It’s cliché at this point to say that a live album is incapable of truly capturing a band’s authentic live shows. That being said, The Youth Are Getting Restless comes pretty damn close. The 17-track record, taken from a 1987 show in Amsterdam as part of the band’s global tour for I Against I, is likely the closest anyone will ever get to truly grabbing the frenetic pioneering band’s sound on tape.
The album has been around since 1990, but thanks to the band finally regaining control of some of their masters, they are giving this classic live record a proper re-release including on CD, cassette and a stunning vinyl set (on black and a limited number on colored vinyl). The collection has been remastered by Dave Gardner, a longtime Bad Brains acolyte. The label Org Music is handing the release alongside the imprint Bad Brains Records. This is just one of a slew of other Bad Brains reissues coming out this year.
This blistering collection kicks off with “I” and is a virtual greatest hits set from the band including a brilliant takes on “Banned in D.C.,” “House Of Suffering” and “Pay To Cum,” among many others. They even throw in a spirited cover of a Beatles/Rolling Stones medley of “Day Tripper” and “She’s A Rainbow.” The album closes on a triumphant “Big Takeover.”
If there is a better representation of the ferocious live shows the Bad Brains were known for in the mid-80s, it has yet to surface. In the meantime, grab The Youth Are Getting Restless and relive a band at the top of it’s game.
