Condition Red

Though Red Rockers are primarily remembered for 1983s new wave hit "China" from Good as Gold, only a year before, they were a hard-charging punk band with a 1977 vintage sound. Hailing from New Orleans, the group was composed of singer/rhythm guitarist John Thomas Griffin, lead guitarist James Singletary, bassist Darren Hill, and second drummer Patrick Butler Jones. Theyd issued the smoking Guns of Revolution EP a year earlier with drummer Jim Greenberg. He quit when they packed up and moved to Los Angeles (where Jones joined the band on John Does recommendation). Based on the strengths of their EP and live show, they won a deal with Howie Kleins 415 label. Red Rockers cut Condition Red with producer David Kahne in five days. The original album contained a dozen tracks, including a newly recorded version of "Guns of Revolution," ten originals written by various bandmembers, and a scorching cover of Johnny Cashs "Folsom Prison Blues." Condition Red drew apt press comparisons to the Clash, which excited Red Rockers since they deliberately emulated the English band. Their songwriting featured unabashedly political lyrics, dirty yet anthemic guitar hooks, chanted group choruses, hyperkinetic drumming (that wouldnt have been out of place on a Judas Priest or Iron Maiden record), and furious, unbridled energy in performance and on record. Red Rockers were all 18 years old at the time; they understood intrinsically the power, immediacy, and connection punk offered, and committed to it in their songs. After the blasting opener, "Guns of Revolution," sets the rage level on stun, "Teenage Underground" and "Peer Pressure" deliver chugging power chords and screeching siren-call lead fills, framing twinned sung and shouted vocals. The former is a paean to resistance, while the latter seeks freedom via a clattering breakdown in the bridge. "Grow Up" is almost hardcore. Its furious tempo and upmixed distortion testify to the alienation in American childhood. A shambolic melody from "Battle Hymn of the Republic" introduces "Dead Heroes," an urgent, punishing rocker. Amid its Chuck Berry riffs and Steve Jones-esque power chords, Griffin and Singletary sing about having to register for the draft by law, lamenting the tragic deaths of teens in unnecessary wars. Its followed by their excellent reading of "Folsom Prison Blues," wedding a two-step, cut-time country shuffle revved with blazing surf guitar leads and emulated Luther Perkins rhythm licks. "Condition Red" is furious in tempo, with shouted lyrics, crashing bass and drums, and warring guitars that crisscross bluesy garage rock, early metal, and punk. While Condition Red didnt sell well, it got lots of press, especially when buoyed by their live show on tour, and the album is regarded as a true classic of the original punk era. Red Rockers recorded two other charting LPs before 1985, then split up. ~ Thom Jurek