Henry Rollins
Henry Lawrence Garfield (born February 13, 1961), known professionally as Henry Rollins, is an American singer, writer, spoken word artist, actor, and presenter. After performing in the short-lived hardcore punk band State of Alert in 1980, Roll ...
. The 1987 album was produced by
Ian MacKaye
Ian Thomas Garner MacKaye (; born April 16, 1962) is an American musician. Active since 1979, he is best known as the co-founder and owner of Dischord Records, a Washington, D.C.-based independent record label and the frontman of hardcore punk ...
. It was reissued in 1999, 2014 and 2021.
Production
The album was recorded in 1987 at Off Beat Studios in
Leeds
Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by popula ...
,
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
. It was produced by
Ian MacKaye
Ian Thomas Garner MacKaye (; born April 16, 1962) is an American musician. Active since 1979, he is best known as the co-founder and owner of Dischord Records, a Washington, D.C.-based independent record label and the frontman of hardcore punk ...
who was active in the
hardcore punk
Hardcore punk (also known as simply hardcore) is a punk rock music genre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots can be traced to earlier p ...
scene; as a musician and co-owner of
Dischord Records
Dischord Records is a Washington, D.C.-based independent record label specializing in punk rock. The label is co-owned by Ian MacKaye and Jeff Nelson, who founded Dischord in 1980 to release ''Minor Disturbance'' by their band The Teen Idles. ...
. Rollins was a childhood friend of MacKaye and had worked as a roadie for MacKaye's band The Teen Idles.
Release
''Life Time'' was originally released in 1987 and included four live tracks recorded in
Kortrijk
Kortrijk ( , ; vls, Kortryk or ''Kortrik''; french: Courtrai ; la, Cortoriacum), sometimes known in English as Courtrai or Courtray ( ), is a Belgian city and municipality in the Flemish province of West Flanders.
It is the capital and large ...
,
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
in October 1987.
The album was subsequently re-mastered and re-released in 1999 without the live tracks but with the addition of three tracks from the '' Do It'' album; "Do It", "Move Right In," and "Next Time".
In 2014, it was reissued on Dischord, including the original live tracks but not the 1999 bonus tracks.
In 2021, the album had a digital and limited vinyl release.
Reception
In an
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...
review, Chris True says "When Henry Rollins emerged from the breakup of Black Flag, many thought he couldn't be successful without guitarist Greg Ginn. If nothing else, Life Time proves the detractors wrong. With Ian MacKaye of Fugazi in the production chair, Rollins Band was able to distance themselves from Black Flag with a tight, visceral, and sometimes bluesy album. While more abrasive than later Rollins Band releases, this is worth picking up to better understand the progression of Rollins Band's unique style of emotional
funk metal
Funk metal (also known as thrash-funk or punk-funk) is a subgenre of funk rock and alternative metal that infuses heavy metal music (often thrash metal) with elements of funk and punk rock. Funk metal was part of the alternative metal movement, ...
.
Track listing (1987)
1987 original, 2014 vinyl reissue
#"Burned Beyond Recognition" - 2:56
#"What Am I Doing Here?" - 3:21
#"1,000 Times Blind" - 2:57
#"Lonely" - 4:16
#"Wreck-Age" - 5:33
#"Gun in Mouth Blues" - 8:57
#"You Look at You" - 3:31
#"If You're Alive" - 2:42
#"Turned Out" - 5:57
#"What Am I Doing Here?" - 3:20†
#"intro" - 1:19†
#"Burned Beyond Recognition" - 2:51†
#"Move Right In" - 8:34†
#"Hot Animal Machine II" - 8:36†
† - Recorded live in Kortrijk, Belgium (October 16, 1987)
1999 reissue
#"Burned Beyond Recognition" - 2:56
#"What Am I Doing Here?" - 3:21
#"1,000 Times Blind" - 2:57
#"Lonely" - 4:16
#"Wreck-Age" - 5:33
#"Gun in Mouth Blues" - 8:57
#"You Look at You" - 3:31
#"If You're Alive" - 2:42
#"Turned Out" - 5:57
#"Do It" - 2:43
#"Move Right In" - 7:27
#"Next Time" - 3:20
Personnel
;Rollins Band
*
Henry Rollins
Henry Lawrence Garfield (born February 13, 1961), known professionally as Henry Rollins, is an American singer, writer, spoken word artist, actor, and presenter. After performing in the short-lived hardcore punk band State of Alert in 1980, Roll ...
–
vocals
Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...
guitar
The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...
bass guitar
The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...