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The Ramones

Ramones
Ramones Leave Home
All The Stuff (And More) Volume One
Rocket To Russia
Road To Ruin
All The Stuff (And More) Volume II
It's Alive


Ramones (Sire ’76) Rating: A
Often cited as the true birthplace of punk rock, Ramones has aged well. However, much like the Sex Pistols “classic” Never Mind The Bollocks album, it’s difficult to rate Ramones without considering its enormous influence on the punk explosion that soon followed - both The Sex Pistols and The Clash readily acknowledged a debt to the Ramones. Stripping rock n’ roll to its bare basics of three chords building up to a buzzsaw guitar roar, a piledriving rhythm section travelling at the speed of light, and Joey Ramone’s funny, mindlessly simple vocals (which were often strangely intoned) about sniffing glue, beating on brats with baseball bats, and the Texas Chainsaw Massacre (to cite just a few deliberately controversial examples), Ramones was unlike anything a startled rock world had ever seen in 1976. In truth, these New York outcasts were big fans of decidedly unpunk influences such as bubblegum pop, ‘60s girl groups, and surf music, and they simply blended these elements together and doubled up the speed, creating something totally new in the process. Starting with a simple “hey ho, let’s go” chant and completing fourteen songs in 29 minutes, the band does away with any and all superfluous excesses (such as guitar solos) that get in the way of simply rocking out. As such, they were like a breath of fresh air to many people (primarily critics and musicians, as most of the public at large never did “get” the Ramones), and their full-throttle punk roar (which could also contain a sugary sweetness) did much to breathe new life into a rock climate that was then dominated by the bloated excesses of “serious artists.” That said, there’s no getting around the fact that the Ramones were a one trick pony. Even though these songs are all very good and occasionally even great, almost all of them surge forward excitedly in a similar fashion, often ending abruptly before the next one starts seemingly right where the last one left off. Yet after repeated plays the (slightly) differing strengths of these songs becomes apparent (a poppier chorus here, a heavier guitar sound there, a rare slower tempo, etc.). Besides, even though this sameness somewhat lessens the overall impact of the album, it doesn’t change the fact that Ramones features blazing performances of super catchy songs that consistently rock. As Joey Ramone himself said of his band’s contribution to rock n’ roll: “we gave it a good kick in the ass,” and when they gloriously end the album by shouting “today your love, tomorrow the world” you really feel like they (and you) can conquer the world. Which the Ramones pretty much did in their own way.

Ramones Leave Home (Sire ’77) Rating: A-
Although most people didn’t know whether to take the band seriously or not (people either loved them or hated them), Ramones had an impact on the rock world that couldn’t be denied, and which couldn’t be quantified by mere album sales, which weren’t all that much. The follow up, Ramones Leave Home, was less earth shattering but almost as satisfying. Again containing clever but twisted lyrics about shock treatment (“Gimme Gimme Shock Treatment”), good boys (“Now I Wanna Be A Good Boy”), bad boys (“You’re Gonna Kill That Girl”), bad girls (“Suzy Is A Headbanger”), horror stories (“You Should Never Have Opened That Door”), and the difficulties of the punk lifestyle (“I don’t wanna be a pinhead no more, just met a nurse I could go for”), on Ramones Leave Home the band varies their admittedly narrow musical terrain somewhat while again writing catchy song after song (favorites: “Oh Oh I Love Her So” and the classic “Sheena Is A Punk Rocker”). This is a poppier sounding album than their full throttle debut, with a major doo-wop/Beach Boys influence going along with their more standard three cords and a pile of dust numbers. They even cover The Beach Boys’ “California Sun,” though of course its surging power moves at twice the speed of the original. The songwriting here actually matches the debut (it’s certainly more diverse), and Joey’s singing is far more expressive (“I Remember You” and “What’s Your Game” will probably put a lump in the ol’ throat), but Ramones Leave Home lacks that album’s landmark identity and overall aural impact.

All The Stuff (And More) Volume One (Sire’ 90) Rating: A
This collection generously compiles Ramones and Ramones Leave Home in their entirety on one cd, with two previously unreleased tracks and two live songs. This generosity is somewhat cancelled out by the fact that the band’s limited repertoire is better served in small dosages, but a bargain is a bargain, and no serious fan or student of rock n’ roll should be without this album.

Rocket To Russia (Sire ’77) Rating: A-
Long championed by critics and the punk set while being dismissed by just about everybody else (the band therefore becoming both overrated and underrated), this album is regarded by many as the Ramones’ peak. Their minimalist sound is still “stripped down to the bone,” but they’ve expanded it a bit while writing some of their catchiest melodies. Instant classics such as “Rockaway Beach” and “Sheena Is A Punk Rocker” (which, at least on the All The Stuff (And More) Volume One compilation, had also appeared on Ramones Leave Home) sound like The Beach Boys on speed, and by all rights should’ve been big summer hits. These songs fit right in with suped up surf covers of The Beach Boys’ “Do You Wanna Dance?” and The Trashmen’s “Surfin’ Bird,” and the band also tries out a sad ballad on “Here Today, Gone Tomorrow,” which features an affecting vocal by Joey and almost breaks the three minute barrier, heretofore unheard of for a Ramones song! Elsewhere, the grungy “I Don’t Care” and the twisted chants of “We’re A Happy Family” hit hard while also hitting the funny bone, while silly song titles such as “Cretin Hop” and “Teenage Lobotomy” further attest to the band’s warped humor. Granted, it’s all starting to sound a little less fresh and more repetitive, but this is largely overcome by a strong batch of tunes (“I Wanna Be Well” and “Ramona” are slower sing alongs that stick), many of which would remain in their concert repertoire ‘till the very end.

Road To Ruin (Sire ’78) Rating: B+
By now I was having trouble getting excited by these guys. I “get it,” I enjoy it, and I certainly acknowledge the band’s immense importance and, yes, their talent. At this point, however, no matter how many wrinkles the boys throw at me, and there are more wrinkles on Road To Ruin than on any of their previous albums, it’s still all starting to sound like more of the same to me. Fortunately, the wrinkles here are all excellent, such as a straightforward and affecting cover of The Searchers’ “Needles And Pins,” song running times cracking the three minute barrier, and even delicate acoustic guitars on the beautiful pop of “Don’t Come Close” (which even features a guitar solo!) and “Questioningly.” Also on the plus side, new drummer Marky Ramone (formerly of Richard Hell & The Voidoids) fits right in and gives the band a heavier bottom end, and the bubblegum pop of “I Wanna Be Sedated” (probably their most famous song) and the catchy “She’s The One” are both great tunes. The latter song is the polar opposite lyrically of songs such as “I Don’t Want You” and “Questioningly” (lyric: “I don’t love you anymore”), as the Ramones showed a more serious (and sometimes mean) side to themselves this time out. Most of the mellower excursions are followed by the faster, full speed ahead trips that we’ve come to expect, but songs such as “I Wanted Everything,” “Go Mental” and “Bad Brain” (which at least gave a good band their name) are so simple-minded and repetitive that they quickly become boring. Road To Ruin was still another very good punk pop album, but it was noticeably less fresh and consistent than its predecessors, and it therefore ranks as a notch below the first three shots fired. Note: Most critics seem to feel that the band’s quality dramatically nose-dived after this album, though that didn’t stop the Ramones from hanging around for another twenty years. Since I’m already tiring of their one-dimensional sound (though I’d be hard pressed to pick a band who did more with less, excepting AC/DC and Motorhead, of course), I’d rather fondly remember these first few albums that somehow shook up the world (even if this was only acknowledged underground) than the alleged mediocrity that followed. But if you want to continue, most band advocates tout To Tough To Die as their best later work, while Anthology: Hey Ho Let's Go (Rhino '99) is a comprehensive, career spanning 2-cd compilation.

All The Stuff And More, Volume II (Sire ’91) Rating: A-
Another two-fer that any fan of fast and furious rock n’ roll should grab, All The Stuff And More, Volume II compiles Rocket To Russia and Road To Ruin in their entirety, along with some good previously unreleased bonus tracks. Although not quite as good as the first volume, this compilation still contains some essential rock n’ roll.

It’s Alive (Sire ’79) Rating: A-
I know what I said, but I just had to include this one too. A boisterous crowd, great tunes played even faster than usual, and a track listing containing only songs from their first three classic albums makes this live album hard to pass up. At long last back in circulation after many years making the bootleg rounds, It’s Alive shows our favorite Queens cartoons in peak form, wasting no time and simply getting down to business as one of the great good time bands of all time. This is how I want to remember these guys.

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