Fatskins & Last laugh - Welcome to Arizona CD (2004)

Tracklist:
01. Fatskins - Bitter
02. Fatskins - Bright future
03. Fatskins - Johnny on the spot
04. Fatskins - Never admit defeat
05. Fatskins - Tomorrow never comes
06. Fatskins - Mr. Nobody (Major accident cover)
07. Fatskins - Male model (The undertones cover)
08. Last laugh - Lying numb
09. Last laugh - Living
10. Last laugh - Self control
11. Last laugh - Caught in the middle
12. Last laugh - Hooligan army
13. Last laugh - One blackened new year
14. Last laugh - Teenage kicks (The undertones cover)
15. Last laugh - Strength to go on

Released by Step-1 Music in 2004.

The last release by Fatskins but more intresting the first release by Last laugh. They are yet another band from Arizona with the extremly distinct vocalist Mike (who would later start the band Blue collar criminals with the guitarist from this band).

As always Fatskins are ok but nothing more serving 2 good tracks in Bitter and Never admit defeat (ok that last one is actually really really good).

Last laugh is a band i really liked and i must say i was quite dissapointed when i heard Blue collar criminals that ranged more into speady punkrock than the strict Oi! they played here. Mike has such a powerful and brutal voice and i think turning up the tempo and adding a heavier sound to match his voice was a mistake.
They start of their "side" of the CD with the song Lying numb that might not be anything fantastic but i cant get past the fantastic way Mike delivers the lyrics after going through the first part of the split listening to Mike from Fatskins painful delivery.
Most of thhe songs LL contributes has very high quality but the best one is probably Strength to go on (oh and not to forget the awesome cover of Teenage kicks).
First part not so good but LL picks it all up and fixes it in the end.
8/10

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Fatskins - Thinkin' like a fatskin CD (1999)

Tracklist:
01. Fatskin hooligan
02. Thats my life
03. 3 years on
04. Good to go
05. Smash 'em
06. Old glory
07. American skins
08. Trust
09. Skinheads and punks
10. Never look back
11. Up with the cock (Judge Dread cover)
12. Thinkin' like a fatskin

Released by Step-1 Music in 1999.

Great album cover and all but still i can't see whats so fantastic about this band. Their lyrics are still childish at most (with some exeptions like the song Trust), and Mike still sings the songs adding that "extra thing" in the end of every verse. I dont know who told him this was a great idea and why he does it. Is it to put a personal touch on their sound or an attempt to sound more melodic? To me it just sounds stupid and annoying.

Enough trashtalking about the band (i dont mean no harm just being honest) since i actually enjoy a couple of the songs on the cd.
Smash 'em is a good antifacist song with a great chorus sadly falls short thanks to stupid lyrics like "sex and booze thats what we live for/you talked some shit so we kicked down the door". Lyrics dont have to rhyme to be good and nursery rhymes can NEVER be good.
Both American skins and Old glory are two good patriotic songs but best of all songs is is Trust. A truly great song that raises the all over grade by one point.
7/10

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Fatskins & The oppressed - Split 7'' (1998)

Tracklist:
01. Fatskins - Born at the bottom
02. Fatskins - Fencewalker
03. The oppressed - AFA song
04. The oppressed - Do anything you wanna do

Released by 90 Proof Records in 1998.

Fatskins is a band that i have been putting to the side for some time now mainly because i have been trying to understand their greatness. If you ask many people from Europe to name some American Oi! bands you can be sure that this band will come up in the same breath as great bands like Templars or Patriot. I have still not understood what everyone sees in them but my guess on why they got such wide distribution is the comfortable political stance against facism or anyone that simply dont share their and the rest of the worlds views on modern politics.

Anyway the band originated from Arizona and consisted of Mike on vocals, Clint on drums, Tom on bass and Wynn on guitar. They released their first records through 90 Proof Records in 1998 in the form of this split and another one with Patriot (that i uploaded some time ago). They also released a full-length the year after and then in 2004 a split 12'' with their fellow Arizona friends Last laugh.
My main problem with the band is their singer and the way he delivers the lyrics (my girl laughs out loud everytime i put on one of their songs). In the late '00s Mike formed another group called Phoenix City Muggers and sadly enough he brought along his old way of singing also to that band.

The oppressed is one of my favourite bands from UK even if they pulled somewhat of a Skrewdriver on us all when they put politics first and music second in their comeback. They deliver the better half of this split and even if i have some issues with their tribute song to the AFA and ARA it is the musically best song on the EP. I have no idea how groups like AFA could get so much acceptance within the skinhead movement lately i mean just take a look at what they did in Germany. Over there it is no longer about shutting out fascist bands no more. Skinfull that is in no way a fascist band got blacklisted cause they had played some gigs with Les Vilains (much respect to Skinfull for telling the promotors to go fuck themselfs).
Since when did the skinhead scene roll over and get ass raped by a bunch of smelly swamptrolls in the first place. Even if the scene still has a bit of problems with extremism in the rightwing i dont see a whole lot of bands except the already condemned RAC bands taking a stand against this new leftwinged fascism and 70% of them got their asses full of brownshirt dicks anyway.

Ok there is a whole lot of talk about about politics and ass raping in this record review but sometime is just feel like i have to went and since i am not an educated man it often ends up in ass raping debates.

On with the review. Fatskins sound like they often do and its ok at most but also here i have some issues with the politics in one of the songs, namely the track Fencewalker (oh no here comes the ass raping discussion again). I respect anyones decision to stand up against what they think is wrong but when they go after the people that have understood that ass raping is nothing for them it goes to far.
They attack the nonpolitical part of the scene by telling them that being a skinhead without mixing in politics is worthless and that a true skinhead carries their banners. So if a skinhead wants nothing to do with politics they are a sad joke and if they carry the wrong banners they are boneheads? Ignorant and sad.
6/10

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Patriot & Fatskins - Split 7'' (1998)

Tracklist:
01. Patriot - Contempt of court
02. Patriot - Where are they now? (Cock sparrer cover)
03. Fatskins - Needin' a dentis
04. Fatskins - Sound of the streets

Released by 90 Proof in 1998.

It took some time and money to get my hands on this record but it was well worth it.

Both Patriot and Fatskins deliver 2 exclusive tracks that are all of high quality.
Contempt of court is great your typical Patriot song but on the Cock sparrer track they really show what great musicians they are. For once a modern skinheadband actually does the track right and it was way over my expectations.
Fatskins (more by them later) is a band that i have never really been a big fan of mainly because of the way ther singer delivers the vocals but it offers a damn great (and funny) song called Needin' a dentist.
I am glad i didnt give up on finding it and i hope you all are as glad for the free download.
9/10

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