Ramones- Anthology (disc 1)

History's perspective of this pop-punk band is a strange one. Certainly their stripped-back style was a much-needed antidote to 7 minute prog-rock naval gazings of the era, and the band are cited as influences by a lot of successful artists. But as "pioneers of punk", it seems they get mixed up with the very politically and socially serious punks such as The Sex Pistols and The Clash. When, really, Ramones are just a bunch of guys who formed a band to play simple, loud fast music, just because they were bored of the long-winded ramblings most others were playing at the time.

Hmmm... I'm ranting already, and the review hasn't even started yet! Anyway, this is their double-CD Greatest Hits, released in 1999. To try to cover all 58 songs in one go would be death by 3 chords... so I'll do separate posts for the two discs. 

Trouser Press described one of their albums as "junky '60s pop adjusted for current tastes", to me this hits the nail on the head. It's just catchy fun tunes (like The Beach Boys or early Beatles), rather than rioting to try to change the world. Modern equivalents include The Hives and Guttermouth. Case in point with The Beach Boys comparison are Ramones' surf songs: California Sun, Surfin' Bird and Rockaway Beach. While the latter feels like an uninspired rehash, California Sun and Surfin' Bird are nice feelgood pop-punk tunes.

Recording quality? Pretty poor. It lacks any form of the Hollywood polish that give modern rock albums their "big sound". Arguably this sound is a defining characteristic about the band, so I'd best stop whingeing about it!

Many of their signature style songs are very similar, and at 33 songs long, one has to pick favourites. Looking through my list of favourites, it seems that whether a song made the cut or not often comes down to very subtle factors, due to the similarity of all the songs. My picks are Blitzkrieg Bop, Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue (due to the wonderfully immature lyrics, musically the song is a bit of a mess), Swallow My Pride (great creative annunciation of the title, and yay for handclaps!), Carbona Not Glue, Sheena is a Punk Rocker (drawing on the Beatles influence), Teenage Lobotomy (the title sums up the band!) and I Wanna Be Sedated (my favourite song on this CD).

Away from their bread-and-butter style, the results are mixed. The ballad I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend sounds to me like a contrived attempt to cash in on the teenage girl market. Although it's nice to hear a forth chord added to the mix, and the inclusion does break up the monotony of the album. Their other attempt at a ballad, I Remember You, feels much more genuine, even if it does feel like they'd run out of musical ideas after about 90 seconds...

The less said about the awkward acoustic songs Needles and Pins and I Want You Around, the better. And Rock'n'Roll High School feels like a cash-cow ripoff of California Sun, even complete with terrible materialistic lyrics. The country music elements in the verses of You Don't Come Close are a noble attempt at trying something new, unfortunately I don't think they quite execute it  convincingly though.

On a happier note the psychodelic influences in the verses of 53rd and 3rd are a great addition. And I Don't Care pulls off the "Ramones, but slower" style excellently. Glad to See You Go sticks to their strengths of fast, catchy and fun, but adding a bit more sophistication in the structure, to create an excellent song. Strangely, the recording quality seems a lot better than most other songs from their early albums. Commando uses a fast-paced riff-rock style, which is executed quite well. More than any other song, it would have benefited from better recording quality though.

The following is probably shameful in the eyes of a serious Ramones fan... but I quite like Do You Remember Rock'n'Roll Radio. Sure it's full of unnecessary Hollywood fluff, but it provides some welcome variety to the album.

The last few songs on this CD are from the End of the Century album. Danny Says is okay once it hits its stride, but the opening is quite strange and the song is long-winded (oh, the irony! I blame Phil Spector...). Chinese Rock is the standout of the hard-rock style songs, with the drums in the chorus being a particular highlight.

Not knowing a lot about Ramones, it was only after reading the liner notes that I learnt this compilation is in chronological order. Previously, I'd assumed it jumped around the albums, since the more mature/commercial songs seem to be scattered throughout. But it turns out that throughout their career, the band mixed up the more varied styles with their trademark immature three-chord pop punk. For me, both aspects are highly enjoyable, although each in moderation.

Favourite songs

Blitzkrieg Bop, Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue, Glad to See You Go, California Sun, Swallow My Pride, Carbona Glue, Sheena is a Punk Rocker, Teenage Lobotomy, Surfin' Bird, I Don't Care, I Wanna Be Sedated, Do You Remember Rock'n'Roll Radio, Chinese Rock

Worthwhile?

Due to the thin sound, it took me many years to appreciate the Ramones. But the long list of Favourite Songs above shows that I'm now totally hooked!