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
Monday, April 26, 2010
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!
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