Ramones - Ramones (Dlx)
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Free Music Notes for Ramones (Dlx)
Free Music Review: Easily one of the greatest rock albums of all time.
Hit: 5 Stars
Besides being one of the best, this is also one of the most important rock records of all time. Without the Ramones, there'd be no Green Day, Blink 182, Used, Thursday, or Pennywise (just to name a few). The Ramones invented punk rock. Period. The Stooges, the MC5, and the Velvet Underground were just paving the way for punk's birth. This was the first punk record, released in 1976.All of the songs on this record take catchiness, speed, and fun to the EXTREME. This album truly stands the test of time and is always an entertaining listen. All of the songs have literally irresistable hooks and will have you singing along before you can say "Hey! Ho! Let's go!" There is not one dull track on the entire album. Besides being insanely catchy, the songs are (unintentionally?) hilarious. Who else could include lines like "I used to make a livin', mon, pickin' the banana/Hooray, for Havana!" into songs besides the Ramones? On the other side of the spectrum, songs like "Listen to my heart" and "I wanna be your boyfriend" have genuine emotion behind them, something lacking from practically all bands of today. All these factors are part of their genious. Many people dismiss them as dumb, untalented, or bubblegum pop, but the Ramones knew this and made it into a winning formula.
If you're a punk fan, this had BETTER already be in your collection (if not, go buy it now and spare yourself the humiliation), or if you're simply a rock fan who's never heard of "da bruddahs", give them a shot. I guarantee you won't regret it.
If you're looking for a good time, I give this album my highest recommendation.
Free Music Review: One Of Music's Greatest Contributions
Hit: 5 Stars
The story of the Ramones has been told so many times, it has become a cliche` of history; from New York's infamous CBGB's Club, four shaggy-looking young men known as The Ramones (taken from a legend that ex-Beatle Paul McCartney had used the pseudonym to check into a hotel), played over a dozen songs in less than thirty minutes, all with a sonic deadpan approach that would become their unmistakable trademark.The Ramones were the innovators, if not the inventors of what we know as punk music. They inspired such punk legends as the Clash, Johnny Rotten, and Sid Vicious, just to name a few. But, as time passed, they became overshadowed by the acts they had inspired, yet the Ramones somehow maintained their undeniable status as unquestionable legends.
And this was the album that started it all, from the band that started it all. The Ramones' self-titled debut, recorded in a few days for less that six thousand dollars, is not only one of the greatest contributions to punk, but one of the greatest contributions to music. All of the Ramones' brilliant trademarks are represented here: heavy three-chord alchemy, simple, punkish, sometimes repeatitive lyrics, and a hint of tribute to the rock and roll of the 1950's.
Though I am not a fan of any other punk band, the Ramones remain my all-time favorites; they did one thing, did it greatly, and moved on to their next triumph.
Any band, any album such as this one, that can have the power and exhiliration to actually breathe life into a form of music must definitely be a masterpiece of music, from Mozart to John Lennon to what we are hearing now.
Free Music Review: Iconic
Hit: 5 Stars
The title of my review sums up my feeling about the Ramones first album. It is every bit as important as the albums and bands it fostered and sometimes seemed overshadowed by (Clash, Sex Pistols, U2, etc.) and the kind of chainsaw rock that preceded it (MC5, Iggy and the Stooges). There are the influences that aren't so obvious but eventually became easier to see (Beatles, Beach Boys, bubblegum). "Hey Ho, Let's Go!" became the rallying cry and thousands of flaming youth grabbed a guitar in the aftermath.
Johnny's buzzsaw chording was so simple that his power was deceptive. Joey's lost between NYC and the UK voice sounded unlike anything on record, but drew you in, and the songs were hook laden hand grenades. Pull the pin, yell 1-2-3-4 and throw. It wasn't just the sound, it was the look. Like some kind of mutant Beatles, the mop-tops, leather jackets, sneakers and torn jeans, the Ramones not only sounded great, they looked cooler than anything the seventies spandex strutters of the day could ever hope for.
The shame of the thing is, "Ramones" probably sold fewer copies than it cost to make. Nowadays, "Blitzkrieg Bop" is played at football stadiums and used to sell cell phones and beer. I don't know whether to be happy or to be flustered that, once again, rebelling against conformity gets absorbed into shilling for the corporations. What can I say? Your answer lies in this shiny disc, when you stand up in Johnny/Dee Dee air guitar stance and turn "Judy Is A Punk" to ten. Do you still care about rock and its place in the world? Then you need "RAMONES."
Free Music Review: Should you buy it again?
Hit: 5 Stars
If you don't already own this albulm in some form, what are you waiting for? I can't guess how many times I've heard these songs, and it hasn't left my CD changer since it arrived a month ago. Take some of those over-produced derivative CDs in your collection down to a used CD store and trade them in for the cash to buy this. These songs will still be part of your mental soundtrack twenty-five years from now.The rest face a tougher call, especially those who have "All the Stuff (And More) Vol. 1" Frankly, the re-mastering for this release doesn't make an appreciable difference (in response to another reviewer: I don't hear the guitar as muted. Check your equalizer? The bass is *slightly* deeper, I think). The 1975 demo tracks are fun to have, and Ramones completists will shell out the price of this CD quite happily for them. For the average listener, however, the Demo tracks are in no instance a remarkably different version of the song. "You Should Never Have Opened That Door (Demo)" sounds like it belongs with the rest of this albulm moreso than with the slightly more pop "Leave Home" (as does "I Don't Care (Demo)", if one isn't too used to it being on "Rocket to Russia").
The truth is that the demos (and the single version of "Blitzkrieg Bop") are frosting for those of us who want to hear every note recorded by The Ramones in their genre-defining heydey. For others who own the original or "All the Stuff... 1", this albulm is not a necessity.
Free Music Review: My reaction was a microcosm of the Ramones' career
Hit: 5 Stars
So I bought this album about 2 years ago and hated it. Talentless, overrated, sophomoric, and juvenile would have been words I might have used to describe the Ramones. Then about a year later something in my head snapped, and I realized just how impressive and important this album is.
It's not just amazing for historical value, but shamelessly enjoyable and life affirming... even if the subject matter is pretty nihilistic at it's core (solvent abuse, prostitution, murder by chainsaw). Somehow Joey can sing about even the most depressing subjects and make you want to sing along not for catharisis, but just for pure enjoyment!
I dont know if they were really punk... upon first listen, I thought more of a juvenile and visceral Beach Boys. Classic rock, sort of like those "Nuggets" bands, but just way better. When I heard they covered Surfin' Bird and California Sun everything just made sense all of a sudden. The Ramones reminded people again in those days of what was cool about Rock & Roll. Two chords (MAYBE three), or better yet 1 chord, a catchy chorus and a whole lot of distortion.
Sure, they're lo-fi and by most conceptions of art appreciation they're just TERRIBLE, but that's also what makes them cool. At the same time, the Ramones "shtick" doesn't sound calculated or forced. My initial ignorance to the genius of this band completely bears out the course of their career. Don't feel sorry for them though... history will be kind to the Ramones.