Greg Ginn

Getting Even (1993)

Brandon Sideleau

If anarchy and total chaos were a sound, Greg Ginn would be the man behind it. That's the feeling I got after listening to my first plunge into Greg Ginn's solo output. No matter how some of you may feel about the man himself, you can't deny that he is one unique and intense guitarist.

Immediately upon listening to this album you will know it's Greg Ginn, with that classic feedback and off-the-wall playing that are strictly his own. Musically, the album lies somewhere in between Black Flag's Damaged and My War material, as the songs are very fast and visceral, but contain a lot of heavy bass. The vocals are, on the other hand, more reminiscent of something like Nausea, as it's very violent and loud.

To get an idea of the album's lyrical content, not much is needed other than to state the song titles: "Yes Officer," "Short Fuse" or my personal favorite, "Pig Mother Fucker," the last of which sounds as if it could have come directly off a Flag album, as the playing is mindblowing and the vocals are insane. Lyrically, the song is pretty self-explanatory with lyrics like "Pig mother fucker, he goes home and beats his life" / "Pig mother fucker, Pig, Coward, Pig" and so on. It's really effective and probably one of the best L.A.P.D. protest songs ever made.

The album isn't all thrash and chaos though, as songs like "Hard Thing" and "Torn" are very jazzy, bluesy and heavy, which should come as no surprise to those familiar with Ginn's work. Songs like "Nightmares" and "PF Flyer" are, on the other hand, very similiar to the Flag's more experimental songs (i.e. "You're Not Evil" or "Black Love"), with creepy screams and solos creeping in from behind the chaos.

After listening to this album you will instantly understand why, without Greg Ginn, Black Flag just wouldn't have even been a tenth as intense. The man is gifted at supplying the world with total musical anarchy and it's just a shame that he couldn't bring it to the Black Flag "reunion" last year. If you like the Flag, buy this immediately, it's similar to early and mid-era Flag, and suprisingly not much like Family Man or Process…at all.