Rocket To Russia
The Ramones
Sire SR 6042
1977
A post for the late Tommy Ramone, the last of the original Ramones. Tommy was the drummer on the first three albums by the band and under his real name Tommy Erdelyi had a distinguished career as a producer. This is my favorite Ramones album. I have to admit that when I first heard the Ramones, I did not like them. I thought they were primitive and stupid. Of course that was the whole point, but my tastes were formed by classic rock, I believed in fancy guitar solos and pretentious lyrics. I was too brainwashed by the crappy music of the 1970s to understand what the Ramones were attempting to do. Then I heard "Nuggets" and fell for the Clash, Blondie and Elvis Costello. My aesthetic perspective shifted dramatically. When I bought "Rocket To Russia" a couple of years after it came out, I loved it. Much of it follows the classic Ramones formula, fast paced primitive paeans to idiocy like "Cretin Hop," "Rockaway Beach," "Locket Love," "I Don't Care," "Teenage Lobotomy" and "I Can't Give You Anything." The standout tracks include the hilariously subversive "We're a Happy Family" with its immortal stanza "sitting here in Queens, eating refried beans, we're in all the magazines, gulpin' down thorazines." "Why Is It Always This Way?" is remarkably macabre with its lyrics about being unable to forget a girlfriend who committed suicide and is now preserved in a bottle of formaldehyde. "Sheena is a Punk Rocker" transcends the Ramones' formula achieving classic status with its irresistible catchiness and its timely lyrics. It is a testament to the vapidity of that era that the song was not the massive hit single it deserved to be. The band shakes loose from the formula for a few tracks. "Here Today, Gone Tomorrow" offers a change of pace with a mid-1960s style love song. "Ramona" also features a more pop-oriented song structure reminiscent of the early Kinks as well as slightly more sophisticated lyrics (by Ramones standards anyway.) "I Wanna Be Well" also slows things down a bit for a more poppy flavor although the repetitive drug addled lyrics are pure Ramones. These songs show the band trying to expand their sound, a trend they would explore more deeply on their next album, "Road to Ruin." The album is rounded out by a pair of well chosen covers, a hyper-paced version of Bobby Freeman's "Do You Wanna Dance?" and a faithful performance of the Trashmen's moronic classic "Surfin' Bird" that is right in the Ramones' wheelhouse. There is not a weak track on this album. I think it is the band's masterpiece, the ultimate expression of their original message and style. There was nowhere to go after this. The album's lack of commercial success led the band to attempt to create a more popular sound in their future albums with mixed success. "Rocket to Russia" remains one of the great records of its era, or any era really. It has hardly aged at all. It still sounds fresh and exciting, its energy, creativity and vitality continue to have immense appeal. Tommy Ramone may have passed from this world, but this record's excellence insures that his name and work will not be forgotten as long as people still feel the urge to rock. Recommended to fans of the Stooges.
Recorded Live at Woolwich Coronet
The Damned
Cleopatra CLP 2021
2007
I bought this over the internet and was surprised and more than a little dismayed to find that this album comes with the paper insert above and a clear plastic record sleeve to hold it and the album (on green vinyl.) You also get a patch and a little button, but I'd rather have a proper album sleeve, cheapskates. The album contains the band's July 11, 1985 performance at the Woolwich Coronet in London. Actually it has about half of the show, some of the missing tracks were released on the maxi-single of "Is It A Dream." At the time the band was in its goth phase touring behind "Phantasmagoria" but this album sounds more punky than goth. The band's line-up was Dave Vanian, Rat Scabies, Roman Jugg and Bryn Merrick with founding member Captain Sensible having recently departed for a solo career. The record abruptly opens with "The Shadow of Love" off "Phantasmagoria." The album has been edited to omit most of the applause and band banter between songs which I don't approve of. Sometimes even the ends of songs have been cut off. I prefer live albums to flow seamlessly. The Damned reach back to "The Black Album" for a high energy performance of "Wait For The Blackout." Next up is "Grimly Fiendish" from "Phantasmagoria." It was my favorite song on that album and the live version is quite lively and punchy with a strong vocal from Vanian. From "Strawberries" the band performs "Stranger on the Town." For once Vanian's introduction of the song to the audience is not cut out, but there is an irritating edit in the middle of it. This is my favorite cut on the album, the band kicks out the jams and it sounds like a live cut should sound, raw and exciting. The side ends with "Smash It Up" off "Machine Gun Etiquette" which is my favorite of all their songs. It retains the original mellow instrumental introduction section but I don't think it goes on as long as the studio version does before the rocked up part of the song kicks in. It is very high energy and raucous, another high point on the record. The B side opens with a cover of the Electric Prunes' "I Had Too Much To Dream Last Night" which Vanian dedicates to the opening act, the Fuzztones. The group increases the tempo of the song, making it more punk than psychedelic. I prefer the original but it is kind of fun. Another cover song follows with Iggy Pop's "Lust For Life" which is also speeded up a little. It isn't all that different than Pop's version but it lacks the infectious groove of the original. They return to "Machine Gun Etiquette" for "Love Song" with more noisy rocking out. The band's debut single "New Rose" is up next and it sounds pretty much like it did in 1976. The album concludes with "Disco Man" off the "Friday 13th EP" although the actual concert featured three more songs after it. One of the band members jokes that it is the last gig of the tour and the band is splitting up and then Vanian says they are going to do "Disco Man" in "the Val Doonican way" and indeed the first run through of the song's opening verse is horribly slow like some Vegas lounge act. Fortunately that is just a joke and the band shifts gears and delivers a high energy performance that ends the album strongly. I enjoy this record and despite the shoddy packaging I'm happy I have it. The sound quality is fairly good and the band's performance is exciting. Still I'm not sure I'd really recommend it. As a general rule live albums are only for devoted fans, casual fans ought to stick with the studio versions which in this case are uniformly superior to the live versions here. Recommended to fans of the Damned who think "Phantasmagoria" was too slow and moody.
Illusions of Grandeur
U.X.A.
Posh Boy PBS 104
1981
My favorite radio show is "She Rocks" on KXLU. It is an eclectic mix of music featuring "gine-core" which is how the DJs term rock made by females. When I was listening a few weeks ago, I heard an old school punk song that I liked quite a bit. It sounded vaguely familiar, but I couldn't peg it, I thought it might be an obscure Avengers track or something. I was flabbergasted when the ladies on the radio said it was by U.X.A. because I have their album and I have always hated it. I picked it up in the early 1980s because I dug the cover but when I played it I was turned off by De De Troit's off-key caterwauling. I hadn't played it for 20 years, in fact it was on my purgatory shelf which is where I stick records that I'm thinking of getting rid of. I dug it out and took it for a spin and I have to admit that it is better than I remembered although I can see why I disliked it so much originally. De De Troit is not a good singer but she does have some charisma, she kind of reminds me of Johnny Rotten but without the passion or fun, she even seems to be affecting an English accent at times although I'm pretty sure she's from Detroit. The lyrics, which are largely written by De De Troit, are pretentious dreck for the most part, without the directness or humor that characterizes the best early punk music. Lines like "He was a killer, he was a television set" from "Tragedies" or "I'm trying to telephone I'm asleep in the rain and when this high wears off we'll score some more pain" from "Death From Above" make me wince. I don't mind that Troit takes herself so seriously or attempts to make poetic statements about life and society, but I do mind that she does it so badly. "Illusions of Grandeur" is an apt title for such an ambitious yet inept album. Troit's lyrics are awkward, forced and full of cliches, they remind me of Snoopy's stories in "Peanuts." There are a couple of exceptions, I do like "Hand In Glove" which has some interesting imagery despite the clumsy language of the song as well as the nasty "Sister Godrieda" which is based on a real life murderous nun. The saving grace for this record is the music which really rocks and lacks the typical monotony of hardcore. The tempo varies considerably across the record, similar to their peers X or the Flesh Eaters but without the chops, although the band can play. I appreciate the commitment to pop in songs like "U.X.A." and "I Don't Lose Sleep" and I like the raw power of "No Time," "Tragedies," "Immunity" and "Non Fiction." There really isn't a dull number on the album and it does get me bopping. As far as old school punk goes, it is well below the top tier groups, but I've heard worse, heck I'd much rather listen to this than the Germs' album. I basically enjoy it as long as I don't listen too closely, so I've pulled the album out of purgatory and it's back on the regular shelf. Recommended for fans of the Avengers.
