If you are going to own one live album from the Rastafarian thrash warriors Bad Brains, it's gotta be 1988's Live, released on SST Records. Recorded during the period between their classic I Against I and the more metallic Quickness, the thirteen song set on this Lp is culled from assorted performances while the band was touring the planet in support of I Against I throughout 1987, and a better live document of the Bad Brains in the live setting does not exist in my opinion. The set is a perfect mix of songs from the band's career up to this point, their combo of blistering Rasta-fueled thrash metal, crazed hardcore punk, and soulful dub reggae displayed with unstoppable ferocity on tracks like "I", "At The Movies", "The Regulator", "Right Brigade", and "I Against I". The first several songs on the Lp blaze by at mach speed, delivering a ripping thrash assault for the bulk of the a-side before they finally slow down for the stoned reggae revolution-anthem "I & I Survive". The b-side is even crunchier, with some of their heaviest songs from that period showing up ("Re-Ignition", "Sacred Love") alongside crucial jams like "F.V.K.", "She's Calling You", "Secret 77" and "Coptic Times". With Naomi Petersen's iconic photos, the crushing production courtesy of master knob-twister Phil Burnett (which is of such consistent, powerful quality that for the longest time I thought the album was taken from just one concert), and the fire-breathing performances from the Brains' at the peak of their power, this has remained one of my all time favorite records, not just from the Bad Brains catalog, but from this entire era of hardcore/crossover. Very highly recommended, and absolutely essential to Bad Brains fans both new and old.