Kover Albums: The Ramones

The Ramones classic lineup: Johnny, Tommy, Joey, Dee Dee

The Ramones hold the dubious honor of being, without close competition, THE LOUDEST live band I've ever heard. Now, I've been to plenty of shows over the years that were unnecessarily loud; where the stage volume was excessive, or Mr. Soundman was just not doing his job. There was a horribly loud Kansas gig I went to in '77 that was particularly painful and had no reason to be so, and a deafening Gino Vannelli show that was a textbook example of what I call 'everything louder than everything else'. Those live audio nightmares come in a distant second to the sonic maelstrom that was The Ramones.

Now, going in to a Ramones concert, I knew what to expect so I wore earplugs, but they did me hardly any good at all. It was too loud for an arena, but this show was in a club! The volume was frighteningly physical; it just shook your guts all the way through, and most of it was coming from their onstage amps! The PA just added tone and depth. Those guys must have been deaf as a 2x4. It was also the first show where I witnessed someone attempt a stage dive. Apparently, it also was the first time for that Florida crowd, who parted like the Red Sea just as this hapless punk flung himself into the air after clambering up onto one of the PA columns. It was as if the crowd, as one, watched him climb, saw him leap, and collectively said "Aw, hell no". Dude hit the floor with a solid bellyflop/faceplant combo, to a round of roaring cheers. Fairly sure that Joey Ramone had a mid-verse chuckle himself, as it happened right in front of him. And no, it wasn't me.

I find it very interesting that a band whose guitarist once said that they started writing their own songs because they weren't good enough on their instruments to be a cover band, recorded at least one cover on nearly every album they made, including a full album of cover tunes.

This album, "Acid Eaters", represents some interesting choices. Johnny Ramone was often quoted as saying that the band's primary musical influence was the Bubblegum singles of the late 60's, which often appeared on the Buddah record label. But this collection highlights the influence of garage rock bands like The Seeds, The Troggs, and The Amboy Dukes, along with psychedelic groups like Love and Jefferson Airplane. Of course, there's also better known acts such as Jan & Dean, The Who, The Animals and The Rolling Stones, all of whom are covered on this album.

C.J. Ramone

I'm fairly certain that the origin of this project can be traced to the inclusion of a song by The Doors, "Take It As It Comes", on The Ramones' 1992 album "Mondo Bizarro". The Ramones were nearing the end of their run and "Acid Eaters" would be the bands' penultimate release of new studio recordings. I have to say that, although "Acid Eaters" has its place in the Ramones' legacy, it is not one of their best efforts overall. The band sounds tired, although recent addition C.J. Ramone, who replaced a drug-addled Dee Dee, provided enough push to get them to the finish line. But C.J. also handles more than half of the lead vocals here, adding a "where's Joey?" feel to the proceedings. Most reviewers at the time said that the album should have been an EP, with 4 or 5 songs on it, and I agree. Either that, or a full collection of all of their covers going back to the start, with a few new additions, which would have been a much better offering.

Here's two selections that represent the album well. First, a cover of "When I Was Young" by Eric Burdon & The Animals. It's a fairly straight rendition, but this recording features one of Joey's very best vocal tracks, ever. It's an emotional reading, as Joey was just beginning to deal with the onset of lymphoma, which would eventually take his life. The other track is the album closer, a cover of Jan & Dean's "Surf City". Crank 'em up!

The entire catalog of The Ramones is available at (where else?) Amazon. There are vinyl editions to be had of their most important recordings, the first 5 albums, should you be so inclined. At the very least, you should have a good best-of, greatest hits, anthology or something like that. The music of The Ramones is all of the pent up energy of youth in a bottle. Uncork some today and play it at a cat-frightening volume! Gabba Gabba HEY!