Rick James - The Flag

This was an album I really wanted when it came out in 1986, but didn’t buy...until this week.

It’s widely regarded as being James’ worst album, what with it being his final album for Gordy and him going through the end-of-contract motions, and his voice being ravaged by his enthusiastic cocaine use. But, you know what? It’s not too bad.

There are benefits to an album being considered generally shit. It was cheap and has never been played.

This was touted as his ‘political’ album. In order to reinforce this, the sleeve has James standing in front of an anarcho-syndicalist flag background, and on the rear and inner sleeves he’s holding little anacho-syndicalist flags.

Honestly, I had no idea what anarcho-syndicalism was in 1986 - I had yet to be fully radicalised by the woke leftists. James, however, was well ahead of the game: the album features such tracks as The State Is A Result Of Class Stratification, Established And Maintained In Order To Protect The Monopoly Of Capitalists Over The Economy, Direct Action, and the ballad Workers Must Prepare For The Overthrow Of Capitalism And The State.

It doesn’t really, more's the pity – it’s just more songs about 'freaks' and his cock. And one song about nuclear war.

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