Ramones Smash You: Live '85

Loud Fast Ramones: Their Toughest Hits had a bonus disc included in the original 50,000 print run. The bonus disc is entitled Ramones Smash You: Live '85, a live show that featured Richie Ramone on the drums, thus making it the only officially released live recording with Richie on the drums! This bonus disc is basically fan territory/completion material and can be skipped by a causal fan or someone who has the complete show and doesn't care for an official partial copy.

The show was recorded on February 25, 1985 at the Lyceum Theater in England as a part of the Ramones' comeback tour following the release of Too Tough to Die. This bonus CD gives us a quarter of that show, as research has found me another blog which gives more details about this concert. (Great blog!)

The Tracklist

1. "Do You Remember Rock 'n' Roll Radio"
2. "Psycho Therapy"
3. "Suzy is a Headbanger"
4. "Too Tough to Die"
5. "Smash You"
6. "Chinese Rock"
7. "Howling at the Moon"
8. "I Don't Want to Go Down to the Basement"

It's not far-fetched to say that this tracklist is chopped up and out of order ("Psycho Therapy" was always played before "R'n'R Radio".) It's the only Richie live record out, so let's give it a listen, shall we?

The first thing that pops out is the sound as it's not crisp and a bit muddy and it's mostly audible with Joey's voice. The recording is not up to par with NYC 1978 or even Loco Live, but it's still audible and enjoyable. Joey had not reached the growling era when this concert was recorded as he sings each song well. Johnny and Dee Dee do what they do best, with Dee Dee popping every now and then to count down the next song. Of course, my main interest with this bonus is Richie, and he sounds just as good live as he did on Too Tough to Die. I really do think he shifted the band towards their later speed runs as they zipped past 8 of the lengthier Ramones songs in about 18 minutes.

(Example: "Too Tough to Die" is about 30 seconds shorter here than on the album it was named after and it's also shorter than the recording on Loco Live. "Suzy is a Headbanger" is about 35-40 seconds shorter than the Leave Home cut. "Howling at the Moon" was a four minute epic reduced by a minute and a half! PURE SPEED!)

What I find funny about this bonus being on the "Toughest Hits" compilation is that the songs for the most part are tougher than the ones on the disc, and the coolest part is that the live versions of "Do You Remember Rock 'n' Roll Radio" and "Psycho Therapy" are actually enjoyable, especially with "RnR Radio" transcending the sentimentalism that the album cut reeks of. I enjoyed all the tracks on this disk, as they really are well played and improved from the album versions in general.

Bottom line, it's a fun piece of history and fans (especially Richie fans like myself) will find this a fun sampler of the Ramones during the Too Tough to Die tour. Now if they only released this concert in full...


UP NEXT: It's Alive and NYC 1978