ARTIST: Rollins Band
TITLE: Hard Volume
YEAR RELEASED: 1989
CHART ACTION: None
SINGLES: None
OTHER SONGS YOU MAY KNOW: Hard, Planet Joe
LINEUP: Henry Rollins, Chris Haskett, Andrew Weiss, Sim Cain
WHAT’S IT ALL ABOUT: Second full studio album hampered by production, redundancy, and a too long jam (later expunged)
SOME WORDS, PHRASES AND CLAUSES ABOUT THIS RECORD: Normally, Theo Van Rock makes the Rollins Band crackle and burn, but this mastering or mix here seems muddy and flat. The same could be said about some of the material.
While Andrew Weiss’s bass takes a starring role, and Chris Haskett’s guitar can still heat up igloos, the back half of the album finds Rollins in the midst of howling his dirges, and using a lot of repetition to get his point across.
The last track of the original release was a way-way too long jam that was thankfully snipped out on re-release in favor of demos and some outtakes that would be re-recorded to make future appearances on records. This is one Rollins record that’s not vital to own.
NOTES & MINUTIAE: It would be three years before the Rollins Band released another studio album, though they still toured constantly.
IS THERE A DELUXE VERSION: Yes, see above.
GRADE: C: A clunker with a few glimmers of hope (and a good bass sound).