Jealous Again was less than seven minutes in length, yet its story makes it seem like it took ages to record. The only recordings with Ron Reyes (AKA Chavo Pederast) minus that new What The… album that most people probably wouldn’t count as a real Black Flag recording anyway. Ron Reyes happens to be my favorite one-off singer of Black Flag but he definitely had some hard shoes to fill entering after the almighty Keith Morris. The EP was a tad mellower than its predecessor Nervous Breakdown but at the same time added a bit more aggression and anger to each song.

Many of the songs on Jealous Again were a direct retaliation to the treatment members of Black Flag were receiving especially from the LAPD. “Revenge” and “White Minority” perfectly documented just how defiant the band was in their earlier years. “White Minority” was taken for a racist song when it was just an attack on racism and white supremacy. The EP had that Greg Ginn crunchy punk guitar that gives each song the liveliness accompanied by Reyes vocals giving the band the ultimate rush as they plow through song after song with a dynamic unlike Black Flag’s other material.

Among retaliation against the police, the final track, “You Bet We Got Something Against You!” was retaliation to Keith Morris’s departure from Black Flag and the songs he took with him. While the song was originally a Morris/Ginn song, Chuck Dukowski rewrote the lyrics after learning Morris took two songs to his new band, Circle Jerks. This was the only Black Flag song to feature Dukowski on vocals and added a haunting effect with his unique and extremely raw voice.

Jealous Again wasn’t positively received by critics but in the seven minutes of recording Black Flag were able to get their point across. As one of my favorite Black Flag EPs, I may be biased but the trouble Reyes caused for the band between quitting mid-set or walking out during recordings was well worth the effort to create Jealous Again. The EP was definitely a stepping stone before the Rollins years and showcases the way Black Flag evolved.