Skinhead in Hardcore & Punk Music

"Clockwork Skinhead" (04/11/2000) Hardcore/Punk 4-Skins (UK) (The), Harry May (UK)The 4 Skins includes: Gary Hodges, Panther, Roi Pearce. A 16-song compilation rounding up one possible vision of the best of the 4-Skins, Clockwork Skinhead stomps through the band's three-year, two-album career with little regard for chronology and is, in fact, little more than a slimmed-down version of the earlier The Best of the 4-Skins collection. All but two of Clockwork Skinhead's contents appeared on that set, while the absence of such staples as "Norman," "Brave New World," and "Five More Years" is a definite drawback. Still, in the years before Captain Oi set about restoring the band's full glory to the shelves, this was a neat introduction to one of the finest of all '80s Oi! bands. ~ Dave Thompson

"A Way of Life: Skinhead Anthems [20 Tracks]" (01/01/2004) Hardcore/Punk Last Resort (The), Taang! RecordsAn unequivocal title gives way to an unrelenting sound! The Last Resort's debut album might have kicked off with a wall of noise lifted straight from Black Sabbath's "War Pigs" ("Freedom"), but skill Skinhead Anthems does exactly what it says on the tin, ripping a dozen self-composed monsters out of the band's set list and nailing them to the studio with brutal disdain for any of the niceties. Certainly the band's influences are loud on their sleeves -- Sham and the Cockney Rejects hang heavy over the proceedings. But Last Resort's refusal to lose their own instincts within the trappings of sociology and "relevance" conquer all; "Skinheads in Sta-Press," "Rebels with a Cause," and "Resort Boot Boys" speak to the very heart of the skinhead movement, and if it all sounds a little dated today, then that's your look-out. ~ Dave Thompson An unequivocal title gives way to an unrelenting sound! The Last Resort's debut album might have kicked off with a wall of noise lifted straight from Black Sabbath's "War Pigs" ("Freedom"), but skill Skinhead Anthems does exactly what it says on the tin, ripping a dozen self-composed monsters out of the band's set list and nailing them to the studio with brutal disdain for any of the niceties. Certainly the band's influences are loud on their sleeves -- Sham and the Cockney Rejects hang heavy over the proceedings. But Last Resort's refusal to lose their own instincts within the trappings of sociology and "relevance" conquer all; "Skinheads in Sta-Press," "Rebels with a Cause," and "Resort Boot Boys" speak to the very heart of the skinhead movement, and if it all sounds a little dated today, then that's your look-out. [A 20-track version of the CD was also released.] ~ Dave Thompson