Bring on the friggin’ awesomeness
Redd Kross — Citadel
(from the EP Teen Babes From Monsanto, Gasatanka Records 1984)
There’s little to say about this one except that it’s friggin’ awesome, and couldn’t we all use a bit more friggin’ awesomeness in our lives? I’m sure I’ve probably gone on about my views on the Rolling Stones’ Their Satanic Majesties Request here before, but any album that has both this and “She’s A Rainbow” on it doesn’t deserve its poor reputation. I’m just sayin’.
Teen Babes From Monsanto is next to impossible to locate these days. My own first copy was a cassette missing its cover that I bought out of the $1 box at Ralph’s Records shortly after becoming obsessed with this EP’s follow-up Neurotica. My vinyl copy came via eBay many years later. I’ve heard there’s some kind of tour CD from the ’90s that has these songs on it, but that’s likely even harder to find. But if you can locate a copy, pick it up: it’s probably the purest expression of the McDonald brothers’ own peculiar trash aesthetic.
–Stewart Mason
James said,
November 19, 2008 @ 4:26 pm
“2,000 Light Years From Home” is great, too.
Pete said,
November 20, 2008 @ 2:51 pm
The Teen Babes EP was available on a limited edition Australian Tour CD along with the contents of the Seminal Twang EP they released in 1992 (”Trance,” “Byrds & Fleas,” “Huge Wonder”). I used to own a copy, but sold it in a fit of financial desperation while in grad school. I have kicked myself for doing so ever since. It is indeed nearly impossible to find. Fortunately I made a copy to minidisc, which I have since copied to iTunes. It sounds a little muddy, but it’s still great stuff. This really, really needs to be reissued. The cover of “Duece” from the EP also showed up on the Bordello of Blood Soundtrack, so that at least is on CD.
I happen to think Their Satanic Majesties Request is an under-rated album as well. Subtract the long version of “Sing This All Together” and add “We Love You” and “Dandelion” and song-for-song you would have a better album than Sgt. Pepper. Not my opinion, that’s just a fact.
With themes of dislocation, loneliness and distance running throughout the songs, it is actually surprisingly thematically unified. The Stones dressed their bad vibes up in candy-coated psychedelia for Satanic Majesties, but it is in many ways a harbinger of the direction other first-rank rock acts would take post 1968.
I’ve always maintained that this album was a brilliantly cynical parody of the simpleminded “Summer Of Love” vibe, right down to the groovy looking, but unsolvable maze in the inner gatefold with the words “It’s Here” in the center.
mzamar said,
November 25, 2008 @ 2:06 pm
Steve Mc Donald was playing with Sparks when I saw them in London in May! Yay!
Chris said,
November 28, 2008 @ 5:45 am
I like that it mentions Candy Darling.
Stu Pope said,
June 17, 2009 @ 6:59 pm
“Teen Babes” is the EP that got me into Redd Kross. I already loved the Stones’ version of “Citadel,” so Redd Kross’ cover served as the segue to my getting into a band that would keep me amused and amazed for years to come. Living in L.A. (Redondo Beach), I used to go to as many of their shows as possible and even ended up hanging out with them backstage at the Roxy or the Whisky, watching their choreographed “hair flinging” being practiced before the show.
I still have the vinyl and converted it to digital a couple of years back - though I wish some more pristine versions had been included on the re-issue of “Neurotica.”