One of the leading bands on the Houston, Texas punk scene,
Really Red were not a typical hardcore band -- they had the chops to play fast and loud, but their music had a sharper bent and more adventurous melodic structures than many of their peers, and in a state full of rabble-rousing bands like
the Dicks,
the Big Boys, and
MDC,
Really Red's wrath was as powerful and well-informed as anyone's on the scene.
Really Red's reputation spread as they hit the road, and they became one of the most well-respected groups in the American punk underground before calling it a day in the mid-'80s. Most of
Really Red's records were released by a local punk collective,
C.I.A. (Completely Ignorant Adults), and went out of print after the band split up, but
Alternative Tentacles has rectified this situation with
Teaching You the Fear: The Complete Collection 1978-1985, which brings together the group's entire catalog on two CDs or three LPs, including the classic album
Teaching You the Fear and the EPs
New Strings for Old Puppets and
Rest in Pain. A long overdue salute to an important but often overlooked band,
The Complete Collection 1978-1985 is a powerful compilation documenting musicians with a vital legacy of musical troublemaking. ~ Mark Deming
