∎ The Philadelphia band's first album on A&M, self entitled THE REDS, produced by David Kershenbaum, showed the band's impressive sound — a blend of Rick Shaffer's guitar and Bruce Cohen's keyboards into an interestingly textured drone, short guitar and keyboard figures, rising then disappearing back into the drone, while Shaffer's voice provides the punch and definition for their overall sound. The album was supported with live appearances with The Police, Joe Jackson, Blondie, The Ramones, The Psychedelic Furs, and Public Image. An EP, GREEN WITH ENVY, followed featuring The Doors song, "Break On Through," which suggests some of the band's roots. (Universal Music digitally re-released The Reds, and Green With Envy, August 2012.) In 1980 A&M released a compilation album, Propaganda, that included tracks from The Reds, The Police, Joe Jackson, The Granati Bros, Bobby Henry, Shrink, David Kubinec, and Squeeze.
∎ After leaving A&M, The Reds® went forward with two indie albums, STRONGER SILENCE and FATAL SLIDE (Stony Plain/RCA), that continued The Reds® sound, receiving critical acclaim internationally. They next recorded a tense and powerful album for Sire/WB entitled, SHAKE APPEAL, produced by Mike Thorne (Blur, Soft Cell, Wire). This forcible record led the band to work with director/producer, Michael Mann. Mann incorporated numerous songs by The Reds® into episodes of Miami Vice, then hired Shaffer and Cohen to write songs and score for two motion pictures, Band Of The Hand (Tri-Star) and Manhunter (De Laurentiis), based on the novel "Red Dragon." Soundtrack albums from both films were released on MCA, a Manhunter CD, with an added Reds® track, “Jogger’s Stakeout”, was released by Intrada Records (2010), and Universal Music digitally released both albums (2012).
∎ During this time, solo projects for Cohen were writing score for the productions, "Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde" and "Down The Road" at Philadelphia's Walnut Theatre; "The Speckled Band," starring Quentin Crisp, and Charles Busch' play, "Vampire Lesbians Of Sodom" for NYC's Pulse Theatre Company; and a forty minute electronic film noir piece, "Goodbye Johnny Staccato." While solo projects for Shaffer included recording guitar tracks on a Marianne Faithfull album (Island); Hilly Kristal's, "Mad Mordechai" (Stereo Society); Peter Murphy's, "Holy Smoke" (Beggars Banquet/BMG); and Marc Almond's, "Fantastic Star" (Some Bizarre/Mercury). While Shaffer wrote and recorded, "Looking For Right," for director Michael Mann"s film, "Collateral."
∎ The Reds® next album, CRY TOMORROW reunited them with British producer Mike Thorne. It captures the driving intensity of earlier albums and the ambient, atmospheric feel from their film scores, resulting in a stark, surreal album, with a sense of mood and mystery. The pulsing opening track, "Terror In My Heart," was featured in the film, "Nightmare On Elm Street 2" (New Line), directed by Jack Sholder, along with a searing non-stop groove of the Stones' "Gimme Shelter."
∎ In 2007, FUGITIVES FROM THE LAUGHING HOUSE was written and produced by The Reds®. The album is a straight forward raw nerve reflection of life in America. The Reds® February 2009 release, EARLY NOTHING, was also written and produced by Shaffer and Cohen. The album has a hypnotic quality, that leaves the listener free to let their subconscious play itself out, no matter where it goes. With the release of Early Nothing, The Reds®, shamans of dark, brooding, loud rock continued to explore and define their sound.
∎ At this point in time, both Shaffer and Cohen began releasing solo albums. Bruce released ONE BC in 2009, and Rick released NECESSARY ILLUSION in 2010. Although they have been recording separately, a new album by The Reds is still a possibility as soon as Shaffer and Cohen can be in the same location at the same time. See their entire discography below.
■ PLEASE NOTE: The Reds® is a Registered Trademark, with the first use date of March 17, 1977.
THE REDS® OFFICIAL WEBSITE is TarockMusic.com
DISCOGRAPHY
∎ RICK SHAFFER
2017 • STOLEN MOMENTS (Tarock Music #TM-CD15)
2016 • OUTSIDE OF TIME (Tarock Music #TM-CD13)
2015 • JITTERBUG SHAKE (Tarock Music #TM-CD11)
2014 • HARD TIMES SIXTY — Single (Tarock Music)
2014 • LINK — Single (Tarock Music)
2014 • MISADVENTURE (Tarock Music #TM-CD10)
2013 • STACKED DECK (Tarock Music #TM-CD9)
2012 • IDIOT FLATS (Tarock Music #TM-CD8)
2011 • HIDDEN CHARMS (Tarock Music #TM-CD6)
2010 • NECESSARY ILLUSION (Tarock Music #TM-CD5)
1971 • JUST THE BEGINNING — RICK SHAFFER & FREIGHT TRAIN (Fly By Night #LPFBN1001
∎ BRUCE COHEN
2017 • FOUR BC (Tarock Music #TM-CD14)
2015 • THREE BC — IN A TRANCE (Tarock Music #TM-CD12)
2014 • BIG FUN 3 — FADEOUT Bruce Cohen, Peter ”Babe” Lucas, Tony Foster (RopeADope #N/A)
2013 • BIG FUN 3.2 — Bruce Cohen, Peter ”Babe” Lucas, Tony Foster (RopeADope #N/A)
2011 • TWO BC (Tarock Music #TM-CD7)
2010 • BIG FUN 3 — Bruce Cohen, Rik Myers, Brandon Cruz (RopeADope #N/A)
2009 • ONE BC (Tarock Music #TM-CD4)
∎ THE REDS®
2009 • EARLY NOTHING (Tarock Music #TM-CD3)
2007 • FUGITIVES FROM THE LAUGHING HOUSE (Tarock Music #TM-CD2)
2001 • CRY TOMORROW (Stereo Society #SS004)
1992 • CRY TOMORROW (Tarock Music #TM-CD1)
1986 • MANHUNTER — FILM SOUNDTRACK (MCA #6182)
1986 • BAND OF THE HAND — FILM SOUNDTRACK (MCA #6167)
1986 • WAITING FOR YOU — SINGLE (Music Action - France #N/A)
1985 • SHAKE APPEAL (Music Action - France #MAP9009)
1984 • SHAKE APPEAL (Sire/Warner Bros #21-04261)
1983 • FATAL SLIDE (Helter Skelter - Italy #HS93CD26)
1982 • FATAL SLIDE (Stony Plain - Canada #SPL10481981)
1981 • STRONGER SILENCE (Helter Skelter - Italy #HS93CD26)
1981 • STRONGER SILENCE (Stony Plain - Canada #SPL1037)
1981 • STRONGER SILENCE (Kingdom - UK #KVL90051981)
1981 • THE DANGER / DO YOU PLAY THE GAME — SINGLE (Kingdom - UK #KV8019)
1981 • STRONGER SILENCE — EP (Ambition #AM1981)
1980 • PROPAGANDA (A&M #SP4786)
1979 • GREEN WITH ENVY — EP (A&M #SP3301)
1979 • WHATCHA′ DOIN' TO ME — SINGLE (A&M #N/A)
1979 • WHATCHA′ DOIN' TO ME — GREEN VINYL (A&M - UK #N/A)
1979 • JOEY / VICTIMS — SINGLE (A&M #SP3178)
1979 • THE REDS — GREEN VINYL (A&M #SP4772)
1979 • SELF REDUCTION / VICTIMS — SINGLE (EKE #N/A)
1977 • JOEY / AUTOMATIC BOY — SINGLE (Go Go #00011971)
Don't Let Go
The Reds Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
There is so much pain inside your mind and nobody needs to know
That you are rotting away and you self decay is all you own
Kick life, under the bridge you almost made it man
You had a chance to run with the wolves but chose your own clan
The plan changed, your heart disengaged
The rage surfaced like a million wasps stinging your face
So Let Go
And all your hopes and dreams blew up in selfish smoke
You woke with the misery brewed in your own cup
Is there a way for us to start again
You think you know, But you don’t know what love is……
Let GO
The lyrics of The Reds's song Don't Let Go speak about being in a toxic and controlling relationship. The singer expresses how the person they are with hurts them emotionally and physically, and tries to manipulate and control them. Despite the pain, the singer admits that they cannot ignore the person anymore, and they have to confront them. The repetition of the phrases "look what you do to me," "what do you want from me," and "I don't wanna be afraid, I don't wanna run away, I don't wanna be evaded," creates a sense of desperation and frustration. The lyrics speak about the internal struggle of wanting to leave but also feeling trapped and not wanting to be alone.
The chorus speaks about the singer's desire to break free from the toxic relationship. The line "Just let go" is repeated several times, emphasizing the need for the toxic partner to release them. The lyrics express the singer's hope to move on and not let the toxic person have any power over them. The last line "let go, let go, let go" is repeated multiple times, building up to the climax of the song, reiterating the need to let go of the past and move forward.
Overall, the lyrics of "Don't Let Go" express the complex and difficult emotions that come with being in a toxic relationship, and the need to break free and find oneself again.
Line by Line Meaning
Hey you, look what you do to me
You have a great impact on me.
You bend and you bruise me
You manipulate and hurt me.
Why you try to control me?
You attempt to dominate and dictate my actions.
But you don't know me
You don't understand who I am.
How come you just wanna hurt me?
You seem to have a desire to cause me pain.
How come you just wanna push me?
You constantly try to force me to do things I don't want to do.
I can't ignore you anymore
I am no longer able to overlook your actions.
'Cause everywhere I turn you
No matter where I look, you are there.
You burn me, you break me
Your actions cause me emotional and psychological harm.
You always wanna take me down with you
You want to bring me down to your level of misery.
What do you want from me?
You seem to have ulterior motives that I do not understand.
I don't wanna be afraid, I don't wanna run away
I want to stand my ground and confront my problems head-on.
I don't wanna be evaded, it's more than I can take
I cannot handle being constantly kept at arm's length.
I'm never gonna be the same
Your actions have changed me forever.
I threw it all away
I sacrificed everything for you, and it was all for nothing.
Just let go (look what you do to me)
I need to move on from you and let go of the damage you have caused me.
You burnt and you scarred me
You caused me intense emotional pain and left lasting damage.
With all that you tell me (but I don't listen)
You give me advice, but I don't take it.
You love me, you hate me
Your emotions towards me are unpredictable and unstable.
You kept pushing me
You continued to pressure and bully me.
You keep using me
You exploit me for your own benefit.
You keep twisting me
You manipulate and distort my words and actions.
You keep breaking me
You repeatedly cause me harm and pain.
You can't have me anymore
I am no longer under your control.
Just let go
You need to move on from me and let me be.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind