Ramones: Adios Amigos. 1995

The fourteenth studio album from the Ramones, and their farewell album. It was released in June, 1995, less than a year and a half before they would play their final show on August 6, 1996.



Adios Amigos is a fitting farewell to the Ramones' twenty-two years. Generally a slower album, it was recorded with the final line-up consisting of Joey, Johnny, C.J., and Marky. Although it had been over six years since Dee Dee left the band, contributed to writing almost half the album and appears as a guest vocalist for the final track, "Born To Die In Berlin".
After the obligatory "1,2,3,4!" the album kicks off with a Tom Waits cover, one of two proper covers on the album. C.J.'s first of four lead vocals on the album comes as track two, the Dee Dee penned "Makin Monsters For My Friends". "It's Not For Me To Know" sounds like typical later Ramones. A little slower and maybe a little less fun than the early material, the song is still solid. C.J. comes back for a track off Dee Dee's first solo album, "The Crusher".
Joey get's two writing credits on this album, the first being "Life's a Gas". Classic Joey through and through, the song is simple and direct. The second cover on this album, not counting previously recorded Dee Dee solo material, is Johnny Thunders' "I Love You". "Cretin Family" with C.J. on vocals and "Got A Lot To Say", written by C.J. are throwbacks to classic Ramones tracks.
The album officially ends with Dee Dee's guest vocal on "Born To Die In Berlin", although different versions have either "R.A.M.O.N.E.S." or "Spider-Man" as a bonus track. Adios Amigos is a fitting finale to their twenty-two year career. Although we would see new material as bonus tracks on album reissues, this would be the last recorded new material the Ramones put out as a full band.

Marky Ramone & The Speedkings: Legends Bleed. 2002.

Fast and rowdy garage punk, Marky Ramone & The Speedkings were a shortlived project featuring Marky Ramone on Drums, Nick Cooper from The Buckweeds, Dee Jaywalker, and several bass players.



The cover art, featuring a hot rod, a greaser kicking ass, and a pin-up girl, gives you a good impression of this album. This band reminds me of a louder, amped up Brian Setzer 68 Comeback Special. With songs like "Girls and Gasoline", "Burning Rubber" and "Hot Rods-R-Us", this album follows a theme. Many of the other songs are straight up raunchy, like "Beaver In My Mind" or "Sexphone Girls". This album is fun beginning to end.
Also included is two Marky Ramone and The Intruders tracks. This inclusion is kind of odd. the songs fit in good enough, but they are a completely different band. Apparently, this album was released with different bonus tracks in different countries.
Also included is four live tracks, all Ramones Covers. "I Don't Care", "Beat on the Brat", "Rockaway Beach" and "Glad To See You Go". The inclusion of these tracks make more sense to me. They do a good job on these classics, and it is nice to see the Marky Ramone tie-in.

This doesn't have a very "Ramones" feel, but it is a fun album. Perhaps the Ramones re-imagined as a raunchy garage punk band. Loud, fast, and fun.

The Ramainz: Live in N.Y.C. 1999

The Ramainz were a project started by Marky and Dee Dee after the Ramones split in 1996. Playing live shows as a three piece from 1996 to 1999, The Ramainz only released one album, a live set recorded in 1997.



The Ramainz are Marky Ramone on drums, Dee Dee Ramone singing and playing guitar, and Dee Dee's wife Barbara Zampini rounding out the trio with bass and vocals. They mostly played Ramones songs but played the a few of Dee Dee's post Ramones songs. In a way, The Ramainz represent a Ramones that could have been. Dee Dee originally sang for The Ramones, with Joey on drums, although they changed that lineup pretty early.
Live in N.Y.C. starts out with one of Dee Dee's best, Rockaway Beach, and it sounds great. Barbara sings on a few songs, like Teenage Lobotomy, Sheena is a Punk rocker, and I Just Wanna Have Something To Do. Her vocals are good, too, but I can't help wanting to hear Dee Dee sing on these. The set goes through some of the most obvious early Ramones hits, for the most part avoiding later work. Chinese Rocks, Wart Hog, 53rd and 3rd, Loudmouth. There are a lot of Ramones songs I would have liked to hear from this lineup, but it's hard to argue with this setlist.

Dee Dee does a great job on vocals with these songs, although the songs do suffer without Johnny on the guitar, but this is great live album for Dee Dee fans.

Dee Dee King: Standing In The Spotlight. 1989.

One of the earliest post-Ramones projects, Dee Dee King was Dee Dee Ramones hip-hop alter ego.



In 1987, while still in the Ramones, Dee Dee recorded the Funky Man single. In 1989, shortly before quitting the Ramones, he released a full length followup to the single. This would be the last Dee Dee King release. Standing in the spotlight is ten tracks long and features Chris Stein on guitar and Marky Ramone on drums, as well as a few backing vocals by Blondie's Debbie Harry.
The album opens up with Mashed Potato Time, a reworking of the Dee Dee Sharp hit. Like most songs, Mashed Potato Time is a boastful, lazy, rock and roll influenced late 80's rap. Tracks like 2 Much 2 Drink and German Kid are both fun and semi-autobiographical. Baby Doll, a ballad he wrote for his wife Vera Ramone, is a decent slow ballad, but seems a little out of place in context. A few of the songs do a good job of mixing Dee Dee King's rap with Dee Dee Ramone's punk. Most notable of these is The Crusher, which the Ramones recorded on their final studio album, Adios Amigos.

While somewhat uneven, this very rare album is a must find for Dee Dee fans. While it isn't his best work, it is worth a few listens. It's also documents a time in Dee Dee's life when he was struggling with sobriety and struggling to find an identity outside of the Ramones.

Joey Ramone: Ya Know. 2012.

The second of two solo albums from Ramones front man Joey Ramone, Ya Know is a fitting tribute to the man that spent over twenty years of his life on stage with the Ramones.



Unlike Joey's first solo album, 2002's Don't Worry About Me, Ya Know is less a proper album and more a collection of demos and unfinished recordings. As such the album is a little less cohesive and features a long list of performers. Don't get me wrong, it still sounds great. Joey's brother, Mickey Leigh, plays various instruments on a lot of the songs and also mixed or produced a few of the recording sessions. Longtime Ramones producer Ed Stasium also plays heavily on this disc. Other gust appearances include Steven Van Zandt, Holly Beth Vincent, Daniel Rey and former Joey's former band mate Richie Ramone.
The album starts off great with Rock 'n Roll is the Answer, a catchy tune that sounds reminiscent of what Joey would write with the Ramones. After a few more up beat, Ramones sounding songs, we have Waiting For That Railroad, a simple Joey Ramone love song that starts off a simple acoustic number, with a full band arrangement coming in near the halfway point. Some of the songs, like I Couldn't Sleep or Party Line, are reminiscent of old 1950's rock and roll. The album contains two semi acoustic arrangements of Ramones songs, Merry Christmas (I Don't Want To Fight Tonight) and Life's a Gas.

Overall, Ya Know is a must have collection of work from Joey's relatively small post-Ramones output.

Ramones: Ramones. 1976.

It seems appropriate to start this off with the album that launched it all, The Ramones self titled debut album.




Released in 1976 on Sire, this album fit fourteen songs in under thirty minutes, perfectly capturing the band at that point. The recording is raw but clear, managing to sound great without feeling overly polished. The guitar and bass tracks were recorded on separate channels, so one speaker plays just guitar while the other plays just bass. The drums and vocals are centered to bring it all together.
The album cover is a simple shot of the four Ramones dressed in their trademark leather jackets and blue jeans up against a city brick wall, with the logo at the top in white lettering. Simple but effective.
The album is not among my favorite Ramones albums, perhaps because it is so overplayed. Don't get me wrong, there are some great tracks on here, it's a solid album, but their best was definitely yet to come. Like their next four albums, The Ramones shared writing credits, although nine of the songs are written or co-written by Dee Dee. Joey Ramone wrote three songs on the album, Beat on the Brat, Judy is a Punk, and Chain Saw.
While songs like Blitzkrieg Bop or Beat on the Brat are arguably among the bands bets known tunes, for me the album really shines on tracks like Havana Affair, 53rd and 3rd or Today Your Love Tomorrow the World.
The current CD release of this album, besides being a cheap budget priced album, has seven additional demos and the single version of Blitzkrieg Bop. The additional demos are a nice addition to this well worn album. The single mix of Blitzkrieg Bop does away with the split guitar/bass to present the song in a more traditional way.

You probably already have this, and have probably already heard it to death, but if you haven't, it's cheap and easy to come by and a must have for any rock and roll collection.