Halfway to Sanity

The "Tough Ramones" era reaches its ultimate stop with Halfway to Sanity, one of the band's misunderstood works and it also marks Richie Ramone's last album as drummer.It's a sad departure as Richie was the best drummer the band ever had and probably the most musically talented Ramone out of them all. It's a shame that Richie wouldn't return to the music scene until this decade, as the guy aided the group during this darker period and also cemented their turn from the experimental pop to the speedy hardcore/hard rock sounds of the "Tough Ramones".

I have trouble reviewing Halfway to Sanity because this is the Ramones album I listen to the most. Leave Home is a best album lyrically and musically, Ramones is almost untouchable due to its status, and Too Tough to Die has one of my favorite songs on it (the title track). Halfway to Sanity somehow captures my interest in a way those three albums can't. It's a mess production-wise as sound is tiny and almost lifeless. The band isn't near as energetic as they were on Animal Boy. However, the band somehow makes a product that can survive this down era.

This is not an album that may be easily accessible to new fans or fans stuck in any "era rut". It's the type of album you would own and listen to if you stay with the band for the long haul and faced every small break in the road. You can listen to it and catch some of the goofiness and even pass out laughing after reading the unintentionally humorous lyrics to "I Wanna Live". This is not the band at their most creative or exciting, but it's the band at a point where they just rock for the sake of rocking. In approximately thirty minutes, the Ramones go through every stage in their career and come back with perhaps the most underrated results of any of their work.

This Ramones album is the mash-up of every other Ramones album before it - if you stayed with them for this long, then you know the tricks of the trade:

You want songs about desperation? Got it.
Crave for more mental music? Look no further
You miss the surf rock hits? Got one here.
Enjoy the 60's style Joey love songs? There's one here too.
How about the recent hardcore stuff? Yep.
You want it all in 30 minutes? You got the idea.

The only surprises here is the strength the songs. The first three tracks on Halfway to Sanity are what I consider to be the finest opening tracks on any Ramones album. "I Wanna Live" has a fantastic riff and the melody here is prime Ramones, and Dee Dee's bizarre lyrics don't hinder it one bit (he does have one great line in there about a prince being broken down). "Bop Til' You Drop" is one of my all-time favorite Ramones songs, and I honestly see it as good as any Ramones song during their prime. The lyrics are either about commercial failure or being used and abused, but like "Swallow My Pride" before it, the song's protagonist continues to rock on. The song just kicks ass - it's as close to the original Ramones formula as you get at this point in their career (no solos or leads, fast playing, quick lyrics) and it's a shame that this song is often put under a bus when this album is dissected for compilations (At least it's in Ramones Mania!). "Garden of Serenity" finishes the trilogy with a song reminiscent of their horror film songs but with a stronger atmosphere than previous efforts. While this song is not specifically about a horror movie, the lyrics are about walking in a graveyard at midnight with a psycho. Joey sings with absolute force on this one as the creepiness of it all comes to an awesome resolution with him yelling "IN THE GARDEN OF SERENITY!".

After those songs, you get songs that range from good to poor. I'm not a fan of "I'm Not Jesus" and "Weasel Face" mostly because of Joey's vocals and the overall staleness of those tracks. "I Lost My Mind", the final "hardcore" Dee Dee song, is hilarious, and for once I enjoy Dee Dee's horrible vocals."Go Lil' Camaro Go" is something I listen to with joy in some days or I skip past it in others. I don't mind Debbie Harry's guest appearance, as I enjoy her on this song more than on "Chop Suey", but her voice is so low that you really have to pay attention to hear her. Joey does his "ooh-mow-mow" singing and it's cool, but this song is walking the Cheese tightrope with recklessness. I enjoy "Bye Bye Baby", Joey's song that's a pastiche of 60's/Phil Spector music. It's a sweet song in an otherwise dark album and it stick out a bit. Speaking of sticking out, "Real Cool Time" is another fun song, but it too is sweeter than the norm. Finally, "Worm Man" finishes the album, a song that captures a bit of the early minimalist lyrics infused with their metallic playing style. It's a good surprise ending that I did not see coming and I enjoyed it greatly.

As much I enjoy this album, I am not blind to its faults. There are points in this album where the band sounds tired. I don't know if the band is to blame or if it's the production, but for tracks like "Bye Bye Baby", you can tell that there was potential for that song to sound as close to a Spector song as anything out of End of the Century. The song on this record sounds slow and never reaches a high point. The same goes for "Real Cool Time", a fun song that seems to sound as if the boys ran out of gas late in the album with Joey putting minimal effort on the vocals. In general, the sound on this album is low and not even raising the volume does it justice. It sounds muddy.

Nothing really comes close to giving the complete Ramones sound after Halfway to Sanity. Brain Drain is akin to Animal Boy, and Mondo Bizarro/Adios Amigos is a strange hybrid of their earlier sound with a 90's power pop update. While the band would continue some of the motifs of the "Tough Ramones", Marky's return in Brain Drain would also bring with it a return to softer sounds. Therefore, Richie's departure also marks the end of the band's metalesque/hardcore sounds. I love this album. I can't type all of my emotions as clear I want them to be on this post, but I've tried. There's absolutely nothing new or surprising on this album. It's just the guys doing what they do best - quality songs with catchy riffs and hooks, and that's all there is to it. This may not be a good album for new fans, but older fans should give it a try.

NEXT: Dee Dee Ramones's Last Stand - BRAIN DRAIN!