As another genre I haven’t written about much on the page, I am looking at punk today. I did review Green Day’s stellar Coachella performance last year as one of my first posts. However, many would claim they’re not “real punk” (I just think they have great melodies). Nonetheless, I thought I would do a review of arguably the definitive punk band, the Ramones.

The Ramones were one of the first bands that established the foundation of what we know as punk rock: simple and short 3 chord songs that are loud and fast. However, they are also a very melodic and poppy band that I think formed the basis for pop punk bands like Green Day and Blink-182. This factor is seen in the 2 albums I will discuss today.

The first album I am spotlighting is what I would call the essential Ramones album, Rocket to Russia from 1977. It has all the hallmarks of their sound – buzzsaw guitars, a stripped back sound and a strong influence from 50s & 60s pop, such as the Beach Boys. This is clearly seen on “Rockaway Beach” with its surf vibe. It does feature more production than their first 2 albums. “Here Today, Gone Tomorrow” is almost a ballad, and “Locket Love” features prominent acoustic guitars. There are also covers of the 50s & 60s hits “Do You Wanna Dance” and “Surfin’ Bird” on the album. “We’re a Happy Family” and “I Don’t Care” feature a harder punk sound, but the album is very happy and major key as with a lot of their work.

There are no skips for me, but I would put “I Don’t Care” as track 6 and “I Wanna Be Well” as track 9 – there are many songs in a row on the album with a similar tempo, which gets monotonous for me.

*some powerful hairstyles on this cover!

The second album I am spotlighting is End of the Century from 1980, an interesting album in their catalogue. Produced by Phil Spector, famous for his work with 60s girl groups like The Ronettes (“Be My Baby”) and his Wall of Sound technique (layers upon layers of instruments and heavy echo/reverb), the album was marked by his notorious studio methods. Spector, later known for being a murderer, allegedly held the band at gunpoint during recording, and his laborious production technique was tiresome for the normally fast-working band.

As already mentioned, the band were always greatly influenced by 50s-70s pop. They were just as inspired by the Bay City Rollers as Iggy Pop and Lou Reed. The album is basically a typical Ramones album with Phil Spector’s production style, rather than their usual simple sound. I think this really works, especially on songs like “Do You Remember Rock ‘n’ Roll Radio” and “I Can’t Make It on Time.” Maybe some punk fans would think it’s too soft, but I believe it brings out the tuneful side of the band that’s always been there. There are also some harder tracks like “Let’s Go” and “I’m Affected.” The album even features a cover of the Ronettes’ song “Baby, I Love You,” which sounds completely un-punk with its schmaltzy strings! I still think it works somehow. As with Rocket to Russia, I would put “I Can’t Make It on Time” as track 10 to break up the slew of tracks with similar tempos.

Overall, I think that Rocket to Russia is a great introduction to the band and End of the Century is a unique curio for those interested. They were the first band I ever got into when I was very little, through my Dad playing their greatest hits cd. I think that their highly melodic yet rocking sound has definitely formed the basis for my music taste. See you next time.

Both 10/10 (I just re-jigg the order of a few tracks)