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Nervous Breakdown

 

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Nervous Breakdown



 
 
Nervous Breakdown was the first 7" EP
Extended play

An extended play is a vinyl record, Compact disc, or music download which contains more music than a Single , but is too short to qualify as an LP album....
 by the American hardcore punk
Hardcore punk

Hardcore punk is a subgenre of punk rock that originated in North America and the UK in the late 1970s. The new sound was generally thicker, heavier and faster than earlier punk rock....
 band Black Flag
Black Flag (band)

Black Flag was an American punk rock band formed in 1977 in Hermosa Beach, California. The band was established largely as the brainchild of Greg Ginn: the guitarist, primary songwriter and sole continuous member through multiple personnel changes....
. It was released in 1978 and was the inaugural release on SST Records
SST Records

SST Records is an United States independent record label formed in 1978 in Long Beach, California by musician Greg Ginn. The company was initially called Solid State Transmitters through which Ginn sold electronics equipment....
.
recording was financed by Greg Ginn
Greg Ginn

Gregory Regis Ginn is a guitarist, songwriter and singer. He is best known for being the leader of and primary songwriter for the hardcore punk band Black Flag , which he founded and led from 1976 to 1986....
 with proceeds he had earned from his mail-order ham radio electronics business, Solid State Tuners (SST). Through Spot
Spot (producer)

SPOT, , was the house record producer and recording engineer for the influential independent punk rock record label SST Records. He recorded, mixed, produced or co-produced for most of SST's pivotal acts between 1979 and 1985....
, then an apprentice engineer whom Ginn had already known from living in Hermosa Beach, California, the band found Media Art, a studio that had recently completed construction.

The recording was originally supposed to come out on Bomp! Records
Bomp! Records

Bomp! Records is an United States indie label, featuring punk, pop, powerpop, garage rock, new wave, old school rock, neo-psychedelia and much more....
, but the band felt that the label was taking too long to put the record out.






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Nervous Breakdown was the first 7" EP
Extended play

An extended play is a vinyl record, Compact disc, or music download which contains more music than a Single , but is too short to qualify as an LP album....
 by the American hardcore punk
Hardcore punk

Hardcore punk is a subgenre of punk rock that originated in North America and the UK in the late 1970s. The new sound was generally thicker, heavier and faster than earlier punk rock....
 band Black Flag
Black Flag (band)

Black Flag was an American punk rock band formed in 1977 in Hermosa Beach, California. The band was established largely as the brainchild of Greg Ginn: the guitarist, primary songwriter and sole continuous member through multiple personnel changes....
. It was released in 1978 and was the inaugural release on SST Records
SST Records

SST Records is an United States independent record label formed in 1978 in Long Beach, California by musician Greg Ginn. The company was initially called Solid State Transmitters through which Ginn sold electronics equipment....
.

Recording history

The recording was financed by Greg Ginn
Greg Ginn

Gregory Regis Ginn is a guitarist, songwriter and singer. He is best known for being the leader of and primary songwriter for the hardcore punk band Black Flag , which he founded and led from 1976 to 1986....
 with proceeds he had earned from his mail-order ham radio electronics business, Solid State Tuners (SST). Through Spot
Spot (producer)

SPOT, , was the house record producer and recording engineer for the influential independent punk rock record label SST Records. He recorded, mixed, produced or co-produced for most of SST's pivotal acts between 1979 and 1985....
, then an apprentice engineer whom Ginn had already known from living in Hermosa Beach, California, the band found Media Art, a studio that had recently completed construction.

The recording was originally supposed to come out on Bomp! Records
Bomp! Records

Bomp! Records is an United States indie label, featuring punk, pop, powerpop, garage rock, new wave, old school rock, neo-psychedelia and much more....
, but the band felt that the label was taking too long to put the record out. Eventually the band took the master rights back, and Ginn put some more earnings from his ham radio business, located a pressing plant in the phone book, and co-founded SST Records
SST Records

SST Records is an United States independent record label formed in 1978 in Long Beach, California by musician Greg Ginn. The company was initially called Solid State Transmitters through which Ginn sold electronics equipment....
 with Black Flag bassist Chuck Dukowski
Chuck Dukowski

Chuck Dukowski is an American punk rock musician, best known as a founding member and original bass player for Black Flag . Dukowski wrote some of Black Flag's most popular songs, including "My War," "What I See," "I've Heard It Before" and "Spray Paint." He left the band before the release of My War, and afterward served as Black Flag's man...
, borrowing the label's name from his business.

It is commonly misconstrued that Spot was the producer and engineer of record for Nervous Breakdown. In his sleeve notes for the 1982 outtakes anthology Everything Went Black
Everything Went Black

Everything Went Black is a compilation album by the American hardcore punk band Black Flag , released in 1983. It comprises early songs recorded before Henry Rollins became the band's vocalist in 1981, and released initially without the band's name on its cover, due to their lawsuit with Music Corporation of America....
, Spot pointed out that as an apprentice engineer, his involvement in the sessions was limited to setting up microphones during the tracking sessions, and doing rough mixes for the band to hear.

The initial pressing of Nervous Breakdown was 300 copies. Black Flag were able to use the record as "a badge of legitimacy" (according to Dukowski) to begin getting live gigs in the Los Angeles area.

The Band Rise Against have covered "Nervous Breakdown" and "Fix Me" on the This Is Noise
This Is Noise

This Is Noise is an EP released by Rise Against while they were on their 2007 Canadian Tour. It was released on July 3, 2007 in Canada, and January 15, 2008 on iTunes by Geffen Records and features a song recorded at the same time as The Sufferer & the Witness album, a song recorded while they were on The Unraveling tour, and two songs fr...
 EP.

British hardcore-punk band Gallows also recorded a cover of "Nervous Breakdown" and it appears as a B-side on their abandon ship single.

Release History

The EP is still in print both in its original form (a 7" vinyl EP), as a 5" CD single, and as part of the anthology The First Four Years
The First Four Years

The First Four Years was a compilation of early songs by the American hardcore punk band Black Flag recorded before Henry Rollins became the band's vocalist in 1981....
. It was also available at times as a 3" CD single, a 10" colored vinyl EP, and as part of the various artists compilation of SST singles, The 7 Inch Wonders Of The World.

Track listing

All songs written by Greg Ginn
Greg Ginn

Gregory Regis Ginn is a guitarist, songwriter and singer. He is best known for being the leader of and primary songwriter for the hardcore punk band Black Flag , which he founded and led from 1976 to 1986....
, except where noted.

  1. "Nervous Breakdown
    Nervous Breakdown (song)

    Nervous Breakdown is a song by the now defunct hardcore punk band Black Flag off their debut release, the EP Nervous Breakdown. Despite being more Heavy metal music rooted in their later years, they continued playing the song live....
    " – 2:07
  2. "Fix Me" – 0:55
  3. "I've Had It" – 1:20
  4. "Wasted" (Ginn/Morris) – 0:51


Personnel

  • Keith Morris
    Keith Morris

    Keith Morris is an United States singer and songwriter. Active since 1976, Morris is best known for being the frontman of the influential hardcore punk bands Black Flag, Circle Jerks, and Midget Handjob....
     - vocals
  • Greg Ginn
    Greg Ginn

    Gregory Regis Ginn is a guitarist, songwriter and singer. He is best known for being the leader of and primary songwriter for the hardcore punk band Black Flag , which he founded and led from 1976 to 1986....
     - guitar
  • Chuck Dukowski
    Chuck Dukowski

    Chuck Dukowski is an American punk rock musician, best known as a founding member and original bass player for Black Flag . Dukowski wrote some of Black Flag's most popular songs, including "My War," "What I See," "I've Heard It Before" and "Spray Paint." He left the band before the release of My War, and afterward served as Black Flag's man...
     - bass
  • Brian Migdol
    Brian Migdol

    Brian Migdol was the original drummer for Black Flag , from 1976 to the fall of 1978. He played on the Nervous Breakdown EP and parts of Everything Went Black, the Nervous Breakdown EP can also be heard on Black Flag's The First Four Years....
     - drums
  • David Tarling - co-producer, engineer
  • Spot
    Spot (producer)

    SPOT, , was the house record producer and recording engineer for the influential independent punk rock record label SST Records. He recorded, mixed, produced or co-produced for most of SST's pivotal acts between 1979 and 1985....
     - engineer, mixer
  • Raymond Pettibon
    Raymond Pettibon

    Raymond Pettibon is an American artist and sometime musician and lyricist.Known for his comic strip-like drawings with disturbing, ironic or ambiguous captions, Pettibon's subject matter is sometimes violent and anti-authoritarian....
     - artwork


Note: On the original pressing, Chuck is credited under his real name and ROBO
ROBO

Robo is a Colombian-United States drummer. He has played in the American punk groups Black Flag and Misfits ....
 is credited as the drummer.