After the tinny sound quality of the band's debut, the second Bad Brains album came as a real blast of sonic fresh air.
Producer Ric Ocasek is largely responsible, but the increased tightness and focus are also a function of maturation.
This band was a weird bundle of contradictions from day one: black Rastafarian instrumental virtuosos playing hardcore punk, formerly the exclusive domain of white, aggressively atheist musical amateurs.
That last contradiction would come to full musical flower on I Against I, but Rock for Light shows the band at the height of its punk energy.
"P.M.A.," "Joshua's Song," and "Coptic Times" are typical examples of Bad Brains' unique blend of punk velocity and Rasta ideology.
When they suddenly swing into mellow reggae (on "I and I Survive," "The Meek," "Rally 'Round Jah Throne," and the dubwise instrumental "Jam"), the effect is like some kind of pleasant musical whiplash.
The 1990 CD reissue of this album was remixed by Ocasek and bassist Darryl Jenifer, and it includes several bonus tracks.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Big TakeoverBad Brains, Earl Hudson, Paul Hudson, Phil Hudson, Darryl Jenifer, Dr. Know, G. W. Miller | Bad Brains | Play | 02:28 | 5 MB | 16 MB |
| 2 | AttitudeBad Brains | Bad Brains | Play | 01:09 | 2 MB | 8 MB |
| 3 | Right BrigadeBad Brains | Bad Brains | Play | 02:07 | 4 MB | 14 MB |
| 4 | Joshua's SongBad Brains, Earl Hudson, Paul Hudson, Phil Hudson, Darryl Jenifer, Dr. Know, G. W. Miller | Bad Brains | Play | 00:32 | 1 MB | 3 MB |
| 5 | I and I SurviveBad Brains, Delroy Hines, Phil Hudson, Darryl Jenifer, Dr. Know, Winston Rodney, Rupert Willington | Bad Brains | Play | 05:13 | 11 MB | 30 MB |
| 6 | Banned in D.C.Bad Brains, Earl Hudson, Paul Hudson, Darryl Jenifer, G. W. Miller | Bad Brains | Play | 01:57 | 4 MB | 13 MB |
| 7 | SupertouchBad Brains, Earl Hudson, Paul Hudson, Darryl Jenifer, G. W. Miller | Bad Brains | Play | 02:20 | 5 MB | 16 MB |
| 8 | Destroy BabylonBad Brains, Earl Hudson, Paul Hudson, Darryl Jenifer, G. W. Miller | Bad Brains | Play | 01:19 | 3 MB | 9 MB |
| 9 | The MeekBad Brains, Phil Hudson, Darryl Jenifer, Dr. Know | Bad Brains | Play | 03:37 | 8 MB | 21 MB |
| 10 | IBad Brains, Phil Hudson, Darryl Jenifer, Dr. Know | Bad Brains | Play | 01:55 | 4 MB | 13 MB |
| 11 | Coptic TimesBad Brains, Earl Hudson, Paul Hudson, Darryl Jenifer, G. W. Miller | Bad Brains | Play | 02:06 | 4 MB | 13 MB |
| 12 | Sailin' OnPhil Hudson, Darryl Jenifer | Bad Brains | Play | 01:45 | 4 MB | 12 MB |
| 13 | Rock for LightBad Brains, Earl Hudson, Paul Hudson, Darryl Jenifer, G. W. Miller | Bad Brains | Play | 01:36 | 3 MB | 10 MB |
| 14 | Rally Round Jah ThroneBad Brains, Earl Hudson, Paul Hudson, Darryl Jenifer, G. W. Miller | Bad Brains | Play | 03:58 | 9 MB | 22 MB |
| 15 | At the MoviesBad Brains, Earl Hudson, Paul Hudson, Darryl Jenifer, G. W. Miller | Bad Brains | Play | 02:16 | 5 MB | 16 MB |
| 16 | Riot SquadBad Brains, Earl Hudson, Paul Hudson, Phil Hudson, Darryl Jenifer, Dr. Know, G. W. Miller | Bad Brains | Play | 01:59 | 4 MB | 13 MB |
| 17 | We Will NotBad Brains, Earl Hudson, Paul Hudson, Darryl Jenifer, G. W. Miller | Bad Brains | Play | 01:34 | 3 MB | 11 MB |
| 18 | JamBad Brains, Grateful Dead | Bad Brains | Play | 01:15 | 2 MB | 6 MB |
| 19 | F.V.K. | Bad Brains | Play | 00:58 | 2 MB | 6 MB |
| 20 | How Low Can a Punk Get | Bad Brains | Play | 01:49 | 4 MB | 13 MB |
| 42 mins | 96 MB | |||||
| 42 mins | 274 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bad Brains | Composer, Primary Artist |
| 2 | Darryl | Bass, Percussion, Synthesizer, Vocals (Background) |
| 3 | Dave I.D. | Guest Artist |
| 4 | Dr. Know | Composer, Organ, Piano, Vocals (Background) |
| 5 | Earl | Drums, Percussion, Vocals (Background) |
| 6 | G. W. Miller | Composer |
| 7 | Grateful Dead | Composer |
| 8 | H.R. | Throat |
| 9 | Delroy Hines | Composer |
| 10 | Earl Hudson | Composer |
| 11 | Paul Hudson | Composer |
| 12 | Phil Hudson | Composer |
| 13 | Darryl Jenifer | Composer |
| 14 | Ric Ocasek | Producer |
| 15 | Winston Rodney | Composer |
| 16 | Ian Taylor | Engineer |
| 17 | Walter Turbitt | Assistant Engineer, Engineer |
| 18 | Rupert Willington | Composer |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |