(Translated from my original Italian text by ChatGPT and Piero Scaruffi)

Redd Kross secured a lasting place in the annals of Los Angeles eccentricities. When they formed in the late 1970s (then called the Tourists), Steven McDonald (drummer) was only twelve, and his brother Jeff (vocals) certainly lacked the charisma of a �frontman.� Yet the tracks included in the compilation The Siren (Posh Boy, 1980), released a year before the hardcore explosion, immediately made them famous, thanks to melodic masterpieces like Annette's Got The Hits and Standing In Front Of Poseur. The group later changed their name to Red Cross for their first EP (Posh Boy, 1980).

Although played amateurishly and sprinkled with filler tracks, Born Innocent (1982) showcases their sardonic teenage humor, emulating classic past sounds in search of fun. The McDonald brothers had a clear vocation: inject bubblegum and glam into hardcore, retracing, mutatis mutandis, the Ramones� path through the supersonic boogie of Linda Blair and the zany rock�n�roll of White Trash, and Johnny Thunders� path through the wild beat of I'm Alright and garage-rock of Kill Someone You Hate.

After a covers album and a period of seeming disappearance, came the triumphant Neurotica (Big Time, 1987) and the rise of their underground legend with Ballad Of A Love Doll, an ironic song that dominated college airwaves. Yet the entire album was a concentrated dose of rock�n�roll classics, from the title track (a demonic pow-wow with beat backing and psychedelic vocals) to Frosted Flake (with the fervor and frenzy of old-school punk), from driving rhythm�n�blues lines supporting the furious chorus of Peach Kelli Pop to the fierce MC5-style sonic assault of What They Say (with a psychotic chorus borrowed from Pere Ubu�s Non-Aligned Pact). Steven McDonald played a leading role with his tribal rhythms.

Over the next three years, Jeff McDonald and his brother focused exclusively on side projects, like the Tater Totz, who parodied a bit of everything, especially the Beatles. Instead of leveraging their popularity, these incorrigible pranksters squandered their talent.

It wasn�t until Third Eye (Atlantic, 1990) that the story resumed. The trio (Jeffrey McDonald on vocals, Steven McDonald on bass, and Robert Hecker on guitar) was at the height of their compositional and performing skill, and sales chart success arrived promptly for The Faith Healer and Bubblegum Factory, deserving�unsurprisingly, given the Tater Totz precedent�of comparisons to the sweetest Beatles, with surf organ, Mersey-style backing vocals, folk-rock guitar licks, Ventures-like solos, and Spector-esque compactness. The entire album flows with meticulous craftsmanship, surpassing even R.E.M. in the existential ballad Where I Am Today, U2 in the graceful elegy Annie's Gone, and Petty in the brisk �folk-rock and roll� of Debbie & Kim.
While individual elements may be banal, the combinations often produce unpredictable results, such as when Shonen Knife accompanies the twisted riffs, vocal grit, and rhythmic torrents reminiscent of the Who with Moody Blues-style choruses, or when the Monkees-like chorus of Elephant's Flare emerges amidst a flurry of heavy-metal hits and eccentric touches. Their powerful and imaginative power pop even assaults country-rock structures in I Don't Know How To Be Your Friend.
Especially notable is Hecker�s guitar, capable of blending boogie figures with funky breaks in 1976. McDonald�s vocals, for their part, skillfully imitate both Lennon and McCartney, Daltrey and Jagger, always keeping an octave slightly �softer� than the original, a rare display of versatility.

Years passed before Phaseshifter (Mercury, 1993) emerged, reflecting the contradictions of the 1990s. On one hand, Jimmy's Fantasy attempts a more vulgar sound with powerful �grunge� blasts, but two gems of rough garage-pop, Visionary and After School Special, steer the album and set the stage for a parade of meticulous revivals. Everything�the Who-style impulsiveness of Lady In The Front Row, the Beatles-esque exuberance of Saragon, the saccharine Hollies-style of Monolith�remains wrapped in deafening noise, a toll exacted by the fashions of the moment. The lineup features the McDonald brothers alongside Eddie Kurdziel on guitar and Gere Fennelly on keyboards.

On Show World (Quicksilver, 1997), nothing of their punk past remains�just as Green Day and Offspring benefit from their earlier insights. This is purely a pop group, desperately chasing chart success to pay debts. It�s a truly boring album, almost worthy of the most deleterious Brit-pop.

Despite numerous missteps, Redd Kross remain among the top professionals of the �60s revival: they lay a heavy-metal sheen over arrangements that are an elegant and harmonious collage of references and stereotypes. Their strongest assets, however, remain the melodies and the ways in which they are highlighted by vocal harmonies, rhythm changes, organ counterpoints and guitar riffs.