Best Of The Ramones, The - Ramones > Reviews > ALL THAT STUFF AND MORE!

Author's product rating:   

Originality	Average
Lyrics	Standard
Quality and consistency of tracks	A couple of weak links
How does it compare to the artist's other releases	Good
Value for Money	Good

Advantages:	Excellent Summarisation of the history of the Ramones
Disadvantages:	Some great tracks are missing

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

The Ramones were a four piece band from New York , Joey (vocals), Johnny (guitar), Dee Dee (bass) and Tommy (drums). They each adopted the surname "Ramone" even though they weren't brothers. They pioneered a new basic punk rock sound, they got rid of the long guitar solos. Thier songs were fast (most were about 2 minutes long) , raw and similar to the 1950s/1960s rock and roll sound before them. They belonged the New York Punk scene in the 70s that included the New York Dolls as well as inspiring future members of the Clash and the Sex Pistols.

For a band that has created brilliant songs since the 70s and influenced some of todays bands like Green Day and the Red Hot Chilli Peppers, although thier sounds are very different.They even starred in a film called "Rock and Roll High School". Their influence even extends to the science world where species of tiliobites bear the names: Mackenziurus johnnyi, Mackenziurus joeyi, Mackenziurus deedeei, and Mackenziurus ceejayi.

This CD contains 18 of the best Ramones tracks (Surfin' Bird, Blitzkrieg Bop) but in my opinion, that is not enough, tracks such as "The KKK took my baby away" are missing. However, this CD would be ideal for people who are looking for an introduction into the New York Punk scene as it summarises the Ramones well but for fans like me, more would be needed for me to buy it. The lyrics aren't thought provoking but then again the Ramones were more known for their sound rather than thier lyrics.

Be warned: if you thinks that this will sound like any of today's "punk" bands, you couldn't be more wrong.