The Expanded Edition
Subterranean Jungle has 7 bonus tracks, including the original mix for "Indian Giver" and a few unreleased demos. "Indian Giver" is a great cover that should have replaced one of the covers on the album, but the rest of the demos range from okay to passable. Not much of an offering, but it does give a glimpse into the general idea that the album was going for.
Length
A time references are based on my iTunes playlist.
# of Tracks: 12 (original), 19 (Bonus)
Album Length: 33.4 minutes (original), 53.6 minutes (Bonus)
Shortest Track: "Time Bomb" - 2:09
Longest Track: "Time Has Come Today" - 4:25
No "Blitzkrieg Bop" on the album.
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Subterranean Jungle...
I can honestly say that Subterranean Jungle bothers me more than any Ramones album prior and after it.
I know that as a fan of any band or musician, there may be times when the artist attempts a new sound or a complete reinvention, and it may have crushing consequences to certain members of the fan base. For example, I enjoy Motorhead's Another Perfect Day despite the melodic guitar playing that would never make another appearance after that album. On the other hand, I can't stand the sound of Bob Dylan's Empire Burlesque at all. For the Ramones, I can count a few albums where I questioned the sanity of the band when I listened to one of their notoriously uneven albums, and this album is the one where I skipped the questioning and automatically assume that they lost their mind.
Subterranean Jungle is the third and final Ramones album from the Pop-Ramones era, a time when the band dreamed of reaching the top of pop charts, only to be marred by rotating album producers, inner bickering and substance abuse. This album is culmination of the band's failed experiment, an effort that can only be considered as Pleasant Dreams pt.2 - It Gets Worse.
As a testament to the "strength" of this album, Subterranean Jungle is the first and only album to open with no original songs from the band. The reason for no Ramones track as the album's opening probably has to do with the lack of strong tracks on this album. I never fail to mention the importance songwriting was to this group as it was their best and memorable skill, but the lyrics on this album range from strange ("Highest Trails Above") to mundane ("My-My-Kind of Girl"). While songs such as "In The Park" and "Psycho Therapy" provide a few moments of enjoyment, they are not representative of the strength of their earlier songwriting. The hooks are few and far between, and flashes of their earlier humor are now absent and filled with a sense of forced work. This is not the album that marked them as mediocre or anything, but when "Everytime I Eat Vegetables It Makes Me Think of You" is the closest song to classics such as "We're a Happy Family", it represents a low point that was evident in Pleasant Dreams and a sign of bad things to come in future albums.
As I wrote above, this album was the first to open with no original songs, as two covers were chosen for the start. There are three covers on this album, the most covers on any album (minus the cover-based Acid Eaters) and certainly the biggest departure genre-wise for a group whose earlier covers were mainly surf-rock based. The problem I have with the covers is that they give the album a horribly dated feel. A few tracks from Pleasant Dreams had that feel, but the covers really sound as they came from 1983. As I mentioned in my End of the Century article, the feel on that album was sweet and nostalgic, as evident on that album's opening track. The opening tracks on this album give the impression of a band trying to get the attention of the general audience with a few bells and whistles that they might have been familiar with. No chord-ripping, fast playing minimalism to be found. These songs are played straight and are as slow and boring today as they probably were in 1989, 1997, and 2004 (Note: random dates). Nothing comes of as greatly offensive as" Time Has Come Today", a four minute, 25 seconds long song with the worst singing Joey Ramone had ever done at that time. At this point, not even Pleasant Dreams had this level of long and awful.
The musicianship on this album is okay when it has to be (a la the covers), but it's just there for its own sake. Sadly, there's not much effort put into this musically from the boys themselves. Joey sings his pieces as best as he can. Whoever thought Dee Dee could sing a whole song by himself should be beaten, as "Time Bomb" blows chunks. There's no memorable playing here except for the LEAD GUITAR PLAYING ON MOST SONGS. The greatest departure from the Ramone sound is the added lead guitar, which is fine on the songs, but this is the band that had been known as being a band with no solos, leads, and above all else, NO NONSENSE, STRAIGHT TO THE POINT PLAYING. There will be more solos and lead playing in future albums, but it hits it's low point here and it's blatantly unnecessary for the most part. As for the drumming, Marky was released from the band and replaced for this session with someone else, so there isn't anything else noteworthy to speak of. One more thing: "Somebody Like Me" is the laziest attempt at recycling a melody, as the opening is just "Blitzkrieg Bop" without any changes. No, not even the lead guitar will fool anyone into believing this song is anything but the worst rehash before "Eat The Rat" and "Learn to Listen" came into existence.
Final Words
There's a few things I learned from listening to recorded Ramones concerts (post-Jungle) that apply to Subterranean Jungle. Out of all the songs on this album, the only one that survived the years of frequent concert playing is "Psycho Therapy", the song considered a Ramones classic by fan majority. It was also a song that didn't require Johnny Ramone to play any lead guitar, something that he rarely did live except for the parts in "California Sun" that he preformed regularly. Subterranean Jungle is an album with many songs that require more than just Johnny at the guitar, as ex-Heartbreaker Walter Lure was called in to perform lead guitar with the boys for a couple of songs. Walter Lure nor any extra guitar player performed live on-stage with the band except for the guests in We're Outta Here, their final concert. Future songs that required lead playing would result in Johnny deconstructing them to their very essence, or someone else may have played the parts backstage. In the end, there were no other songs from Subterranean Jungle that would be played live after 1985. ("Highest Trails Above" was the only other song that stayed on their set-list up to '85).
UP NEXT: TOO TOUGH TO DIE!
I know that as a fan of any band or musician, there may be times when the artist attempts a new sound or a complete reinvention, and it may have crushing consequences to certain members of the fan base. For example, I enjoy Motorhead's Another Perfect Day despite the melodic guitar playing that would never make another appearance after that album. On the other hand, I can't stand the sound of Bob Dylan's Empire Burlesque at all. For the Ramones, I can count a few albums where I questioned the sanity of the band when I listened to one of their notoriously uneven albums, and this album is the one where I skipped the questioning and automatically assume that they lost their mind.
Subterranean Jungle is the third and final Ramones album from the Pop-Ramones era, a time when the band dreamed of reaching the top of pop charts, only to be marred by rotating album producers, inner bickering and substance abuse. This album is culmination of the band's failed experiment, an effort that can only be considered as Pleasant Dreams pt.2 - It Gets Worse.
As a testament to the "strength" of this album, Subterranean Jungle is the first and only album to open with no original songs from the band. The reason for no Ramones track as the album's opening probably has to do with the lack of strong tracks on this album. I never fail to mention the importance songwriting was to this group as it was their best and memorable skill, but the lyrics on this album range from strange ("Highest Trails Above") to mundane ("My-My-Kind of Girl"). While songs such as "In The Park" and "Psycho Therapy" provide a few moments of enjoyment, they are not representative of the strength of their earlier songwriting. The hooks are few and far between, and flashes of their earlier humor are now absent and filled with a sense of forced work. This is not the album that marked them as mediocre or anything, but when "Everytime I Eat Vegetables It Makes Me Think of You" is the closest song to classics such as "We're a Happy Family", it represents a low point that was evident in Pleasant Dreams and a sign of bad things to come in future albums.
As I wrote above, this album was the first to open with no original songs, as two covers were chosen for the start. There are three covers on this album, the most covers on any album (minus the cover-based Acid Eaters) and certainly the biggest departure genre-wise for a group whose earlier covers were mainly surf-rock based. The problem I have with the covers is that they give the album a horribly dated feel. A few tracks from Pleasant Dreams had that feel, but the covers really sound as they came from 1983. As I mentioned in my End of the Century article, the feel on that album was sweet and nostalgic, as evident on that album's opening track. The opening tracks on this album give the impression of a band trying to get the attention of the general audience with a few bells and whistles that they might have been familiar with. No chord-ripping, fast playing minimalism to be found. These songs are played straight and are as slow and boring today as they probably were in 1989, 1997, and 2004 (Note: random dates). Nothing comes of as greatly offensive as" Time Has Come Today", a four minute, 25 seconds long song with the worst singing Joey Ramone had ever done at that time. At this point, not even Pleasant Dreams had this level of long and awful.
The musicianship on this album is okay when it has to be (a la the covers), but it's just there for its own sake. Sadly, there's not much effort put into this musically from the boys themselves. Joey sings his pieces as best as he can. Whoever thought Dee Dee could sing a whole song by himself should be beaten, as "Time Bomb" blows chunks. There's no memorable playing here except for the LEAD GUITAR PLAYING ON MOST SONGS. The greatest departure from the Ramone sound is the added lead guitar, which is fine on the songs, but this is the band that had been known as being a band with no solos, leads, and above all else, NO NONSENSE, STRAIGHT TO THE POINT PLAYING. There will be more solos and lead playing in future albums, but it hits it's low point here and it's blatantly unnecessary for the most part. As for the drumming, Marky was released from the band and replaced for this session with someone else, so there isn't anything else noteworthy to speak of. One more thing: "Somebody Like Me" is the laziest attempt at recycling a melody, as the opening is just "Blitzkrieg Bop" without any changes. No, not even the lead guitar will fool anyone into believing this song is anything but the worst rehash before "Eat The Rat" and "Learn to Listen" came into existence.
Final Words
There's a few things I learned from listening to recorded Ramones concerts (post-Jungle) that apply to Subterranean Jungle. Out of all the songs on this album, the only one that survived the years of frequent concert playing is "Psycho Therapy", the song considered a Ramones classic by fan majority. It was also a song that didn't require Johnny Ramone to play any lead guitar, something that he rarely did live except for the parts in "California Sun" that he preformed regularly. Subterranean Jungle is an album with many songs that require more than just Johnny at the guitar, as ex-Heartbreaker Walter Lure was called in to perform lead guitar with the boys for a couple of songs. Walter Lure nor any extra guitar player performed live on-stage with the band except for the guests in We're Outta Here, their final concert. Future songs that required lead playing would result in Johnny deconstructing them to their very essence, or someone else may have played the parts backstage. In the end, there were no other songs from Subterranean Jungle that would be played live after 1985. ("Highest Trails Above" was the only other song that stayed on their set-list up to '85).
UP NEXT: TOO TOUGH TO DIE!
Monday, April 26, 2010
End of the Century Addendum
The Remaster
The remaster has a few extras, but they're more of interest for the fans or historians. With the exceptions of "I Want You Around" and the unreleased "Please Don't Leave", the bonus songs are Spector-less demos. Yes, that means it's just the four boys playing the way the way they always do without any extra bells and whistles added. Joey does get a bit off key on some of the demos, but it's an interesting look on how the album might have turned out without the "Wall of Sound". The final bonus is a one minute radio spot for the album with Joey Ramone doing a horrendous job reading a promo. Bizarre.
Length
All time references are based on my iTunes setlist.
# of tracks: 12 (original), 18 (w/ bonuses)
Album Length: 34.4 minutes (no bonuses), 52.2 min (w/ bonuses)
Shortest Track: "High Risk Insurance" - 2:15
Longest Track: "Do You Remember Rock 'n' Roll Radio?" - 3:52
No "Blitzkrieg Bop" on the album.
Up Next: Subterranean Jungle
The remaster has a few extras, but they're more of interest for the fans or historians. With the exceptions of "I Want You Around" and the unreleased "Please Don't Leave", the bonus songs are Spector-less demos. Yes, that means it's just the four boys playing the way the way they always do without any extra bells and whistles added. Joey does get a bit off key on some of the demos, but it's an interesting look on how the album might have turned out without the "Wall of Sound". The final bonus is a one minute radio spot for the album with Joey Ramone doing a horrendous job reading a promo. Bizarre.
Length
All time references are based on my iTunes setlist.
# of tracks: 12 (original), 18 (w/ bonuses)
Album Length: 34.4 minutes (no bonuses), 52.2 min (w/ bonuses)
Shortest Track: "High Risk Insurance" - 2:15
Longest Track: "Do You Remember Rock 'n' Roll Radio?" - 3:52
No "Blitzkrieg Bop" on the album.
Up Next: Subterranean Jungle
It's the End of the Century! " Do the Ramones Sell Out?"
Due to my bad habit of refusing a good offer even if it messes up my chronological look back at the Ramones, I skipped It's Alive and Road to Ruin and headed straight to End of the Century! Three Ramones CDs for less than $20 was too good to let go, but I will return soon to the skipped albums (all in due time!).
End of the Century is the anomaly in the Ramones catalog, as it's a huge departure from the Ramones's previous albums nor does it fully compare to the next albums after it. The album is the combination of the boy's blazing style with Phil Spector's "Wall of Sound", creating the only legit Ramones pop album. (The group always had pop sensibilities and influences but they always played it on their terms. This album is definitely not on their terms.)
Comparing it to the rest of the Ramones catalog, this album is sweeter than anything before it. From the nostalgic "Do You Remember Rock 'n' Roll Radio", to the saccharine "Baby, I Love You", Phil's "Wall of Sound" makes this mostly chord ripping, balls to wall group sound like cute professional pop stars aiming for your sweet jugular. That is not to say that there's no Ramones-style tracks, as "Chinese Rocks" makes its band debut on this album, but it sticks out like a sore thumb compared to "I Can't Make it On Time" or "Danny Says". "Rock 'n' Roll High School" gets a "Wall of Sound" redux as Spector makes his own version, but it's really unnecessary with the version found on the soundtrack to the movie with the same name.
If there's any one member of the group that benefited from Spector's production, it's Joey. The man sings his heart out in every track with the highlight being "Baby, I Love You", a cover of the Ronettes's hit song. His vocals are so dominant on EotC that he carries most of the weight on this album. The rest of the band is still there, but they're just the session musicians compared to the star. Joey's dominance wouldn't continue as his stinging style would be altered in later years and his contributions would lessen, therefore this is definitely Joey at his peak.
As all Ramones albums before it, it's the songwriting that carries each one and this one is mixed. The boys know how to lay each catchy hook down as usual, but there is a slight drop on this album due to rehashing older songs from Ramones and just pure laziness. "The Return of Jakie and Judy" is the sequel to the song "Judy is A Punk", and yes it does sound very similar to the original, except Spector added his touch to it. "This Ain't Havana" brings back "Havana Affair" with a few differences, but the "Havana-Banana" rhyme returns and it's just a drag. As I mentioned earlier, this album is mostly filled with love songs, so the usual Ramones topics barely show up and it's a shame because it would have been interesting to hear Spectorized songs with lyrics similar to "Beat on the Brat" or "Teenage Lobotomy". Now that I think of it, the writing is not the best part of this album. Where did the dark humor go? (Yes, this album starts the inevitable death of the band's dark humor...)
This album has longer songs than albums before it, and yes, there are tracks with strings and horns coming out of your speakers. It really is the Joey and Phil show, and it's a musically fun turnout despite the multiple levels of non-Ramones quality in it. The boys would never do experiment like this with an okay outcome again as this does mark the the beginning of a strange, stagnant era of Ramones history - Pop-Ramones.
One last note: This album shouldn't be considered a first purchase for anyone not familiar with the Ramones, as it does not represent a typical album and style at all.
Next: Pop-Ramones continue their radio playing in the Subterranean Jungle!
End of the Century is the anomaly in the Ramones catalog, as it's a huge departure from the Ramones's previous albums nor does it fully compare to the next albums after it. The album is the combination of the boy's blazing style with Phil Spector's "Wall of Sound", creating the only legit Ramones pop album. (The group always had pop sensibilities and influences but they always played it on their terms. This album is definitely not on their terms.)
Comparing it to the rest of the Ramones catalog, this album is sweeter than anything before it. From the nostalgic "Do You Remember Rock 'n' Roll Radio", to the saccharine "Baby, I Love You", Phil's "Wall of Sound" makes this mostly chord ripping, balls to wall group sound like cute professional pop stars aiming for your sweet jugular. That is not to say that there's no Ramones-style tracks, as "Chinese Rocks" makes its band debut on this album, but it sticks out like a sore thumb compared to "I Can't Make it On Time" or "Danny Says". "Rock 'n' Roll High School" gets a "Wall of Sound" redux as Spector makes his own version, but it's really unnecessary with the version found on the soundtrack to the movie with the same name.
If there's any one member of the group that benefited from Spector's production, it's Joey. The man sings his heart out in every track with the highlight being "Baby, I Love You", a cover of the Ronettes's hit song. His vocals are so dominant on EotC that he carries most of the weight on this album. The rest of the band is still there, but they're just the session musicians compared to the star. Joey's dominance wouldn't continue as his stinging style would be altered in later years and his contributions would lessen, therefore this is definitely Joey at his peak.
As all Ramones albums before it, it's the songwriting that carries each one and this one is mixed. The boys know how to lay each catchy hook down as usual, but there is a slight drop on this album due to rehashing older songs from Ramones and just pure laziness. "The Return of Jakie and Judy" is the sequel to the song "Judy is A Punk", and yes it does sound very similar to the original, except Spector added his touch to it. "This Ain't Havana" brings back "Havana Affair" with a few differences, but the "Havana-Banana" rhyme returns and it's just a drag. As I mentioned earlier, this album is mostly filled with love songs, so the usual Ramones topics barely show up and it's a shame because it would have been interesting to hear Spectorized songs with lyrics similar to "Beat on the Brat" or "Teenage Lobotomy". Now that I think of it, the writing is not the best part of this album. Where did the dark humor go? (Yes, this album starts the inevitable death of the band's dark humor...)
This album has longer songs than albums before it, and yes, there are tracks with strings and horns coming out of your speakers. It really is the Joey and Phil show, and it's a musically fun turnout despite the multiple levels of non-Ramones quality in it. The boys would never do experiment like this with an okay outcome again as this does mark the the beginning of a strange, stagnant era of Ramones history - Pop-Ramones.
One last note: This album shouldn't be considered a first purchase for anyone not familiar with the Ramones, as it does not represent a typical album and style at all.
Next: Pop-Ramones continue their radio playing in the Subterranean Jungle!
Rocket to Russia Addendum
The Expanded Edition
Rocket to Russia's extras are a huge step backwards from the excellent Leave Home bonuses. It's worse than Ramones's pale offerings! There are five bonus tracks:
1. An early version of the cover "Needles and Pins".
2. A demo for "Slug".
3. The UK B-Side of "It's A Long Way Back to Germany"
4/5. Single cuts of "I Don't Care" and "Sheena is a Punk Rocker"
Skippable.
Length
All time references come from my iTunes setlist.
# of tracks: 14 (original), 19 (w/ bonuses)
Album Length: 32:11 (non extras), 43:48 (Expanded)
Shortest Track: "I Don't Care" - 1:39
Longest Track: "Sheena is a Punk Rocker" - 2:50
There was no "Blitzkrieg Bop" on this CD.
Rocket to Russia's extras are a huge step backwards from the excellent Leave Home bonuses. It's worse than Ramones's pale offerings! There are five bonus tracks:
1. An early version of the cover "Needles and Pins".
2. A demo for "Slug".
3. The UK B-Side of "It's A Long Way Back to Germany"
4/5. Single cuts of "I Don't Care" and "Sheena is a Punk Rocker"
Skippable.
Length
All time references come from my iTunes setlist.
# of tracks: 14 (original), 19 (w/ bonuses)
Album Length: 32:11 (non extras), 43:48 (Expanded)
Shortest Track: "I Don't Care" - 1:39
Longest Track: "Sheena is a Punk Rocker" - 2:50
There was no "Blitzkrieg Bop" on this CD.
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Rocket to Russia
Rocket to Russia was the last Ramones CD that I bought chronologically, as I later bought a 3 CD Ramones bundle that included End of the Century, Subterranean Jungle, and Too Tough to Die.
I've often come upon articles or interviews where Rocket to Russia is considered the top Ramones album (aside from the historical importance of Ramones). It's either something about the boys reaching their peak songwriting skills or the amount of near pop-masterpieces they put in this album alone, but it always boils down to Rocket to Russia or Ramones. (For historical purposes, even Johnny loved Rocket to Russia)
Coming in with the advantage of history and technology, I cannot agree with such opinions. The band continued to do what they did best - guns blazing fast, catchy pop. Everything about this album is the same as the previous two. Rocket to Russia does not break any new ground and I honestly believe that choosing one album over another depends on plain personal preference on an album's tracks.
The Usual:
1. Everything is still fast, loud, and less than 3 minutes a track.
2. All of the Ramones' established songwriting topics are repeated. (One topic I missed to write about earlier and remembered with Rocket to Russia is the "Location" song, when a song is based on a real location. It first started with "53rd & 3rd" and continued with "Rockaway Beach".)
3. The album is short.
The main difference with Rocket to Russia and the previous albums lies with the songs themselves. As stated above, the boys are still at the top of their game, but I personally didn't enjoy half of the songs on this album and the songs I didn't enjoy are mostly those that the band would continue to play live until their retirement. I felt "Cretin Hop" was not an enjoyable opening track, especially compared to the previous album openers ("Blitzkrieg Bop" and "Glad To See You Go"). Fan-favorites "Rockaway Beach" and "Sheena is A Punk Rocker" are skippable, especially "Sheena" as I find it to be rather bland lyrically and musically. (I do find both songs enjoyable on the live albums.) I'll finish this paragraph with: "Ramona" is the clearly the worst Ramones song from the first few albums. It's the best vomit-inducing cheese that the boys would write, and an example of how the boys could still write a catchy chorus at their worst.
As for the highlights, this album has a couple of good ones. "I Don't Care" has a good riff, and it's short length helps it from becoming stale. "We're a Happy Family" has the best lyrics on the album, combining their family problems and dark humor to create a memorable tune. "Teenage Lobotomy" continues the psychological songs and can stand up with the best of them. Finally, "Surfin' Bird" is a great cover, as good as their "California Sun" and Joey brings his A-game with the "ooh-mow-mow-papa-ooh-mow-mow!"
Rocket to Russia is not on my top 5 Ramones albums, but half of the songs on this album are great Ramones songs that are worthy of a repeat listen. This album does mark an end of a chapter of Ramones history, as it is the last album with Tommy, and the boys would begin to experiment with their style on the next album, Road to Ruin.
Up Next: Jumping around in time, we skip two albums and three years of history and head to the End of the Century!
I've often come upon articles or interviews where Rocket to Russia is considered the top Ramones album (aside from the historical importance of Ramones). It's either something about the boys reaching their peak songwriting skills or the amount of near pop-masterpieces they put in this album alone, but it always boils down to Rocket to Russia or Ramones. (For historical purposes, even Johnny loved Rocket to Russia)
Coming in with the advantage of history and technology, I cannot agree with such opinions. The band continued to do what they did best - guns blazing fast, catchy pop. Everything about this album is the same as the previous two. Rocket to Russia does not break any new ground and I honestly believe that choosing one album over another depends on plain personal preference on an album's tracks.
The Usual:
1. Everything is still fast, loud, and less than 3 minutes a track.
2. All of the Ramones' established songwriting topics are repeated. (One topic I missed to write about earlier and remembered with Rocket to Russia is the "Location" song, when a song is based on a real location. It first started with "53rd & 3rd" and continued with "Rockaway Beach".)
3. The album is short.
The main difference with Rocket to Russia and the previous albums lies with the songs themselves. As stated above, the boys are still at the top of their game, but I personally didn't enjoy half of the songs on this album and the songs I didn't enjoy are mostly those that the band would continue to play live until their retirement. I felt "Cretin Hop" was not an enjoyable opening track, especially compared to the previous album openers ("Blitzkrieg Bop" and "Glad To See You Go"). Fan-favorites "Rockaway Beach" and "Sheena is A Punk Rocker" are skippable, especially "Sheena" as I find it to be rather bland lyrically and musically. (I do find both songs enjoyable on the live albums.) I'll finish this paragraph with: "Ramona" is the clearly the worst Ramones song from the first few albums. It's the best vomit-inducing cheese that the boys would write, and an example of how the boys could still write a catchy chorus at their worst.
As for the highlights, this album has a couple of good ones. "I Don't Care" has a good riff, and it's short length helps it from becoming stale. "We're a Happy Family" has the best lyrics on the album, combining their family problems and dark humor to create a memorable tune. "Teenage Lobotomy" continues the psychological songs and can stand up with the best of them. Finally, "Surfin' Bird" is a great cover, as good as their "California Sun" and Joey brings his A-game with the "ooh-mow-mow-papa-ooh-mow-mow!"
Rocket to Russia is not on my top 5 Ramones albums, but half of the songs on this album are great Ramones songs that are worthy of a repeat listen. This album does mark an end of a chapter of Ramones history, as it is the last album with Tommy, and the boys would begin to experiment with their style on the next album, Road to Ruin.
Up Next: Jumping around in time, we skip two albums and three years of history and head to the End of the Century!
Monday, April 12, 2010
Leave Home Addendum
The Expanded Edition
This edition of Leave Home is a vast improvement in the extras department as a complete concert was included. The concert was recorded on August 12, 1976 at the Roxy in California. The set is mostly the debut album and a few from Leave Home. The concert sounds amazing as the band played with blistering speed without much error or rest between the songs. It's great to hear them this early in their career and a year before the "It's Alive" concert, and its interesting to hear Dee Dee's backup singing alongside Joey clearly. The extras are the best of any of the Remasters, making this a must purchase for anyone.
Length
All time references are taken from my iTunes setlist.
# of Tracks: 15 (album), 31 (w/ bonuses)
Album Length: 34:00 (non-extras), 66:55 (Expanded)
Shortest Track: "Gimme Gimme Shock Treatment" - 1:45
Longest Track : "Babysitter" - 2:49
Concert
Shortest Track: "Judy is A Punk" - 1:23 (10 seconds shorter than original)
Longest Track: "Today Your Love, Tomorrow the World"- 2:53 (with 56 seconds of Joey's farewell and cheers), 1:56 (from song's start to finish)
Length of "Blitzkrieg Bop": 2:05 - (without Joey's welcome and post-song cheers), 2:13 - (with intro and cheers)
At this moment in their career, the Ramones have the fastest recorded version of Blitzkrieg Bop at 2:05. Taking the intro and cheers to consideration, it is as long as the album cut in Ramones.
This edition of Leave Home is a vast improvement in the extras department as a complete concert was included. The concert was recorded on August 12, 1976 at the Roxy in California. The set is mostly the debut album and a few from Leave Home. The concert sounds amazing as the band played with blistering speed without much error or rest between the songs. It's great to hear them this early in their career and a year before the "It's Alive" concert, and its interesting to hear Dee Dee's backup singing alongside Joey clearly. The extras are the best of any of the Remasters, making this a must purchase for anyone.
Length
All time references are taken from my iTunes setlist.
# of Tracks: 15 (album), 31 (w/ bonuses)
Album Length: 34:00 (non-extras), 66:55 (Expanded)
Shortest Track: "Gimme Gimme Shock Treatment" - 1:45
Longest Track : "Babysitter" - 2:49
Concert
Shortest Track: "Judy is A Punk" - 1:23 (10 seconds shorter than original)
Longest Track: "Today Your Love, Tomorrow the World"- 2:53 (with 56 seconds of Joey's farewell and cheers), 1:56 (from song's start to finish)
Length of "Blitzkrieg Bop": 2:05 - (without Joey's welcome and post-song cheers), 2:13 - (with intro and cheers)
At this moment in their career, the Ramones have the fastest recorded version of Blitzkrieg Bop at 2:05. Taking the intro and cheers to consideration, it is as long as the album cut in Ramones.
Leave Home...
After Ramones, I bought Leave Home, their second album and one that has been upgraded as a result of the Expanded Edition. According to the liner notes and all sorts of places, the song "Carbona Not Glue" caused a bit of a trademark issue that resulted in seeing the song removed and replaced with "Sheena is a Punk Rocker" in certain markets. The Expanded Edition has the album as it was originally intended with "Carbona not Glue" reinstated.
Leave Home is a not a completely different album than Ramones, as the material is short, fast and to the point. In fact, it is slightly slower and longer than Ramones with 15 tracks played in 34 minutes compared to the prior album's 14 tracks at 29.2 minutes. While the songs are longer on average, the album is over as fast as Ramones. Most of the song topics are the same, and it really feels like like Ramones, Part 2 as even the saddest or most horrifying topic is engaged with the same joyously dark delight.
So, what's the difference? First, the production has changed to what will be the Ramones's distinct album sound from now until Road to Ruin - all instruments playing at once with no separation between the guitar and bass with an increase in loudness. I enjoyed the previous album's channel separation, but the sound on this album is much improved as everything sounds fiercer and faster. However, I think that Dee Dee's playing is lost in this increase in sound, as Johnny's guitar playing and Tommy's drum banging are now important to the overall sound-scape. The bass is still there, but you have to pay more attention to find it.
As stated earlier, the album songs are based on the same formula as before and repeated in future albums (a Joey love song or two, a drug song, an early rock and roll/pop cover, horror/murder, child/parental abuse - not necessarily in that order), but this album introduces us to probably their favorite genre (ties with horror) - mental illness. "Gimme Gimme Shock Treatment", "Suzy is a Headbanger", and "Pinhead", all well written and just as memorable as any song on this album, are strange to me in that not only is the band embracing mental illness, but they perform their songs with a warm, non-ironic tone. I often find a web page or documentary discussing some of the band members dealings with mental illnesses, and its amazing to see a band write upbeat songs about that topic despite the problems they dealt with.
The songwriting in general is just as good as Ramones, but they did increase some of the comedy (dark humor) in songs like "Commando" where soldiers are ordered to love their mommies, eats kosher salami, and never talk to commies, and all while following the laws of (Nazi?) Germany. "Your Gonna Get That Girl" which deals with a killer catching his prey to "get the glory like Charles Manson". "Swallow My Pride" is my personal favorite in terms of lyrics, as the song is surprisingly philosophical compared most of their songs, and it's done in a humorous Ramones fashion as the band eventually comes to the realization that it's better to "have a real cool time" than to be grim.
Their style is still as effective as ever, but the cover of "California Sun" is the standout of the album as it clearly shows the band (ie. Johnny) being able to play a song with a note playing riff. Unlike Ramones's inclusion of "Just Dance", "California Sun actually sounds different from the original as it is played and sounds like a regular Ramones song. Just to be clear, the original "California Sun" included an organ in the background, akin to "Let's Dance". Unlike "Let's Dance", the band did not choose to make a note by note cover and instead played it without the organ and went with the fast, to-the-point style that they're famous for.
Overall, this was the album that justified my positive feelings for the band. Leave Home is not only an improvement in sound, but an even bigger improvement in songwriting and musicianship. A worthy purchase today as it probably was so many years ago, and read the addendum for information on the excellent re-release!
Next: Rocket to Russia, and a giant leap in time!
Leave Home is a not a completely different album than Ramones, as the material is short, fast and to the point. In fact, it is slightly slower and longer than Ramones with 15 tracks played in 34 minutes compared to the prior album's 14 tracks at 29.2 minutes. While the songs are longer on average, the album is over as fast as Ramones. Most of the song topics are the same, and it really feels like like Ramones, Part 2 as even the saddest or most horrifying topic is engaged with the same joyously dark delight.
So, what's the difference? First, the production has changed to what will be the Ramones's distinct album sound from now until Road to Ruin - all instruments playing at once with no separation between the guitar and bass with an increase in loudness. I enjoyed the previous album's channel separation, but the sound on this album is much improved as everything sounds fiercer and faster. However, I think that Dee Dee's playing is lost in this increase in sound, as Johnny's guitar playing and Tommy's drum banging are now important to the overall sound-scape. The bass is still there, but you have to pay more attention to find it.
As stated earlier, the album songs are based on the same formula as before and repeated in future albums (a Joey love song or two, a drug song, an early rock and roll/pop cover, horror/murder, child/parental abuse - not necessarily in that order), but this album introduces us to probably their favorite genre (ties with horror) - mental illness. "Gimme Gimme Shock Treatment", "Suzy is a Headbanger", and "Pinhead", all well written and just as memorable as any song on this album, are strange to me in that not only is the band embracing mental illness, but they perform their songs with a warm, non-ironic tone. I often find a web page or documentary discussing some of the band members dealings with mental illnesses, and its amazing to see a band write upbeat songs about that topic despite the problems they dealt with.
The songwriting in general is just as good as Ramones, but they did increase some of the comedy (dark humor) in songs like "Commando" where soldiers are ordered to love their mommies, eats kosher salami, and never talk to commies, and all while following the laws of (Nazi?) Germany. "Your Gonna Get That Girl" which deals with a killer catching his prey to "get the glory like Charles Manson". "Swallow My Pride" is my personal favorite in terms of lyrics, as the song is surprisingly philosophical compared most of their songs, and it's done in a humorous Ramones fashion as the band eventually comes to the realization that it's better to "have a real cool time" than to be grim.
Their style is still as effective as ever, but the cover of "California Sun" is the standout of the album as it clearly shows the band (ie. Johnny) being able to play a song with a note playing riff. Unlike Ramones's inclusion of "Just Dance", "California Sun actually sounds different from the original as it is played and sounds like a regular Ramones song. Just to be clear, the original "California Sun" included an organ in the background, akin to "Let's Dance". Unlike "Let's Dance", the band did not choose to make a note by note cover and instead played it without the organ and went with the fast, to-the-point style that they're famous for.
Overall, this was the album that justified my positive feelings for the band. Leave Home is not only an improvement in sound, but an even bigger improvement in songwriting and musicianship. A worthy purchase today as it probably was so many years ago, and read the addendum for information on the excellent re-release!
Next: Rocket to Russia, and a giant leap in time!
Monday, April 5, 2010
The First Ramones Album
As I mentioned on my introductory post, Ramones is the first album I bought from the Ramones, and it is also the first album they made.
I bought it in early January 2008, almost 32 years since it was released, with high expectations. This was as big to me as listening to Abbey Road or Blonde on Blonde, as this album is considered a landmark in rock n' roll and the band's magnum opus. Reading album reviews didn't help lower my expectations, as reviewers often repeated the same information about its length, style (Three Chords and the Truth), and historical importance. Even at the time of this post, there is so much information on this album alone that it gives the impression that the Ramones could never do any better.
The Ramones did release 13 studio albums after this one, so I will save my opinion on what I consider their best until I finally reach the end of looking back at their albums.
Ramones is a great album, one that has enough ear worms and idiosyncrasies to leave you mesmerized after listening.
For one, the production on this album is different from any of their albums in that:
1. Johnny and Dee Dee are playing in different channels (I think that's the correct terminology), with only Joey and Tommy coming in from both sides. It reminds me of Beatles albums where you can actually listen to any instrument you want if you know what speaker it's coming from. This even works well in my headphones, where I can block Johnny's playing for one song or ignore Dee Dee's bass playing in the next.
2. The sound in general comes off as Spartan, with almost no special bells and whistles. There is only the singer, a distorted guitar, bass, and drums at all times and all of them sound a bit low. Every album after this sounds louder and obviously cleaned up, but Ramones has the distinction of sounding as if the four guys were the only ones in the studio.
As for the songs, every song on the album is catchy and brief, with a frequently repeated verse and chorus with all instruments continuously playing until the next song. The band wastes no time with solos or long instrument breaks (except in I Don't Wanna Go Down to the Basement", which happens to be the album's longest song at 2:40 and "Let's Dance", a cover song.) The topics are funny and still fresh, with songs like "Chain Saw" and "Beat on the Brat" alluding to horror films and childhood violence respectively. They even have saccharine love songs such as "I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend" that boggle my mind in their juxtaposition with the Nazi imagery of "Today Your Love, Tomorrow the World! The songwriting is surprisingly impressive for a debut; it's the album's best facet and the reason I enjoyed it the most.
(One misconception that I got from reviews is that the band only played the same three chords per song, but that's not true. Just take a good listen to "Let's Dance" or "53rd & 3rd".)
If there is one thing that bothered me about this album, then it is the speed in which the songs are played. I thought everything was good when I first heard the album, but the further I listened to their catalog, the more it seems as if their playing is constrained in Ramones. "Blitzkrieg Bop" sounds fiercer and faster in live albums, but the album's cut sounds slower. It could be that this was the speed in which they first performed, and future albums were faster due to the gained ease of playing through the years.
Overall, this album fulfilled my expectations. It's a fun, happy thirty minutes (45 if you have the expanded release), filled with some of the most so-simple-it's-genius writing and playing that is still as good today as it was 34 years ago. The band would eventually tighten their playing and studio experience, but this is still a great debut and a fine album to buy.
Next : Leave Home, Rocket to Russia, and a jump in time!
I bought it in early January 2008, almost 32 years since it was released, with high expectations. This was as big to me as listening to Abbey Road or Blonde on Blonde, as this album is considered a landmark in rock n' roll and the band's magnum opus. Reading album reviews didn't help lower my expectations, as reviewers often repeated the same information about its length, style (Three Chords and the Truth), and historical importance. Even at the time of this post, there is so much information on this album alone that it gives the impression that the Ramones could never do any better.
The Ramones did release 13 studio albums after this one, so I will save my opinion on what I consider their best until I finally reach the end of looking back at their albums.
Ramones is a great album, one that has enough ear worms and idiosyncrasies to leave you mesmerized after listening.
For one, the production on this album is different from any of their albums in that:
1. Johnny and Dee Dee are playing in different channels (I think that's the correct terminology), with only Joey and Tommy coming in from both sides. It reminds me of Beatles albums where you can actually listen to any instrument you want if you know what speaker it's coming from. This even works well in my headphones, where I can block Johnny's playing for one song or ignore Dee Dee's bass playing in the next.
2. The sound in general comes off as Spartan, with almost no special bells and whistles. There is only the singer, a distorted guitar, bass, and drums at all times and all of them sound a bit low. Every album after this sounds louder and obviously cleaned up, but Ramones has the distinction of sounding as if the four guys were the only ones in the studio.
As for the songs, every song on the album is catchy and brief, with a frequently repeated verse and chorus with all instruments continuously playing until the next song. The band wastes no time with solos or long instrument breaks (except in I Don't Wanna Go Down to the Basement", which happens to be the album's longest song at 2:40 and "Let's Dance", a cover song.) The topics are funny and still fresh, with songs like "Chain Saw" and "Beat on the Brat" alluding to horror films and childhood violence respectively. They even have saccharine love songs such as "I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend" that boggle my mind in their juxtaposition with the Nazi imagery of "Today Your Love, Tomorrow the World! The songwriting is surprisingly impressive for a debut; it's the album's best facet and the reason I enjoyed it the most.
(One misconception that I got from reviews is that the band only played the same three chords per song, but that's not true. Just take a good listen to "Let's Dance" or "53rd & 3rd".)
If there is one thing that bothered me about this album, then it is the speed in which the songs are played. I thought everything was good when I first heard the album, but the further I listened to their catalog, the more it seems as if their playing is constrained in Ramones. "Blitzkrieg Bop" sounds fiercer and faster in live albums, but the album's cut sounds slower. It could be that this was the speed in which they first performed, and future albums were faster due to the gained ease of playing through the years.
Overall, this album fulfilled my expectations. It's a fun, happy thirty minutes (45 if you have the expanded release), filled with some of the most so-simple-it's-genius writing and playing that is still as good today as it was 34 years ago. The band would eventually tighten their playing and studio experience, but this is still a great debut and a fine album to buy.
Next : Leave Home, Rocket to Russia, and a jump in time!
The First Ramones Album Addendum
About the Expanded Edition
The Ramones Expanded Edition included 8 extra tracks, but they really are weak and fan-oriented. There are seven demos, with "I Can't Be" and "I Don't Wanna Be Learned / I Don't Wanna Be Tamed" being unreleased songs and "I Don't Care" is interesting as I didn't know this song was recorded earlier than Rocket to Russia.
The other extra is the single version of "Blitzkrieg Bop", which is louder than the album cut and is also a second shorter. As the remaster is the only version of this album easily available to everyone (vinyl excluded), it's quite a bargain as I was able to buy it for 8 bucks on Amazon. In fact, most remasters are cheaper than their iTunes counterparts, making them the better option in terms of price.
Length
All time references are taken from my iTunes setlist.
# of Tracks: 14 (original), 22 (Expanded)
Album Length: 29.2 minutes (original), 44.6 (Expanded)
Shortest Track: "Judy is a Punk" - 1:33
Longest Track : "I Don't Wanna Go Down to the Basement" - 2:40
Length of "Blitzkrieg Bop": 2:13 (album cut), 2:12 (single cut from the Exp. Edition)
Blitzkrieg Bop is important as it is not only the Ramones most recognized song, but it is a great point to observe the band's gradual changes in speed through their 22 years.
The Ramones Expanded Edition included 8 extra tracks, but they really are weak and fan-oriented. There are seven demos, with "I Can't Be" and "I Don't Wanna Be Learned / I Don't Wanna Be Tamed" being unreleased songs and "I Don't Care" is interesting as I didn't know this song was recorded earlier than Rocket to Russia.
The other extra is the single version of "Blitzkrieg Bop", which is louder than the album cut and is also a second shorter. As the remaster is the only version of this album easily available to everyone (vinyl excluded), it's quite a bargain as I was able to buy it for 8 bucks on Amazon. In fact, most remasters are cheaper than their iTunes counterparts, making them the better option in terms of price.
Length
All time references are taken from my iTunes setlist.
# of Tracks: 14 (original), 22 (Expanded)
Album Length: 29.2 minutes (original), 44.6 (Expanded)
Shortest Track: "Judy is a Punk" - 1:33
Longest Track : "I Don't Wanna Go Down to the Basement" - 2:40
Length of "Blitzkrieg Bop": 2:13 (album cut), 2:12 (single cut from the Exp. Edition)
Blitzkrieg Bop is important as it is not only the Ramones most recognized song, but it is a great point to observe the band's gradual changes in speed through their 22 years.
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