Neither Washington Nor Moscow - Album Review, Melody Maker 8th March 1986
Bring It Down single review
Neither Washington Nor Moscow CD Reissue, NME 19th April 1997
Neither Washington Nor Moscow, Q Magazine May 1997
Along with the Style Council, Test Dept. and Billy Bragg, the Redskins were at the forefront of British rock's Socialist movement. Led by guitarist Chris Dean (who was a New Musical Express scribe under the name X. Moore,), the trio augments an R&B-influenced sound with keyboards and a horn section, covering much the same musical terrain on Neither Washington nor Moscow as the first Dexys album, only marred by erratic production and mastering. Most of the songs are simple and catchy, and almost all the titles end in exclamation points! More important to the comrades than tunes, however, are lyrics � each song is a call to arms for the oppressed to rise up. Though doctrinaire, the Redskins are dead honest, committed to what they're doing and make some good music. There aren't many bands around these days with those qualities.
David Sheridan. Trouser Press Magazine.
The perfect selection from that Red Wedge-era, not that the Redskins would willingly have associated with such �mild� political protest. Stax and Motown influences (post-�76 ones only, obviously) were harnessed to sing hymns of praise to Marx and Engels and somehow the energy and exhortation just about carries them through. See also the better late Jam / early Style Council �anthems�; and Easterhouse / McCarthy (similar sentiments, but a more conventional indie milieu).
In Love With These Times, In Spite Of These Times Fanzine
If you didn�t divine it from their name (�red skinheads�) then the continuation of the title - ��but international socialism� - would tell those clued into far-Left politics that the Redskins are members of the Socialist Workers Party (UK division). And this is heavy-duty rabble-rousing - every title is dressed with an exclamation mark and acts as a call to the barricades in itself. Kick over the statues! Go get organized! Bring it down! etc. Too much to take? You�d be surprised. The Redskins set the urgency of early punk to sweet soul horns, aiming to �walk like the Clash and sing like the Supremes�. The latter goal isn�t scored - Chris Dean�s vocal is a lot closer to Joe Strummer than to Diana Ross - but the arrangements are intelligent, if rather inconsistent in quality.And for those of us who have always wished for a more coherent political pop that went beyond mere pose, these calls to arms are really quite refreshing.
New Internationalist Times Magazine
Where the hell is Chris Dean???:
The disappearance of one of the greatest frontmen I have ever seen live just adds to the aura surrounding this important record. Recorded in 1984/85, it is a powerful document from the fight against the right wing forces that dominated the British political landscape at that time. It is a record fashioned from the heart of the 'Miners Strike'. Yet, today, 'Neither Washington Nor Moscow' seems more relevant than it ever has done - Dean's lyrics gaining new significance in the current political climate.
For many people the Redskins were inspirational. They came and went in the kind of way that you wish the Strokes would. One album, thank you and goodnight. Leaving no trails of off-shoot projects and the like. Just...nothing.
That is what now make this record seem like the aural equivalent of Das Kapital. A collection of twelve songs set in stone but with tunes, tunes, tunes. And a beat. The kind of record you don't hear anymore. Think the Jam, the Clash, the Specials, Dexy's, the Fall and the Supremes all rolled into one. No traces of Velvet Underground or Television here. No Prog-like attempts. They want you to be focused on the task ahead with all traces of apathy removed and it's there where their anger is channelled. If that doesn't make them vital then nothing does. As they themselves put it - "The Power Is Yours". I could write about every track on the album but just trust me, it's all good.
After they disbanded rumour had it that they had recorded a follow-up(Dean told me this himself in the dressing-room at the Leadmill, Sheffield) but whether this is true remains a mystery to this day. It was whispered that Dean had become a journalist in Paris and since then little has been seen or heard. If anyone who knows where he is happens to be reading this- tell Mr.Dean that his efforts were not in vain. Like the other great album of 1985, Dexy's 'Don't Stand Me Down', this is one lost classic that is surely due for reappraisal (how about a re-release with the alternatve versions and deleted material?) and a new lease of life. One of the great English bands who showed that it was better to burn out than to fade away.
Tel from Sheffield, England. March 12 2002
Purest Power Pop:
I saw Billy Bragg doing a version of Lean on Me, from the back of a flatbed truck on the Brixton High Road in 1994, and it reminded me of just how good this record is. Lots of soulfull singing, infectious bass hooks, and plenty of brass fill out powerful tunes and lyrics about the importance of overthrowing capitalism. This is an essential 1980's recording. This band really could have been as big as the Beatles if they hadn't been full-time Socialist Workers Party revolutionaries. You think the Clash were hardcore? You think Dexy's Midnight Runners were as soulful as whiteboys get? Buy this; it'll knock your ears off.
A music fan from Ballard, WA, USA. July 26 1999
Melodic and aggressive:
At a time when all my school friends and i were listening to punk and ska many bands as joe strummer aply put it "were bumming a ride on the rock n'rollercoaster" and these bands all started sounding the same.Then came the Redskins with a completely unique style of music, with tinges of the clash, the jam and 60's soul and motown. They also looked good in their skinhead gear and their was real emotion in their songs. This cd is a classic phase in music.I hope you enjoy it.
Alan Benatar, South Africa. October 14 2000
This album is a classic!!!
The Clash meets the Four Tops is how I would describe this album. Keep on Keepin On captures the miners struggle by allowing the listener to understand and relate to what was happening in Britain in the early 80's. Lean on Me, Bring it Down and Take No Heroes show that the Redskins can also compare with the likes of The Jam when they put their mind to it, but the stand out track is surely It Can Be Done, with its brassy introduction into what should surely have been a UK no 1, if not for the bands anti establishment stance. This album can be summed up by saying that it is one of the few which posseses the power to cross over Northern Soul and post Punk styles and carries it off superbly.
A music fan from Glasgow, Scotland. March 22 1999
