Review Summary: An interesting record with a few missteps.
Black Flag had just put out two albums in one year, My War and Family Man. Some say My War was a step in the right direction for the band, others say it wasn’t because of the slow second side. After confusing fans a bit with that one, they put out Family Man. Family Man was incredibly confusing because one side of it was spoken word and the other side was all free jazz instrumentals. So Black Flag probably lost a lot of their fans because of that record, but only a few months later they put out Slip It In. What they did with this album was actually sort of natural though. It was a sign of them getting back on track.
The first thing to note is the new line up. They got Kira Roessler to play bass this time, which gave the band a better groove. She used less distorted bass and played much more loosely and fluidly than Dale Nixon or Chuck Dukowski. Greg Ginn’s guitars got even thicker and heavier this time, but he still played with jazz quite a bit on this record. Bill Stevenson’s drumming is top notch as well. Production wise, this album is crystal clear with a very dry sound overall. The only other thing to mention is the artwork seemed to change from here on. The cover is pretty weird, but it still looks very well done. Onto the songs.
I personally think this is the third greatest Black Flag album, behind Damaged and My War. Slip It In overall is slightly inconsistent because of Greg Ginn's guitar work. He really plays with Jazz a lot on this album, he even put an instrumental here titled Obliteration. While I enjoy hearing his jazz style, it just gets boring at points. He also has a few very sludgy songs such as Rat's Eyes and You're Not Evil. Henry's lyrics on Rat's Eyes are tough to take seriously, but You're Not Evil is very enjoyable.
While this album has songs like those, there are some with the classic sound such as Black Coffee, The Bars, My Ghetto, and Wound Up. My Ghetto is especially interesting because it reaches back to Damaged a bit because it is so fast. The Bars is probably the greatest song on the entire album because it just doesn't get boring, you want it to keep going. However, the most definitive song on the album is Slip It In. It has Kira's smooth bass playing, Henry's somewhat spoken vocals at certain points, and Greg's free jazz style playing. This song is rather long and is very weird, but it is still one of the most exciting songs on the album.
So overall, this album has some awesome songs and it has some duds. Black Coffee, The Bars, and Slip It In are all great. But, Obliteration gets boring and Rat's Eyes is cheesy. This album is a natural fusion between the free jazz of Family Man and the sludgy punk of My War. It could be considered a stepping stone, but I think Family Man is more important to this album than this one is to Loose Nut or In My Head. It is a must have for fans of Black Flag, but newer fans should pick up Damaged or My War.
