HR Tapes 84-86: Its About Luv, Keep Out Of Reach (SST, 1988)

*GUEST REVIEW*
If you've heard HR's Singin' in the Heart or Charge albums, then this collection of early material for legendary punk label SST is not going to be up your alley.  With a few notable exceptions, HR Tapes is basically a collection of poorly-recorded, often live tracks from the Bad Brains singer's first stab at solo work during some brief downtime from his band. In fact, with the exception of "Happy Birthday My Son," this disc is entirely devoid of reggae -- even the dub version of "Keep Out of Reach" is still more of a rock tune than anything else. The majority of these songs take the Bad Brains loud/hard/fast sound and take it to even more of an extreme, although HR's typically politically and spiritually astute lyrics are in full force even at such an early stage. The disc's highlight is definitely album-closer "Power of the Trinity," perhaps the most sincere expression of faith in HR's entire career. The song, which appeared as the b-side of the 12" single for "Keep Out of Reach," is a multi-part epic glorifying Rastafari in a distinctly HR fashion. The track includes a pointlessly extended outro, but aside from that, it's pure brilliance. Hearing the blistering guitar riffs followed by HR bellowing "His name is Haile Selassie!" is an experience unto itself. The rest of the disc could pass as bad outtakes, so its probably only worth purchasing if you're a serious fan...or if you can't find the "Keep Out of Reach/Power of the Trinity" single. (If you're interested, the single was released on DC label Olive Tree in 1986, OTR #105.)

- Sam Thompson

Singin' in the Heart (SST, 1989)

Former lead singer of the dreadlocked Washington DC punk band Bad Brains, HR, AKA Paul Hudson AKA Ras Hailu Gabriel Joseph I, left the group to pursue a solo career, presumably one more dedicated to his religious convictions.  The sound on his early albums wasn't much different from the Bad Brains material, however: frantic punk rock without much of a trace of reggae.  Singin' in the Heart breaks that mold a bit, though, with most of its contents being identifiable as reggae.  On top of that, the album is surprisingly mellow, revealing little of the punk energy from HR's roots.  The Israel Vibration-like "Youthman Sufferer" and "Fool's Gold" (along with their dubs), the strongest tracks on this album, are particularly laid-back, straightforward roots reggae with a nice live-instrument (non-digital) sound, a style that HR adapts to well.  He even puts forth a ska/rock steady number, "Treat Street," whose bouncy, upbeat tone is unlike his normal serious attitude.  He can't seemingly put forth straight roots for a consistent amount of time, however, as some of the other tracks veer into other realms (though not punk rock): the title cut and "Don't Trust No (Shadows After Dark)" have a distinctly '80s pop/rock sound, lighter and more agreeable to the palette than his earlier, more punk stuff, but still not particularly great.   Overall, although HR is starting to develop a good sound on Singin' in the Heart, the songwriting isn't as strong as it could and should be.

Our Faith (1992, Railroad)

Our Faith was the last of HR's string of '80s/'90s solo efforts apart from Bad Brains (He'd later release Out of Bounds in the year 2000.) and the second -- after 1991's I Luv -- away from the SST label. Coming on the heels of the pretty much straightforward roots effort Charge, you'd expect Our Faith to be similarly traditional in its reggae sound. Indeed, only two of the 9 tracks exist completely outside of the reggae realm -- the rock 'n roll "For the Love of Jah Nation" and the Prince-like ballad "Here I Am" -- but two others (the ska funk rock of "When You're Forsaken" and "Good to Go," the latter featuring HR's rapping, um, "skills"?) are extreme hybrids that are definitely an acquired taste, leaving only 5 of the 9 as "traditional" reggae. For my money, HR is at his best when delivering his manic moans and wails over moody, perhaps slightly rock-tinged roots, as on "Fatherless Children," "Our Faith," "Rest Stop," and the best track here, "Revolt." Apart from these four tunes, though, Our Faith is a bit of a minefield, but HR's raving performance always makes for an interesting listen. 

*Alternate Review*

Anthology (SST, 1998)

I suppose since HR hadn't released an album since the early 90s, SST decided to put together an anthology in 1998.  If there's any doubt that HR stopped producing material at the height of his career, then listening to Anthology should clear things up.   Organized in reverse chronological order, this album begins with four quality songs from Charge and the three best (and most rootsy) songs from Singin' in the Heart, but everything goes downhill from there.  HR's first two albums on SST, as displayed vividly here, were heavily influenced by his Bad Brains punk days, and any resemblance of the last 10 tracks on Anthology to reggae is purely coincidental.  In fact, anything resembling music seems to be a bit of an accident at times.  Cuts like "I Love King Jah," "Life After Death," and "It'll Be Alright" are just irritating noise.  It's tempting when you hear an album that you really enjoy, like Charge, to buy other releases by the artist, thinking that there has to be some similarly good material elsewhere...but sometimes there just isn't.  Some artists like HR release just one good album.  Needless to say, your best bet is to buy Charge (and maybe Singin' in the Heart, if you find it cheap) and enjoy it as HR's reggae legacy.