This Week's Forgotten Gem of the '80s - Red Rockers' "Another Day"
Some groups never get a fair shake, so much so that even subsequent musical efforts by members of said band seem doomed to the trap door of obscurity. This feels like the only viable explanation for the music world's general lack of awareness of New Orleans' Red Rockers, one of the finest energetic, rootsy early alternative rock acts of the first half of the '80s. U2 may have received all the attention for specializing in anthemic, emotional rock packed with melody and positive angst, but this distinctly American band produced plenty of music quite capable of enduring far beyond the work of many of its peers.Frontman John Thomas Griffith was not only a charismatic, talented singer, but the entire band's stripped-down approach helped keep the Red Rockers safely apart from the more disposable forms of new wave that dominated the era. Of course, that also meant the group received precious little radio and chart attention, but that's not a new or shocking injustice. This track from 1984's Schizophrenic Circus is merely one of several I could single out that demonstrates with authority the solid, rousing sound exemplified by this fine band. I particularly enjoy the arpeggiated, slightly Gothic feel of the guitars during the verse, and, combined with the tasty piano section to close out the tune, these aspects come damn close to forging an epic '80s deep track.
By the way, to return to my first point above, not only did I not recognize Griffith's name before researching for this weekly feature; I also had no idea he's one of the core members of the long-lived alternative pop/rock band Cowboy Mouth, a group that has tirelessly and quite successfully played the college circuit for nearly two decades. I don't think it's a coincidence that neither of these bands has been quite able to break through the sticky, frustrating membrane of mainstream music. Maybe they're just a little too good for it.
Album Cover Photo Courtesy of Columbia Records
Comments
Interesting post, but one point that can’t be stressed enough is that the Red Rockers didn’t start off wanting to be the next U2 — their first album, CONDITION RED (1981), showed them as an angry, hard-charging, stripped-down punk band, for which they were frequently tagged as “The American Clash.”
Among those “in the know,” CONDITION RED is considered superior to the poppier pastures of those other two albums, GOOD AS GOLD (1983), and SCHIZOPHRENIC CIRCUS (1984).
Now, I’m not as harsh as my punk friends are on the second and third albums — they have their good moments — but to me, it’s also a crime that CONDITION RED isn’t easy to come by. I recall a 17-track CD coming out some years back, but it’s been discontinued (and the vinyl is even harder to find).
As far as the band not getting its due, it’s easy to blame the “suits” — but “China” was a sizable hit, and surely a factor in landing them tours with many major acts of the day (including the Go-Gos) — so it’s safe to say, they at least had a shot.
In the final analysis, I think that the band’s change in sound proved too drastic for the original crowd to swallow, and there wasn’t a large enough new constitutency to replace it. (Sadly, few people noticed that the band put “Voice Of America” — a bitter critique of US policy in El Salvador — as the B-side on the 7-inch single version of “China”!)
One other thing to note is that the band changed lineups — losing original drummer, Patrick Butler-Jones, after CONDITION RED, and the other guitarist, James Singletary, after GOLD AS GOLD.
The effects are hard to gauge from the outside, but chemistry is non-negotiable — sometimes, when you reshuffle the original cards in the deck, you don’t always recoup what you lost.
One clear sign that things weren’t firing on all cylinders is that, on SCHIZOPHRENIC CIRCUS — which I’d nominate on my Ugliest Album Covers Of All Time List — is that four of the nine tracks are cover versions. Hopefully, one day, CONDITION RED will be back in circulation, so people compare and contrast for themselves — and swing that trapdoor of obscurity wide open again!