Customer Reviews

Ramones Mania

5 star:		(50)
4 star:		(17)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I grew up in a rednecked college town in Nowhere, Mississippi, living in a trailer, though not in a trailer park. Somehow, I managed to get through our hopelessly inadequate high school and knew only that I needed to get out, anywhere but where I was.

One night in 1975, I saw Patti Smith perform "My Generation" on Saturday Night Live. Watching her on my 9 inch black-and-white TV was more colorful than any life I knew. Patti showed me that I needed to flee for my life because, before then, I didn't even know there was a My Generation.

I ended up in Atlanta in the summer of 76, looking for rock-and roll that would save my life, despite all the complications. I wandered into Alex Cooley's Electric Ballroom one night to see a new band called The Ramones. They played two sets, and that night changed my life. I had never heard anything like their music before, and the feeling I had most of all was that I had come home. Although there were probably only 100 people there that night, they were the only people who mattered.

I bought a copy of "The Ramones" the next day. Over the next few years, I saw the Ramones repeatedly. My turntable always had a copy of either "Ramones," or "Leave Home," or "Rocket to Russia." I stopped listening to every album I had before the Ramones, and it was almost 20 years before I revisited the mainstream voices from the 70s (which I still do not like too much). After listening to the Ramones, "Love Will Keep Us Together" seemed even more stupid and banal than it had before.

Through the 80s, the pogo became the slam dance, the intellectual thrill of punk became an excuse for violence dedicated at ourselves, people stopped listening to what bands were saying in favor of watching a fashion show, people stopped caring. But the Ramones rocked on. The inspiration continues. My four-year-old son picks out CDs for us to listen to together, and one of his favorite songs is "Blitzkrieg Bop." I like his taste.

Play this disc over and over and over and over. If it's been a while, you'll find it all the better for the break. I have been listening to it constantly for well over two months now.

Hey, Ho, Let's Go!

RIP, Joey Ramone. You saved a lot of lives.

The Ramones were a perfect antidote for disco and new wave when they started, and nowadays they help ease the bitter taste of boy bands and teenyboppers. They play stripped-down punk rock, driven by four-on-the-floor drumbeats and powered by electric guitars and Joey Ramone's sneering, but on-key vocals.

The Ramones and the Sex Pistols are often paired together as the founding fathers of punk. While there's no denying the Pistol's raw power, I prefer The Ramones because they were more musically astute (translation: they could sing and play their instruments), and didn't let their rebellion translate into sloppy playing and singing. This greatest hits package serves as a good anthology of the band's work, collecting all of the essential tunes.

A lot of it is mindless fun, like "Sheena is a punk rocker" and "Rockaway Beach." Despite the amped-up sound, The Ramones are rooted in 50's and 60's pop; some of their best tunes sound like the Beach Boys with the distortion cranked up.

What's surprising, though, is the intelligent edge that creeps around the corners. "Bonzo goes to Bitburg" is a clever attack on Reagan's visit to a Nazi Cemetery, "Commando" is a good anti-war rant, and "Chinese Rock" gives a portrait of a drug addict hitting rock bottom.

The only detriment to the album is that it reveals the Ramone's technical limitations. Even with some tracks produced by Phil Spector and the like, slick studio work can't hide the fact that they're strictly three-chord rock. But at 30 tracks, any artist would start to sound repetitive.

So take it in smaller doses, and let the Ramones' rock their way into your central nervous system. Their music is not only listenable, it's better than caffeine.

I pretty much agree with the review from "a music fan from California", except I do think that these guys, at their best, were about as good as rock gets. Setting aside their historical importance for a second (and it can never be forgotten that they are one of the most influential bands in rock history), you have to admit that the kind of loud drone they got going on songs like "Blitzkrieg Bop", "Sheena is a Punk Rocker", "Pinhead", "Cretin Hop", etc. was pretty damn cool. I think it's best to consider the Ramones a singles band. Their albums -- even their best one, Rocket to Russia -- are inconsistent, usually because of some ill-advised pop warbling ("I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend", on this set, is an example of that kind of dreck.) This greatest hits package does a good job of picking most of the highlights, although if you find Rocket to Russia, you might as well get that, too.

in my opinion, it's impossible to create a perfect ramones collection. that being said, this has most of the songs that you'd expect to be on anyone's ramones mix tape ('i wanna be sedated,' 'rockaway beach,' 'the kkk took my baby away,' 'sheena is a punk rocker' etc) as well as some of their more accessible/poppier materal ('i wanna be your boyfriend,' 'howling at the moon,' 'we want the airwaves' and 'needles and pins'). of course they had to leave out some of the ramones most important tracks like 'chasing the night,' 'judy is a punk,' or 'here today, gone tomorrow' due to time restrictions. this is a great introduction for a new fan or a person who's not really into punk rock but wants to hear what the ramones could do.

Just about anything and everything you need to have a complete "hits" collection from The Ramones. The Ramones are like junk food: everyone pretends to hate the stuff, but truth be told, they can't get enough of it.

While this CD won't make you fat, stupid, and diabetic (like too much junk food will), it may make you deaf--especially if listened to at the intended maximum volume. Oh well, they make good hearing aids these days--and they're gettting better all the time.

Seriously though (serious? this is a CD by THE RAMONES!), really, though, this CD reminds us that The Ramones made music that mattered. Every rock fan likes something by The Ramones, and any hard core rock lover owns at least one CD by the band. My favorite studio CD was "Rocket To Russia", and that is well represented here. Of course, it is hard to decide when presented with a "greatest hits" package whether or not to get the hits--which always leave out at least one song you really love, or whether to buy 4 or 5 CD's just to make sure you get everything you like by an artist.

If you only buy one studio CD by The Ramones, this is the one to get. It not only presents the band's best known work, it's also a great selection of songs--for fans of any flavor of rock music. If you want what truly is The Ramones' greatest release, check out "IT's ALIVE", a live set recorded in England, back in 1978.

In light of Joey Ramone's recent death, I think this album would be a good place for those who are wondering what the Ramones music was like. The Ramones are a seminal band, without them the whole punk movement would never have begun, and we'd still be listening to 40 minute drum solos.

Listen, learn, enjoy. The sheer fun of the 2-3 minute romp with Dee Dee yelling 1-2-3-4 can't be beat. Of course, when you get done with this, you'll want all the albums, and that's to be expected. If you're new to the Ramones, start here, and discover.

"I don't wanna be a pinhead no more/I just met a nurse that I could go for."

This one is my favorite because it includes my favorite, 'We Want the Airwaves'

Also 'Blitzkrieg Bop', 'I Wanna Be Sedated', 'Teenage Lobotomy' and so many more pulsating and high adrenaline songs.

Highly recommended

If you're brand new to the Ramones, this is *the* record to pick up.

This compilation, unlike the Anthology, leaves plenty of songs out so that buying the other studio albums (the best way to experience the Ramones) isn't a colossal waste of money.

This record showcases all sides of the Ramones' career and gives you a great idea as to what they were all about. It has the classic punk stuff, and some of the more "80s" stuff. Whichever side you prefer, this compilation delivers. All of the songs are *awesome* and are always a good listen. The Ramones have never failed to create great, catchy, fast, fun music.

If you like this, pick up their self-titled debut and Rocket to Russia. If you like those, pick up Leave Home and Road to Ruin. That would just about be the perfect Ramones collection right there.

The Ramones are a staple in any punk (or any rock) collection. I give Ramonesmania my highest recommendation for any fan of rock or punk.

This is an awesome career retrospective! It covers the material from the album "Ramones" (1976) up to "Halfway To Sanity" (1987). It's a prefect sample of the band's recorded output with Sire Records. Before I purchased this collection back in 1995, I only had "Pleasant Dreams", so all songs here except for two were new for me, and I thought all the remaining 28 were fantastic right on the first listen!
Some of my favorites are "I Wanna Live" (killer intro), "Somebody Put Something In My Drink" (a killer chorus), plus the punk pop classics like "Blitzkrieg Bop", "Sheena is A Punk Rocker", "Gimme Gimme Shock Treatment", "Commando", "Rockaway Beach", etc.
The booklet contains a very detalied essay about the group's formation plus some info about the albums and the songs taken from each. The problem is that the printing is quite small!
There are three songs featured in their single edit/alternate mix form instead of the original album version: "Sheena Is A Punk Rocker" - the main difference is Johnny's buzzsaw rhythm guitar is lower in the mix, "Howling At The Moon (Sha-La-La)" - the whole second verse is edited out, and "Needles & Pins" - there's some extra electric rhythm guitar that appears from the second chorus. Also included is a rare single b-side that the band recorded during the "Subterranean Jungle" sessions in 1982 titled "Indian Giver", a cool song!

If you like pop infused punk rock, then you can't go wrong with this compilation or any album from the Ramones!
Thanks for taking the time to read!
Later...

Yes this 1988 compilation is better than Anthology, since it collects a good deal of their best stuff and dispenses with the albums released after Halfway To Sanity which weren't too hot to begin with. And the lack of remastering isn't a big deal. It's also cheaper and more convenient than Anthology. And it even throws in a few rarities (Indian Giver, Rock 'N' Roll High School) for good measure. It's not chronologically sequenced, but this can be remedied on your PC (and I recommend you do so--this album only sounds natural kicking off with Blitzkrieg Bop, not I Wanna Be Sedated).

To anyone who is a true fan of punk, this young, loud, and goofy NYC outfit needs no introduction. This album contains lots of snappy, energetic, and laugh-out-loud funny songs recorded from 1976-88. I won't spoil the music by overanalyzing it too much, but think pre-Beatles rock 'n' roll mixed with late-60's Detroit garage rock, plus a shot of expresso and a sniff of glue, and you get the general idea of what the Ramones were about.

Of course, the best stuff is from their first four albums (self-titled, Leave Home, Rocket To Russia, and Road To Ruin), all of which are easily 5-star albums and highly recommended for individual purchase, but most of the later songs aren't too shabby either (though gradually moving away from the pure-punk sound they originated). And man, what songs! Teenage Lobotomy, Rockaway Beach, Beat On The Brat, Pinhead, Sheena Is A Punk Rocker, Wart Hog, We Want The Airwaves, The KKK Took My Baby Away...must I go on, people? You NEED this.

While I lament the lack of fan faves like Surfin' Bird, California Sun, Let's Dance, 53rd & 3rd, and Here Today Gone Tomorrow, that only gives one an excuse to seek out the original albums and dig up even more gems. So, in summary, if you're a punk newbie who can't put up the Benjamins for their first four albums, give Mania! a shot. At the very least, you'll never look at your Blink-182 and Sum41 albums the same way again.