4 out of 6 Ramones surveyed say....

that this was the best Ramones recording. (Of course, the 2 that didn't vote for this as the best(marky and CJ), didn't play on it.) This recording really marks America's greatest rock band at its finest. They still had their original Tommy on drums, who really was the best Ramone to have in the studio. He left the group soon after this recording to become a recording engineer full-time. Also, the stresses of the road, internal bickering, and pressures from the recording industry had not taken a toll on the band yet. All of these elements certainly had a serious impact on the band later. If you have to buy one Ramones recording, this should be it....and don't worry about additional tracks on a reissue CD. This album would suffer from any tweaking. Furthermore, if you have to buy one rock recording, this should be it!

Gabba Gabba Get It!

This is what rock n' roll is all about: 2 minutes of ear-splitting, inspired lunacy, short break, 2 more minutes of ear-splitting, inspired lunacy, short break, 2 more minutes ... and so on until the end of this shattering, pounding, shouting, utterly joyous carnival of rebellion and cartoon violence.

It's hard to argue with the pithy philosophy of "I Don't Care" ("I don't care about this world ... I don't care about that girl ... I don't care.") or the Frankenstein-ish fun of "Teenage Lobotomy" (DDT did a job on me ... now I am a real sickie ... guess I'm gonna have to tell 'em ... that I got no cerebellum ..."). Nobody could hear you if you argued with any of it anyway. The knob on this monster goes to 12. And a half.

If you haven't heard it, you haven't started living yet. Buy it, no matter your current financial situation. You can't afford not to.

The best Ramones album.

Not only is Rocket to Russia THE best punk album of all time, it is also one of the best Rock n Roll albums of all time. There is not a false step from beginning to end, including the lyric sheet with the art by John Holmstrom. "There's no stoppin' the cretins from hoppin'/ Ya gotta keep it beatin' for all the hoppin' cretins/ Creeeeetin/ Creeeetin...." Joey Ramone. RIP.