'Family Man' is the third studio album by American hardcore punk legends Black Flag, released in 1984 through SST Records.
Black Flag's most experimental album, 'Family Man' features one LP side of spoken word performances from Henry Rollins and another of instrumental music from the late-Flag lineup of Greg Ginn (guitar), Kira Roessler (bass) and Bill Stevenson (drums). Although occasionally chilling in its intensity, the spoken word material, much like the between-song recitations of fellow Californian Jim Morrison (with whom Rollins sometimes shares a vocal similarity here) on the live Doors albums, mostly sounds juvenile and dated after the fact. That said, the albums' spoken word tracks, along with Jello Biafra's recordings with the Dead Kennedys, can largely be credited with bringing "alternative" spoken word to a larger audience who were either unaware of, or could not relate to, the Patti Smith/downtown New York scene. Unlike the solo Rollins tracks, the instrumental music is still challenging and vibrant. Although sounding at times like a high-school garage band attempting to perform Rush covers, Ginn and company play with a sense of desperation and punk rock fury that makes much of the music positively electrifying. Similar in spirit to the less poppy tracks on Husker Du's contemporary 'Zen Arcade', side two of 'Family Man' is characterized by its emotional purity. Ginn reveals himself as a refreshingly and brilliantly free improviser and his playing should serve as an inspiration and lesson to later "punk" bands who value technical proficiency over rockin' out.
Tracklisting:
Side A:
1. Family Man
2. Salt on a Slug
3. Hollywood Diary
4. Let Your Fingers Do the Walking
5. Shed Reading (Rattus Norvegicus)
6. No Deposit – No Return
7. Armageddon Man
Side B
8. Long Lost Dog of It
9. I Won't Stick Any of You Unless and Until I Can Stick All of You
10. Account for What?
11. The Pups Are Doggin' It
