Rocket to Russia [ORIGINAL RECORDING REMASTERED] [EXTRA TRACKS]

Ramones

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 19, 2001)
• Original Release Date: 2001
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Original recording remastered, Extra tracks
• Label: Rhino / Wea
• ASIN: B00005JGAF
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (41 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #3,922 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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  #12 in	Music > Alternative Rock > American Alternative > American Punk
  #54 in	Music > Alternative Rock > Hardcore & Punk > Punk

Track Listings

1. Cretin Hop

2. Rockaway Beach

3. Here Today, Gone Tomorrow

4. Locket Love

5. I Don't Care

6. Sheena Is a Punk Rocker

7. We're a Happy Family

8. Teenage Lobotomy

9. Do You Wanna Dance?

10. I Wanna Be Well

11. I Can't Give You Anything

12. Ramona

13. Surfin' Bird

14. Why Is It Always This Way?

15. Needles & Pins [Early Version][*]

16. Slug [*][Demo Version]

17. It's a Long Way Back to Germany [UK B-Side][*][Version]

18. I Don't Care [Single Version][*]

19. Sheena Is a Punk Rocker [Single Version][*]

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

"Our records have the bitterness of life in them," quoth Dee Dee Ramone, and Rocket to Russia brought the pain. Despite carrying on the celebratory tone of the Ramones' debut and Leave Home in the likes of "Sheena Is a Punk Rocker," "Cretin Hop," a tribute to dirty "Rockaway Beach," and covers of the Trashmen and "Do You Wanna Dance?" their third LP displays a dark humor that's less jokey than the previous releases' goofs on bad mental health and dysfunctional relationships. The group's best-produced of its first three releases, Rocket achieves an almost smooth texture thanks to a clean mix and increased use of Beach Boys-inspired vocal harmonies. Still, the joyous grind of Johnny's guitar is front and center for much of this enduring album. Rhino's refurbished version offers five bonus tracks, including a rough early version of "It's a Long Way Back to Germany" and a demo, "Slug," which imagines (?) a world crawling with insects. --Rickey Wright

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

54 of 63 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Once Upon a Time...., September 16, 2004

By	Tim Brough "author and music buff" (Springfield, PA United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

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.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars America's "London Calling", July 27, 2001

By	Chris Clark (Brooklyn, NY USA) - See all my reviews

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.

19 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars These Guys Were Top of the Mountain!, September 26, 2004

By	K. Brown "El Rudo Lucky Pierre!" (Walnut, Ca USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

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!