Twenty-eight cuts in 53 minutes, it can only be The Ramones. What's crazy is that this live album, recorded on New Year's Eve of 1977, arguably the peak of The Ramones' career, wasn't even released in North America until 1995, and then only on CD. Back in the day, we all sought out highly-prized (and priced) import copies of the double album. It's possible that if it had come out back then, it would have truly broken the band, as live albums were huge then (Frampton, Cheap Trick, etc.).
Since many of the group's best and best-loved songs come from their first three albums, The Ramones were touring what was a non-stop hit parade. Songs would last two minutes, then Dee Dee would belt out another ONE-TWO-THREE-FOUR with no pause in between, and another would crash out. "Rockaway Beach," "Teenage Lobotomy," and "Blitzkrieg Bop" started things off, and in what seemed a blink of an eye, they slammed their way through to closers "Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue" and "We're A Happy Family," leaving everyone breathless. Some of their great covers are here as well; "Surfin' Bird," "California Sun," "Do You Wanna Dance" and "Let's Dance" show where punk came from, that '60's garage band ideal that said anyone could form a band. Even these oddball outcasts were stars, at least to all the other oddball outcasts.
This show comes from London's Rainbow Theatre, at that point the group's biggest-ever audience. England loved them more than back home, mostly because punk was almost mainstream in that country by then. Three previous shows at three previous nights were also recorded as back-ups, and for this 40th anniversary deluxe edition, they have all been newly mixed and issued for the first time. Now, that's not as exciting as, say, three other shows from different years. Leading up to the big night, the band played virtually identical shows each night. They replaced one song ("I Can't Give You Anything") with another ("Havana Affair") and added "Judy Is A Punk" for the final night only. Other than that, the only differences are the occasional three or four words from Joey, and a threat that they would leave if the punks didn't stop spitting on them.
Each show is great though, if almost identical. The deluxe package is a classy hard-cover package, with the four CD's and YAY! Vinyl! The double-album at last, for those who've never found an import. Now, allow me to quote my favourite Ramones lyric, from "Teenage Lobotomy": "Now I guess I'll have to tell 'em/That I got no cerebellum."
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