Ramones - Rocket to Russia (Dlx)
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Free Music Notes for Rocket to Russia (Dlx)
Free Music Review: Once Upon a Time....
Hit: 5 Stars
In a small town in Pennsylvania was a little Mom and Pop record store. About 1978 or so, that Palmyra record store began to get a lot of "promo only" albums, the majority of which were by artists in the underground punk scene. Elvis Costello, Talking Heads, Dead Boys, Saints and a whole bunch of others. At a buck a pop, I was feeding my curiosity on a regular basis, going into the store literally every couple of days to see if any new albums had appeared.
One of those trips had two fresh items in the front of the bin... "Rocket To Russia" and "Road To Ruin" by The Ramones. I grabbed them both and went over to my friend Chuck's. He had been playing guitar for a year or so, and I'd been writing for as long as I could remember. We went into his basement and put "Rocket To Russia" on the turntable. As soon as "Rockaway Beach" was over, our world had changed. Chuck had his guitar in his hands before the end of side one, because we knew that we could do this, too. By the end of the week, we'd recruited a bassist and a drummer and formed a band.
Two songs. That was all it took to literally make our lives change course. "Rocket To Russia" is literally that powerful an album, and remains a watershed moment in punk rock. You get the seminal "Cretin Hop," "Sheena Is A Punk Rocker" "Teenage Lobotomy" and what may be one of the most important Top 100 singles of the decade, "Rockaway Beach." You discover that all sorts of classics could be hammered into rock, as "Do You Wanna Dance" blasted surf music into smithereens.
So I write this, all but blubbering into my computer screen. Johnny's gone now, along with Joey and Dee Dee. Three quarters of the "brothers" that not only kicked complacent music in the kiester, but rallied four high school guys in 1978 to get on stage and make a glorious racket with three minute ditties we wrote ourselves. "Rocket To Russia" reconfigured my world. Turned up to 10, it still makes my head bob. Anyone who ever cared about rock and roll should have this album.
Sad to say, my world reconfigured again today. RIP, Johnny.
Free Music Review: Why Don't You Own this Already?
Hit: 5 Stars
Album Three for the Ramones, Rocket to Russia, is the Ramones album that SHOULD have made the Ramones a household name. Of course, it didn't....Nothing ever really went the way they should have for the Ramones! But honestly, this record is hit single after hit single. Only problem is that no one bought it.... Well, now you have the chance to rectify that situation. BUY IT NOW! RTR is just one long (well, 33 minute) hit parade for the listener.
Johnny Ramone, who was not much for interviews, would always claim RTR was the Ramones best album. (He never said his "favorite", he always said "our best") When asked why it was the best, Johnny would always answer, "It had the most hits." Well....the Ramones never had any hits, so it's hard to determine what Johnny meant. I figure he meant it had the most "hit" songs with the fans. If you look at the album, really only 4 of the 14 tunes weren't staples of the Ramones live set. That says a lot for any album! This album contains the Ramones best song, Sheena is a Punk Rocker. (Which also was included in later issues of Leave Home). Their ode to 60's rock, Ramones style, it is infectious. It also contains major Ramones "hits" Rockaway Beach, Cretin Hop, and Teenage Lobotomy. Cover tune, Do You Wanna Dance is here as well. You may remember it from the movie Rock n' Roll High School, as the Bruddas and students began their assault on the halls of Vince Lombardi High!
This would be the last album with the original four Ramones. Tommy would leave in favour of Marky, and take over the duties of a producer. Some fans call this the end of the "great Ramones", but it was only the begining! Road to Ruin would be next, and RTR is just a warm up. But, it is the third in a terrific string of albums which you should have already! BUY IT!!!!!
Free Music Review: These Guys Were Top of the Mountain!
Hit: 5 Stars
Next to their debut album, this is my pick of The Ramones' best work ever. With the losses of Joey, Dee Dee, and Johnny, it's sad to think The Ramones are a band of the past, but when you listen to works like "Rocket To Russia," you can say "they left an enduring legacy" without sounding contrived and melodramatic.
I love the opening songs on Rocket to Russia because you hear such energetic merriment packed with lyrics of the celebrated misfists: the proud declaration that "cretins wanna hop," followed by the seemingly innocent enthusiasm over hitching a ride to Rockaway Beach on a sunny day---without mentioning that Rockaway Beach is actually one of the grittiest, toughest, meanest beach towns in the country!
I love that we get a solid dose of unmistakable Ramones' lyrics in songs like "Sheena is a Punk Rocker" and "Teenage Lobotomy," and then receive the greatest cover of "Do You Want To Dance" ever recorded. No revamped punk lyrics, just the most powerful homage to oldies rock & roll you will ever hear, done in that high-octane Ramones' spirit. This song is the prime example of punk rock & classic rock meeting, morphing, and totally emerging into one another. Sounds corny, hmm? True, though.
In my opinion, there are no bad Ramones albums out there, but this is one of their greatest works. If you have never listened to The Ramones before, this is a good place to start. If you are one of those folks who are just now discovering The Ramones, get happy, because you've got a lot of great music to listen to up the road. These cats were the greatest!
Free Music Review: America's "London Calling"
Hit: 5 Stars
Like the Clash, the third time was the charm for the kings of Queens, who hotwired 1960s sincero-spunk ("Locket Love," "Do You Wanna Dance?") with 1970s chainsaw punk (which they singlehandedly invented on their debut and perfected on "Leave Home"), and somehow wound up in a dead heat with the Beach Boys for first place in the title bout for greatest surf combo ever ("Rockaway Beach," "Surfin' Bird" and especially "Sheena Is A Punk Rocker"). In the process, the protoboyz from da 'hood absolutely shredded anything and everything gobbed up by London's Class of '77 (listen to any Damned records lately?), not to mention their CBGB's peers (the combined careers of Blondie, Television and Talking Heads weren't as influential as "We're A Happy Family"). Even the pinheads-in-straightjackets schtick ("Cretin Hop," "I Wanna Be Well," "Teenage Lobotomy") sounded fresh, frenetic, fun and especially funny, unlike "I Don't Care," which reads like a suicide note written in her lipstick and left on the windowsill. The demo/outtake flotsam is better on the other reissues, but that's mostly because it's impossible to improve on perfection, crystallized in Tommy's four glorious every-drum-at-once beats that kickstart the last chorus of "Rockaway Beach," which rivals the first three minutes of the Stones' "Can't You Hear Me Knockin'?" as the most astounding, gut-wrenching, giddy, grand and life-affirming rock and roll moment ever. Gabba gabba get it before it gets you.Free Music Review: Does punk get any better than this? I think not...
Hit: 5 Stars
Unlike some reviewers here, I didn't exactly grown up in the punk era of the late 70s/early 80s. Yeah I was around, but the diaper rash kinda hampered my appreciation for the genre. I kind of backed into the Ramones in high school after wondering where Green Day got their ideas from (and I am happy to say that once I heard the real thing I dropped Green Day and started buying albums from the likes of the Ramones, Talking Heads, The Clash, Devo, etc. etc.). This music wasn't really THAT old when I first discovered it, and it has really stuck with me through all my phases.
Anyway, in this era of emo, mall-punk, sloppy pseudo-hardcore and the like, it's refreshing to throw this one on the player and remember that punk rock can be far from the cheesy and awkward "devolution" which has occurred. Perhaps this fact alone shows the limitations of the genre as well. I mean, there is by definition only so much you can really do with a few chords and a lot of nervous or angry energy. That potential was largely maxed-out by around 1986 (although you never know, some would have said the same about 50s rock n roll). The point is, nothing that has happened since the release of this album takes anything away from its superior quality and the absolute pop PERFECTION of these rock n roll nuggets. It's got an angry Beach Boys sound that was stunningly unique for its time, and it's just so much fun to listen to nearly anywhere. If you like punk rock, this should be the first stop you make.
-HW