Redd Kross

Reviews

Redd Kross Teen Babes From Monsanto LP reissue

What timing: I just returned from seeing RED CRO$S do Born Innocent live, and am still trying to collect myself. What a band—rabid obsessives that dreamed themselves into becoming one of Los Angeles’ all-time finest. That life-altering love of rock’n’roll is the very blood pumping through Teen Babes From Monsanto, their all-covers sophomore album from 1984, reissued now with revamped pin-up teen-dream cover art to boot. As the McDonald brothers cruise through STOOGES, KISS, and ROLLING STONES tunes (to name a handful), they reimagine the material via punk fandom and pure love, eschewing the nihilism & violence so often associated with the time and place for a tongue-in-cheek, glitter-rained rock-star dreamworld. It’s easy to get caught up, and that’s the goddamn point. One to reach for when all the shit’s got you down.

Redd Kross Annette’s Got the Hits 12″

Posh Boy’s been re-releasing their early catalog in various shapes and forms, and this is one classic you should really pick up. Great garage punk from L.A.’s McDonald Bros. plus Ron Reyes (later to go on to BLACK FLAG) and Greg Hetson (of later CIRCLE JERKS fame). A real treat.

Redd Kross Teen Babes From Monsanto 12″

Somewhat disappointing, especially after such a long wait for a REDD KROSS R’n’R fix. Mostly all covers (STONES, BOWIE, KISS, etc., etc.), the only real killer for me, the only composition with that ol’ RK pizazz, is the only original, “Linda Blair.” Hey guys, don’t wait so long for the next record—and get back in your groove. Pin-Ups this ain’t!

Redd Kross Born Innocent LP

An amazing amalgam of ’60s punk and the infamous Johnny Thunders/HEARTBREAKERS school of dirty guitar sleaze. Distorted axes, humorous, socially unredeeming lyrics, and a remarkably trashy aesthetic make it difficult to relate this current incarnation of RED CROSS to the band that was once famous for quintessential teeny punk anthems. But if you probe beneath the new gutter exterior, you’ll find the same warped Southern California prism. With instant classics like “Linda Blair” and “Kill Someone You Hate,” this album has got to be bitchin’. Grab your wide bellbottoms and cop this sucker.