29 of 31 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Ultimate Live Scrapbook on the Titans of Punk., October 2, 2007
This review is from: Ramones: It's Alive 1974-1996 The Ultimate Double Live DVD (DVD)
It's indeed a shame that this will never happen again. We'll never see these guys take the stage, never hear Dee Dee count in that first tune. We won't get slammed by the sheer volume and power of it all. We won't get to hear Joey's between-song banter and think, "didn't he say exactly the same thing before this song the last time they were here?"
But even with three Ramones gone for good, THE RAMONES live on, larger and more famous than they were in life, their tunes in a million movies and TV ads, their T-shirts now worn by, well, pretty much everybody. Which brings us to this big, reasonably priced 2-DVD set of Ramones live footage from damn near the very beginning of their career to damn near the very end. Over the course of about four hours (!!!), we see the band's evolution from scrappy up and comers at CBGB to consummate pros filling a stadium somewhere in South America. But take heart: whether they were playing to 60,000 people in 1996 or a few dozen in 1974, these guys - save for the early stage screwups - BARELY CHANGED AT ALL. In other words, they got it right early on and knew better than to ruin a good thing.
The sheer volume of material makes this set a solid winner, but it's those little moments and details that diehard fans will love most. The chance to see Johnny play a guitar other than his white or blue Mosrite. Getting to hear/see such seldom-performed-live classics as "Needles & Pins," "Don't Come Close" and "I Want You Around." Watching the evolution of Dee Dee's hair. The cornerstone of the whole thing, though, is the multi-song segment of the band's performance in London on New Year's Eve, 1977 - the concert during which the 2-LP "It's Alive" was recorded. Thirty years after the fact, we get the visuals to go along with one of the greatest live albums ever recorded, and they represent the Ramones at perhaps their very peak. Footage of dozens of other concerts and TV appearances varies in quality, but there's a treasure trove of good stuff to be found.
And as for the lower-quality footage? That shot-on-video, black & white stuff with the crappy sound? Hey, it's still the Ramones! Which, of course, makes it cooler than pretty much anything else out there right now.
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35 of 39 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
"1,2,3,4!!!", October 14, 2003
Pound for pound, this is one of the best live albums ever released. I bought it on import vinyl back in 1979 and it was one of the first CDs I bought upon upgrading my stereo system. The Ramones smoke through their set list like there's no tomorrow. Recorded on New Year's Eve in 1977 at the Rainbow Theatre in London, this set sounds much better (probably because of Tommy's co-producing) then the recently released "Ramones - NYC 1978" CD which was recorded at The Palladium in New York City just a week later. It also includes "Judy Is A Punk" which is absent from the NYC show. All in all, a must have CD for any Ramones fan. 2 notes to Tod Nelson : it was Dee Dee (not Joey) who shouted out "1,2,3,4!!!" before each song and this CD clocks in at just under 54 minutes not 48 (you may have been cheated). R.I.P. Joey, Dee Dee, and Johnny.
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20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Playtime with the Ramones, February 21, 2005
This CD provides an unlikely source to help me bond with my two young children when I drive them places. With the CD player blaring away, my two year old daughter will sing "Go go go" and "Whoa-oh-oh" and other snippets of the lyrics, and my four year old son with autism will crack a smile, which is pretty expressive for him. Simple chord progressions, repetitive lyrics, and energetic singing is pretty typical in childrens music, and this works for my kids. Yes, some people might claim this is about the maturity level of this band. Daddy bouncing up and down in the drivers seat probably helps the kids get into to it.
Why does Daddy like this CD? It's just pure rock and roll energy. There's barely a pause between songs and the band is in top form. They express a real joy with mindless songs like "Surfin' Bird". There's probably nothing that's been said about the Ramones that I could add here, and most people's opinion of the band is firmly made up, but this CD is a great value for anyone in the "like/love/worship the Ramones" camp.
ONE TWO THREE FOUR!!!!
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