The 4 Skins - The Best Of The 4 Skins (2021)

A rough image and the Southall riots killed this band in 1983 and 1984. Stuck in with half-wit no-talents like Exploited, Blitzkrieg, Special Duties, etc., or the better Cockney Rejects and Angelic Upstarts, the skinhead 4-Skins were constantly overlooked as one of the few 3rd Wave U.K. punk outfits (along with the U.K. Subs, Partisans, Blitz, AntiPasti, Straps, and a few others) that was any good, and occasionally out of sight -- the blistering, mighty "One Law for Them" 45, the lead-off track here, is incredible. Which is why it's so gratifying to see them so definitively remembered on this LP. Unlike the other retreads, the 4-Skins had riffs to go with the attitude, and weren't afraid to diversify (the ska of "Plastic Gangsters" or "Seems to Me") or stretch their own boundaries. A caring package from Link. ~ Jack Rabid