Ramones - Hey Ho Let's Go: Anthology

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Free Music Notes for Hey Ho Let's Go: Anthology

Free Music Review: Blitzkrieg Bop
Hit: 5 Stars

The Ramones found their formula early, and stuck to it. Dress the same, take on the same name, and eliminate the unnecessary. So what was unnecessary? Guitar solos, guitar effects, playing to each other, drum fills, ten minute songs, and a big stage show - pretty much all the excesses of prog rock. And what was left? A steady, speedy backbeat, buzzing guitars, simple catchy melodies, and lots of fun sounding songs.

The Ramones were accused of being stupid on a regular basis. From the outside, they probably did seem a bit stupid. They all looked and dressed the same unfashionable (for the time) way, their albums were shorter than many songs of the 1970s rock dinosaurs, and their song titles and lyrics were almost childlike. Songs like "Beat On The Brat", "Judy Is A Punk", "Cretin Hop" and "I Wanna Be Sedated" were hardly intellectual in their content. The band were simply a "1-2-3-4" from Dee Dee Ramone, and they were away. Two minutes, three chords, and several "Gabba Gabba Hey"s later, it was time to start all over again.

Most people missed where The Ramones were actually coming from. While the songs were simple, employing catchy melodies with a minimum of complications, inspiration for the songs came from real life stories of the band, much darker than expected. "53rd & 3rd" was inspired by bass player Dee Dee Ramone's time as a male prostitute on a New York street corner to pay for his drug habit. "Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue", "Somebody Put Something In My Drink", "Chinese Rock" and "Carbona Not Glue" all dealt with substance abuse. Depression, mental illness, boredom, and messed up lives were all dealt with.

This anthology tracks the band from the carefree, simple days of the 70s, the almost disastrous time they spent with Phil Spector in the early 1980s (Spector's vision: The Ramones as the Ultimate Pop band), the line up changes of the later 1980s, and the resurgence of the band's popularity in the 1990s. Through all these changes, the songs remained the same, the albums remained short, and The Ramones stayed out of the mainstream. To this day, The Ramones remain firm favourites of punks all over the world, and a good number of metal fans too, because of that consistency and not bowing to commercial pressures. It is incredible to think a band of such standing among music fans around the world hardly managed to break the top 100 in the charts with most of their albums, with the 1980 album "End Of The Century" the pinnacle of their success at number 44.

With the deaths of Joey and Dee Dee, a reunion of The Ramones is impossible. The music will have to remain as a testament to this incredibly influential band. Somehow, it seems only fitting.

Hey Ho Let's Go: Anthology Poster

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