Black Flag – Damaged

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Label:	Unicorn Records – 9502, SST Records – 9502
Format:	Vinyl, LP, Album, MCA Distribution Logo
Country:	US
Released:	Nov 16, 1981
Genre:	Rock
Style:	Punk, Hardcore

Tracklist

A1	Rise Above Written-By – G. Ginn*	2:17
A2	Spray Paint The Walls Written-By – C. Dukowski, G. Ginn	0:32
A3	Six Pack Written-By – G. Ginn*	2:18
A4	What I See Written-By – C. Dukowski*	1:47
A5	T.V. Party Written-By – G. Ginn*	3:11
A6	Thirsty & Miserable Written-By – D. Cadena*, Medea (5), Robo (3)	2:05
A7	Police Story Written-By – G. Ginn*	1:30
A8	Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie Written-By – G. Ginn*	1:50
B1	Depression Written-By – G. Ginn*	2:45
B2	Room 13 Written-By – G. Ginn*, Medea (5)	2:03
B3	Damaged II Written-By – G. Ginn*	3:23
B4	No More Written-By – C. Dukowski*	2:23
B5	Padded Cell Written-By – C. Dukowski, G. Ginn	1:50
B6	Life Of Pain Written-By – G. Ginn*	2:48
B7	Damaged I Written-By – G. Ginn, H. Rollins	3:50

Companies, etc.

Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Unicorn Records, Inc
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – SST Records
Recorded At – Unicorn Studios, Hollywood, CA
Mastered At – Greg Lee Processing – L7485

Credits

Bass – Charles Dukowski*
Drums – Robo (3)
Engineer – Francis Buckley
Engineer [Assistant] – Chuck Vogt
Guitar – Greg Ginn
Guitar, Vocals – Dez Cadena
Photography By [Cover Photos] – Ed Colver
Producer – Black Flag
Producer, Engineer – Spot
Vocals – Henry Rollins

Notes

First pressing is this issue (MCA logo on rear, "anti-parent" sticker on some, "UNI/4" matrices).
First version recut/reissue is here: Damaged (No MCA logo, "Kendun" matrices).
Second version recut/reissue is here: Damaged (no MCA logo, "Neo-Gelatinous" and S-9375/6 matrices).

MCA Records (with which Unicorn Records had a distribution deal) distribution chief Al Bergamo announced that the company would not distribute this record, deeming that "It just didn't seem to have any redeeming social value" and because, as a parent with two children, he found it an anti-parent record. "Damaged" was eventually released by Unicorn through an independent distributor. Later, after Unicorn's bankruptcy and almost years of litigation during which Black Flag was forbidden to release any record, they re-released and distributed it through Greg Ginn's own SST Records.
This record cost Black Flag $8,000 (USD) to produce. 25,000 pressed.
Lyric sheet was available by mail.

Some early copies released with a sticker stating "As A Parent..., I Found It An Anti-Parent Record..." on the back of the jacket, covering up the MCA distribution logo.

Some copies with the anti-parent sticker that were sent out for radio promotion have an additional sticker on the front of the cover stating:

"Recommended For Airplay
T.V. Party
Rise Above"

℗ 1981 Unicorn Records, Inc. (on anti-parent and promo stickers)
℗ 1981 SST Records (on side 2 label)

Barcode and Other Identifiers

Matrix / Runout (Etched Runout Side 1): UNI 4-9502-A-RE L7485 IIII COMIN AT YA
Matrix / Runout (Etched Runout Side 2): UNI 4-9502-B THE WHOLE GELATINOUS THING L-7485-X
Matrix / Runout (Etched Runout Side 1, variant 2): UNI/4-9502-A-RE JcS L-7485 IIII COMIN AT YA
Matrix / Runout (Etched Runout Side 2, variant 2): UNI 4/9502-B JcS THE WHOLE GELATINOUS THING ʘ L-7485-X
Matrix / Runout (Etched Runout Side 1, Variant 3): UNI/4-A-RE (scratched out) UNI/4- 9502-A-RE jcs L-7485 IIII Comin At Ya
Matrix / Runout (Etched Runout Side 2, Variant 3): UNI 4-9502-B jcs THE WHOLE GELATINOUS THING ʘ L-7485-X

Other Versions (5 of 37)

View All

	Title (Format)	Label	Cat#	Country	Year
Recently Edited	Damaged (Cassette, Album)	Unicorn Records, SST Records	9502	US	1981
New Submission	Damaged (LP, Album, Blank back cover)	Unicorn Records, SST Records	9502	US	1981
Recently Edited	Damaged (LP, Album)	Roadrunner Records	RR 9956	Benelux	1982
Recently Edited	Damaged (LP, Album)	Unicorn Records, SST Records	9502	US	1982
Recently Edited	Damaged (LP, Album, Reissue)	Unicorn Records, SST Records	9502	US	1982

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Reviews

USKD_Duke_Decter Aug 4, 2023
Edited one month ago
As a 55-yr old, I just re-listened to this album the other day. New observations. 1) This was the soundtrack to me and my friends' lives back then. Nobody captured the confused angst of the punk scene better than Black Flag, much of it due to Greg Ginn's frantic style of no-rules guitar playing. 2) I now realize Spot was a genius producer. There are subtle things like high harmonies in the chorus "Maniac" during Room 13, other subtle things here and there but staying hidden so as not to sound over produced. Kick drum is solid, too. Its so fucking punk! 3) This album kinda starts out like a party record, I forgot. Side one has three party-type tunes, its all about drinking beer and having fun. But during side two, it starts taking a dark turn and then ends up on a very, very dark note that makes you feel all alone. This was another thing that made this album so great.
TheFleshExp May 21, 2023
Just found a copy with the MCA logo but no sticker…I heard Henry Rollins say those are rare because they’re the copies they took home when they were putting on the stickers. That’s pretty rad. He still has a roll of the stickers he said.
DJ_Maniak May 25, 2022
The runout on side a on my copy has a stylized Black Flag logo in the etching, in addition to "Comin At Ya - The Real (Real is underlined) Gelatinous Thing O" as well as an "SST Y'ALL!", so which version do I have? And where am I looking for the MCA logo?
guilala May 15, 2022
had a super minty copy that i found used with the anti-parent sticker back in the mid-80s. like most of my collection back then, it got traded away for Japanese punk & HC records. then sometime in the early 90s, i was walking down the street in Cleveland Heights, and there was a trashed copy sitting in the top of someones garbage can out on the street. of course i grabbed it!! hammered sleeve, beat vinyl that skips a few times and has surface noise throughout, but i love it!!! never knew that this ever had a lyric sleeve cos i had never ever seen a copy with one.
USKD_Duke_Decter Mar 27, 2022
This album wins Number One album of all time that NEEDS TO BE REMASTERED!!!
Anthon40 Oct 23, 2021
Edited one year ago
Beware of bootlegs. There’s a 2019 unofficial release floating around with anti-parent sticker. You can tell it’s a bootleg because it has no matrix numbers or etchings.
matthewjonchan Sep 29, 2021
When did this album start to become black and white on its cover? I'm curious as to why. Also as to why there's no lyric sheet, but I suppose that was because it's 80s punk.
gunsofbrixtonLFC Jan 1, 2021
When I saw how much this was going for (almost $300 at max), I first thought, damn, maybe us kids shoulda taken better care of it. But then I immediately re-remembered what's so totally wrong about this situation: collectors won't let punks have punk rock records, and that ain't right. Not like I'd ever sell a beloved record with so many memories anyways, but if I did, I think I'd jack the price of this one way up and use its ring wear and the 4" split at the top of the cover as a selling point: "Value added! Comes with real punk rock wear-and-tear. No poseurs or lyric sheet."
magsrecords. Dec 14, 2020
Edited 2 years ago
https://mainthreat.tumblr.com/post/53357764607/black-flag-damaged-front-and-back-of-lyric-sheet

for anyone who was seeking the lyric sheet that was available thru SST mailorder only. quality is decent. you'll have to rotate them a little though.
oregonsurfer Nov 12, 2020
Is there a bootleg copy of this? I have a VG+ copy if not mint copy with the "as a parent" sticker but the runout doesn't have any etching. It just looks to be in too good of condition to be an original copy.