Spin Alternative Record Guide	9/10[3]
The Village Voice	B−[4]

	"I Against I" "I Against I" by the Bad Brains from I Against I (1986)
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I Against I is the third studio album by the American hardcore punk band Bad Brains. It was released in November 1986 through SST Records with the catalog number SST 065. The best-selling album in the band's catalog, I Against I is a critically acclaimed album that mixes American hardcore punk with funk, soul, reggae and heavy metal. It is also included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. The album featured an MTV video for the title track directed by Paul Rachman who later went on to direct the documentary feature film American Hardcore.

The title I Against I presumably refers to a common Rastafarian phrase, I and I, which is used in place of the first-person plural (i.e. we) in order to signify the union of the speaker, audience, and Jah (God) in love and peace.

At the producer's suggestion, the vocals to "Sacred Love" were recorded over the phone from the prison where H.R. was serving time on a marijuana distribution charge.

There is song collaboration of Massive Attack and Mos Def with the same name, and another by Jedi Mind Tricks. Ska punk band Sublime used to cover "House of Suffering" during some of their live performances (such as the "Las Palmas theatre" show in February 17, 1995) as a follow up to their version of "5446, That's My Number".

The popular Canadian teen drama Degrassi: The Next Generation, which is known for naming each episode after a 1980s hit song, named an episode after the song "I Against I".

Track listing

All songs written by Paul Hudson, Darryl Jenifer, and Gary Miller except where noted.

1. "Intro" (Jenifer, Miller) – 1:02
2. "I Against I" – 2:50
3. "House of Suffering" (P. Hudson, Miller) – 2:29
4. "Re-Ignition" – 4:16
5. "Secret 77" – 4:04
6. "Let Me Help" – 2:17
7. "She's Calling You" (P. Hudson, Jenifer) – 3:42
8. "Sacred Love" – 3:40
9. "Hired Gun" – 3:45
10. "Return to Heaven" – 3:19

Accolades

Year	Publication	Country	Accolade	Rank
1989	OOR	Netherlands	"The Best Albums of the 80s"	29	[5]
1995	Alternative Press	United States	"Top 99 Of '85 to '95"	9	[6]
1995	BigO	Singapore	"The 100 Best Albums from 1975 to 1995"	99	[7]
1999	Tylko Rock	Poland	"100 Albums that Shook Polish Rock"	39	[8]
2000	Terrorizer	United Kingdom	"100 Most Important Albums of the Eighties"	*	[9]
2002	Revolver	United States	"The 69 Greatest Metal Albums of All Time"	32	[10]
2003	Blender	United States	"500 CDs You Must Own Before You Die"	*	[11]
2004	Les Inrockuptibles	France	"50 Years of Rock'n'Roll"	*	[12]
2005	Robert Dimery	United States	"1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die"	*	[13]
2006	Gary Mulholland	United Kingdom	"261 Greatest Albums Since Punk and Disco"	*	[14]
2008	VOLUME	France	"200 Records that Changed the World"	*	[15]
2008	Tom Moon	United States	"1000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die"	*	[16]
"*" denotes an unordered list.

In popular culture

• In 1998, the main riff of "Re-Ignition" was sampled as the main hook in "Ultrasonic Sound" by Hive, which later appeared on The Matrix soundtrack.
• The "Re-Ignition" riff in "Ultrasonic Sound" was also used by Lil Jon & The Eastside Boyz on a remix of their song "Roll Call", featuring Ice Cube.
• A live version of "Re-Ignition" was featured in Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock.

Personnel

Bad Brains

• H.R. – lead vocals
• Dr. Know – guitar
• Darryl Jenifer – bass
• Earl Hudson – drums

Production

• Ron Saint Germain – producer
• Phil Burnett – engineer
• Patch – mixing
• Jesse Henderson; Bill Ryan – assistant engineers
• Eddie Krupski; Dennis Mitchell – additional mixing
• Bob Ludwig – mastering
• Marcia Resnick – photography, cover concept
• Paul Bacon Studio – calligraphy and development

Release history

Region	Date
United States	November 1986
United Kingdom	February 1987

References

1. Anderson, Rick. "I Against I – Bad Brains". AllMusic. Retrieved July 8, 2012.
2. Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian, eds. (2004). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide. Simon & Schuster. pp. 34–35. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
3. Weisbard, Eric; Marks, Craig, eds. (1995). Spin Alternative Record Guide. New York City: Vintage Books. ISBN 0-67975574-8.
4. Christgau, Robert (May 5, 1987). "Christgau's Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Retrieved September 17, 2013.
5. "OOR - The Best Albums of the 80s". OOR. Retrieved February 2, 2010.
6. "Alternative Press - Top 99 of '85 to '95". Alternative Press. Retrieved February 2, 2010.
7. "Blender - The 100 Best Albums from 1975 to 1995". BigO. Retrieved February 2, 2010.
8. "Tylko Rock - 100 Albums that Shook Polish Rock". Tylko Rock. Retrieved February 2, 2010.
9. "Terrorizer - 100 Most Important Albums of the Eighties". Terrorizer. Retrieved February 2, 2010.
10. "Revolver - The 69 Greatest Metal Albums of All Time". Revolver. Retrieved February 2, 2010.
11. "Blender - 500 CDs You Must Own Before You Die". Blender. Retrieved February 2, 2010.
12. "Les Inrockuptibles - 50 Years of Rock'n'Roll". Les Inrockuptibles. Retrieved February 2, 2010.
13. Dimery, Robert. 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. p. 856.
14. "Gary Mulholland - 261 Greatest Albums Since Punk and Disco". Gary Mulholland. Retrieved February 2, 2010.
15. "VOLUME - 200 Records that Changed the World". VOLUME. Retrieved February 2, 2010.
16. "Tom Moon - 1000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die" (PDF). Tom Moon. Retrieved February 2, 2010.

External links

• I Against I (Adobe Flash) at Radio3Net (streamed copy where licensed)