Customer Reviews

Too Tough to Die

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

"The solution to peace isn't clear,
the terrorist threat is a modern fear."

No, that's not from a new 2004 song...that was Dee Dee Ramone writing "Planet Earth 1988." As he made abundantly clear on "Jungle," he was becoming the Ramones' new secret weapon, either penning or co-writing nine tracks on "Too Tough To Die." If the heaviness of "Mama's Boy" or the obvious band statement of the title track didn't get you, then nothing could. Even the obvious bids for radio acceptance, "Howling At The Moon" and "Chasing The Night," were as good as anything from the brilliant "Rocket to Russia."

Producers Tommy (Ramone) Erdelyi and Ed Stasium probably had a better understanding of a Ramones sound than anyone outside the band, so they fit "Too Tough To Die" like naturals. Johnny's guitar is prominent, new drummer Richie Ramone gave the band a much needed power shot in the arm. Joey hadn't sounded this committed vocally since "End Of The Century." Listen to the way he attacks "Mama's Boy" and the bonus remake of "Street Fighting Man." Even Dee Dee's vocals on his drug addled "Wart Hog" and "Endless vacation" added an air of fresh vitality to the band.

The Ramones may have been fractious for the previous three albums, but during the sessions for "Subterranean Jungle," Dee Dee and Johnny overcame their differences and became friends again. While that didn't save "Jungle," it sure did jazz up "Too Tough To Die." The most vital of their 80's output, this caught the band at their 10th anniversary and tackling mature issues. "Too Tough To Die" was the Ramones re-staking their place in the Rock and Roll hierarchy at the time when U2 and the Clash were making commercial inroads and social statements. It remains the last truly classic Ramones album, every bit as essential as those first four albums and proof that punk rock could grow up.

After two a bit soft albums issued in early eighties(Pleasant
Dreams,Subterranean Jungle),Ramones return to their origins with
Too Tough to Die.This record is my Ramones'personal favorite,
after fantastic Rocket to Russia.It has everything you expect
from Ramones' album.The only difference between this one and
other Ramones' records is that Too Tough to Die is pretty dark
and aggressive,but it makes it even better.Why?'Cause the album
has its uniqe atmosphere and character.Yeah,we've seen more
aggressive Ramones albums before(Road to Ruin),but this is more
harder then you can expect from the Ramones.That's good,because
they finally made brilliant punk record again(which Pleasant
Dreams most certainly wasn't),which has,in some moments,hardcore
feel.But let's get to the somgs.
The opening track,Mama's Boy,is one of the best on the record,in
ol' Ramones sarcastic and ironic way.Lyrics are great!I'm not
Afraid of Life and title song Too Tough to Die are pure classics

that introduce very often Ramones matter:to fight for the place
in the world and better society,never to give up.They sound great.Johnny's Mosrite in the background of Joey's amazing voice
silently grabs you with its strong,aggresive,but melodic sound,
and it won't let you breathe 'till the end of the album!
The song that follows,Durango 95,is one of my favorite.It's ins-
trumental (?),but it perfectly sets up the atmosphere for the fas
test,strongest and most aggressive song of the album,Wart Hog,pe-
rfectly sang by DeeDee.You can buy record just for that song alone.The other song sang by DeeDee,Endless Vacation,is as good
as Wart Hog,but not better.Wart Hog,maybe,has a little stronger
sound.Danger Zone and Chasing the Night,the closing songs of the
album's first half,are both great,but I like Chasing the Night
more than Danger Zone.But it's only the matter of taste.
Howling at the Moon,song that follows,starts pretty strange-with
the keyboards????But,as seconds flow,it turns to be one of the
Ramones' best.It contains one of the best DeeDee's lyrics and
Joey's vocals.It actually celebrates anarchy,but with little sugar(Sha-la-la).Daytime Dillema is probably the most hilarious
song of the album,and it sets up pretty funny question.Can things
be what they seem?Planet Earth 1988 and Humankind are another
society critics.1988 is written by DeeDee,but Ritchie has beaten
him in Humankind-it contains much better lyrics than 1988.But
1988 is great too.Endless Vacation is superb,subject matter is
very hard,and DeeDee's kinda sick voice makes it all more of a
punch-in-the-head.No Go is appropriate ending for a great album,
with funny lyrics,all packed in Joey's really amazing voice.
Too Tough to Die definitely goes up to TOP5 Ramones' albums:right
there by their old classics.It's undoubtly their greatest record
of the eighties.Own it.

On this 1984 release, the Ramones tried to reclaim their standing as punk originators; bands like Black Flag and the Dead Kennedys had usurped them somewhat. Here, the Ramones never sounded tougher, meaner, or more disenchanted--songs like the title track and "Mama's Boy" are growling, leather-clad masterpieces, far removed from "Sheena is a Punk Rocker" but all the more convincing for that. Dee Dee's shockingly ugly "Wart Hog" showed younger bands who could do louder-faster-crazier best; spitting out rabid, anti-everything lyrics (including some that are incredibly un-PC) that are almost unintelligible, you believe Dee Dee when he gurgles "It's a hopeless void-oid-oid-oid!"

Of course, the Ramones hadn't lost their touch for pop-powered punk. The pro-pot "Howling at the Moon" is joyous and invigorating; "Daytime Dilemma" is a hilarious slam at soap operas. This is a good, mid-period album for a band that would suffer an unfortunate eclipse in the 80s. Today, after they've broken up, it would be a good idea for fair-weather Ramones fans to check this one out.

If you would ask me to pick the worst Ramones albums, the choice would be easy : 'End of the Century', 'Subterranean Jungle' and 'Pleasant Dreams'. Not that any of these albums are bad, but they don't cut it as much as all their other CDs. 'Too Tough To Die' has everything you expect from a Ramones album and more. The production is outstanding and the Ramones never sounded better than this. Songs like 'Too Tough To Die', 'Daytime Dilemma', 'Endless Vacation' or even 'Wart Hog' kick you in the guts and make you come back for more. Joey's contributions like 'No Go', 'Howling at the Moon' or 'Chasing the Night' are fantastic rock songs and prove, that he was just as much a 'Rock'n'Roller' than a 'Punk Rocker'. This album will make you go back to Amazon.com and order the remaining Ramones albums !

Normally I might be a little cynical about these re-issue CDs. I bought every Ramones record on vinyl when I was a kid. Then I later bought them on CD, and it wasn't all that long ago. Now they expect me to buy them AGAIN? Is this just a record lable/conglomerate trying to squeeze more money out of a band that never really achieved "financial success" for them? I don't know. What I do know is that these new re-releases are worth every damn penny I paid for them. Each booklet is packed to the gills with great photos and informative retrospectives on what was going on with the band around the time the album was recorded. Best of all, they include outtakes, demo versions, B sides etc. The best nuggets on Too Tough To Die are the UK B sides to the Howling At the Moon single, which are a cover of the Stones' Street Fighting Man and Smash You, which was recorded during the TTTD sessions but sounds very much like a classic 70s Ramones song. Also, a demo version of Howling At the Moon, which is just guitar, drums, bass and vocals. It sounds so intensely better than the overproduced synth version that ended up on the album, it makes me sad that they chose to ruin such a great song. I was hoping the original version of Bonzo Goes to Bitburg would be here, since it was a single that was released so close to this album, but hopefully it'll show up on the Animal Boy re-issue.

Casual fans should think twice before buying, but if you consider yourself a "Ramones fan" then you really need these re-issues.

Although the Ramones' 1985 album Too Tough to Die is considered by some to be a return to their roots (ie....the first four albums), it falls a little short of those tremendous releases. The first six tracks are killer with the high spots being the mid-tempo "I'm Not Afraid of Life", the joyous instrumental "Durango 95", and the title track. The next four songs are either too poppy ("Howling At The Moon", "Chasing The Night") or too dated ("Planet Earth 1988" and not just because of the title). The record redeems itself near the end with the wicked "Endless Vacation" and "Humankind". The expanded version nearly doubles the original release and brings the album up a notch with several demos, a few of the original tracks with Dee Dee Ramone singing lead, and a very good version of the Rolling Stones' "Street Fighting Man". While this is no Rocket to Russia, Too Tough to Die is one of the Ramones' better albums.

The Ramones best post-70s effort. The first five tracks [three of which were live show standards] are as good as anything they've ever done. The next four tracks are a notch below, but still strong. If the disk stopped there, I'd rate it five stars. However, the last four tracks are a let down and detract from the whole. Track 12, Endless Vacation, shows up on many of the Ramones compilations, but I can't listen to it. The bonus material is pretty generous, consisting of 12 cuts. Four are songs not appearing on the original disk - justifiably so; nuff said. The other 8 are demos and alternate versions of songs on the original disk and are a valuable addition. The demo of Howling at the Moon is exceptionally good - IMO much better than the original. The other demos and alternate takes are sufficiently different than the originals to be genuinely interesting. The bonus materials more than make up for the less than stellar last 4 tracks of the original and restore a 5 star rating. Too tough Too Die is a pretty strong album overall [a notch below the Ramones first 4 albums] on its own; with the bonus material it is a must have.

The Ramones first album with Richie behind the drums was somewhat of a "comeback" for the band. After three consecutive albums where they attempted (unsuccessfully) to achieve a more "commercial" sound, they went to back to the "classic" Ramones sound. The result was an album that didn't win the Ramones many new fans, but was loved by most of their old fans. Many of the songs here went on to be considered classics, such as "Mama's Boy", "Too Tough To Die" and "Howling at the Moon". There are a few tracks that are somewhat weak, like "Planet Earth 1988" and "Humankind". The CD also includes a whopping 12 bonus tracks. What a great deal!

It's been a while since I've listened to 'Too Tough to Die' from start to finish. I normally listened to the tracks featured on various live records & on the Anthology, but hadn't cracked open the actual 'Too Tough to Die' album in quite a while. With the re-release of Album #5 through Album #8, it gave me a chance to revist the Ramones from 1980 to 1984. Y'now what I realized? 'Too Tough to Die' is a brilliant album. Ed & Tommy produced a superior sonic record that rivals the production on 'Road to Ruin.' From 'Mama's Boy' to 'Too Tough to Die' to 'Wart Hog' and all the way though 'No Go,' I couldn't find too many faults in the album. The 12 added bonus tracks added another spectrum during my rediscovery. Dee Dee's demo of 'Planet Earth 1988' made me actually like a song I didn't care too much about. The re-recording of 'I'm Not an Answer' (a Joey-vocal version was featured on the Pleasant Dreams reissue, as well) sounds great, as does 'Out of Here.' 'Out of Here' would've sounded out of place on the finished record, but is a welcome addition to this reissue. Many critics gave up on the Ramones after Road to Ruin... saying they put out 4 great albums which was followed by 14 years of drivel. I beg to differ... 'Too Tough to Die' shines brightly alongside the first four records... in a dirtier, grittier, meaner way.

R.I.P. Joey & Dee Dee......... Gabba Gabba Hey

After three albulms of experimenting with pop, the Ramones returned to form with 'Too Tough To Die', their eighth release. Tommy and Ed Stasium, as Dee Dee acknowledges in Billy Altman's short booklet, were unsurpassed at capturing the Ramones in production, and this reunion lives up to expectations.

This re-mastered albulm opens with the fleshed-out punk "Mama's Boy", and veers through everything from pop ("Howling At The Moon", "Chasing the Night") to hardcore ("Wart Hog", "Endless Vacation"). Despite this wandering, it's difficult to find a mis-step to break the monotony of this gushing review.

The re-mastering work continues to be expertly performed, adding texture, depth, and clarity to even the rawest tracks. This albulm, strong enough on its own, has been given a royal treatment with twelve bonus tracks, one of which may be one of the best Ramones covers ever; "Street Fighting Man", rescuing a song that was formally an object of punk mockery. The appeal of the demo versions could well be lost on the casual listener; some of them are mostly unpolished forms of the studio track, although Dee Dee's version of "Planet Earth 1988" has a blistering rawness the original lacks.

This is a much more mature effort than the classic first four releases, as one might expect from a band that was a decade old as of the first pressing of this albulm. One can hear the Ramones acknowledging (or even upstaging) what other innovators did with the punk sound they created in the '70s, and still hear some lingering polish from their pop days. Some punk purists will dismiss these tracks as irrelevant; a retreat to derivative mediocrity after an unsuccesful sell-out. Instead of a retreat, however, this albulm is a surge forward with stomping foot and grinding guitar, demonstrating an energy and competence that reminds the listener why this band's fanbase will happily buy a re-mastered re-release. If you want to skip the pop phase, this is the albulm to come back to the Ramones with.