Greatest Hits Live

Again, let's get this out of the way: The Ramones never had hits in the vein of the Clash or the Sex Pistols. The band was excellent, but they rarely got something to chart well enough. If this was a "Greatest Hits" compilation, then there would only be three songs on it ("Baby, I Love You", Pet Sematary", and "Poison Heart"). Of course, the band does not mean hits in the charts, but hits among the fans of the group...(Lampshade, please.)

With the last album being their final studio release, the band set out its final tour which gave us two different live albums. The first was "Greatest Hits Live", an album that's often considered to be a record company mandate and not something the band cared about - and it shows. What you're getting here is not a complete concert, but half of what was one of the final New York City concerts for the band.

The songs and albums chosen for this album were:
Ramones - 3 ("Blitzkrieg Bop", "Beat on the Brat", "53rd & 3rd")
Rocket to Russia - 4 ("Sheena is a Punk Rocker", "Rockaway Beach", "We're a Happy Family", "Do You Wanna Dance?")
Road to Ruin - 1 ("I Wanna Be Sedated")
End of the Century - 1 ("Do You Remember Rock & Roll Radio?")
Too Tough to Die - 1 ("Durango 95")
Brain Drain -1 ("Pet Sematary")
Mondo Bizarro - 1 (Strength to Endure")
Adios Amigos - 3 ("I Don't Want to Grow Up", "Cretin Family", "The Crusher")
Singles -3 (The live rendition of "Spider-Man", plus the two bonus studio cuts: "R.A.M.O.N.E.S." and the cover of "Any Way You Want It")

If you were around/ conscious of the band during this time, then you already had Loco Live and It's Alive available to you. Do you really need Greatest Hits Live today? If you are a fan/completionist, then yes. Casual fans and those who want to start listening to the band need not apply. Outside of the live versions of a few Adios Amigos songs, there's nothing new on this album except for the studio cuts that can be found on compilations like Weird Tales of the Ramones. Plus, you're getting a few songs compared to the monster tracklists of the other live albums. Even the bonus concert on the Leave Home expanded release has the same number of songs available to you for a lower price, and that one is justifiable as the band was still young when it was recorded.

If you decide to purchase this record, then I would say that there are some great things about it. For one thing, I enjoyed this performance more than the one on Loco Live. Every member sounds lively, and Joey does bring in a few great performances. I especially enjoyed his kick ass performance of "Pet Sematary", as I can't stand the studio cut. The rest of the songs have been done to death, but the band had slightly increased their speed again, so there's always a reason to give it a listen.

"Cretin Family" however, is still a horrible song even if it's done live.

It's a fifteen year old album that would hold up well if it was the only Ramones live release. There are so many recordings available to the consumer at this point that it makes this release unnecessary. If they would release this album in a complete state, then I would gladly re-evaluate it. At this state, stick to NYC 1978 or Loco Live.