By the time
Redd Kross' dynamic siblings
Jeff and
Steven McDonald hit the studio with drummer Dave Peterson to record 1984's EP of covers,
Teen Babes from Monsanto, any notions they once had of being a punk band were far in the rearview window. They'd become a kickass rock & roll band instead, giving the rock & roll icons whose songs they cover here a serious run for their money. Their version of "Deuce" makes the
Kiss original sound like
Poco, they give
the Rolling Stones' "Citadel" a pummeling hard rock remake, play
the Stooges to a draw on a spookily explosive version of "Ann," and steamroll all the whimsy out of
David Bowie's "Saviour Machine" while giving it a doomy
Black Sabbath makeover. It's not all devil horns and power chords though; they cover
the Shangri-Las' "Heaven Only Knows" with a sneering light touch and deliver a giddy reading of "Blow You a Kiss in the Wind," a Boyce & Hart song sung by Elizabeth Montgomery on an episode of Bewitched. And as a bonus, they cover their own song "Linda Blair" in extended metal freakout style. More of a lark than a serious statement,
Teen Babes is a serious good time and cleared the decks for
Redd Kross, paving the way for them to start writing great songs of their own. [The expanded version of
Teen Babes adds covers taken from later in the band's career, including a cover of
the Quick's cover of
the Beatles' "It Won't Be Long," a wonderfully murky psychedelic run through
the Kinks' "Fancy," a funky take on
Jackie DeShannon's "Don't Turn Your Back on Me," that sounds like a weird mix of disco, funk, and Southern rock, and a rocked-out sprint through
ABBA's "Dancing Queen" that
Jeff McDonald sings the stuffing out of. These tracks, while just a sampling of the covers the band committed to wax over the years, show that they have a real knack for taking other people's songs and owning them.] ~ Tim Sendra