4 Different Songs Might Be Worth It

I bought this just as a collector, not expecting 4 different songs on the "Loco Live" disc. When I first listened to it though, I noticed some songs missing, & in the wrong order. Then, when I checked the song list, I realized "Too Tough To Die", "Don't Bust My Chops", "Palisades Park", & "Love Kills" were on this import & not the version of "L L" I've been listening to all these years. Even though it's an English import, now I'm kinda disappointed they didn't just put everything in from both the European & U.S. versions. Still, I'm excited anytime I find new Ramones "stuff", & I'm really looking forward to the King Biscuit disc "NYC 1978" coming out soon.

5 Ramones albums on one handy 3-CD set

I'd give this one 5 stars as far as the value (depending on how much you pay, of course) and 3 3/4 stars as far as the music. In other words, if you are a Ramones completist this is the best way to collect five of their last releases at a reasonable price. This contains Brain Drain, Acid Eaters, Mondo Bizarro, Adios Amigos, Loco Live, and one bonus track (their version of the "Spiderman" TV theme). If you are new to the Ramones, however, I would recommend getting one of the first four albums before buying this. Their first four releases are established classics that influenced all modern-day punk to some degree; the later albums have some good moments but are kind of inconsistent.

Brain Drain is the earliest, and best, album represented here. Released in 1989, it includes the semi-hit singles "Pet Sematary" and "Merry Christmas (I Don't Want to Fight Tonight)." Good midtempo rock anthems verging on heavy metal, especially the powerful opening track "I Believe in Miracles." My guilty pleasure here was the cheese-metal "Punishment Fits the Crime," with Dee Dee singing terrible lyrics: "Let the punishment fit the crime/the footprints on the sands of time/the philosophy of the poet's rhyme/makes a man crumble in his prime." Hit and miss, yes, but when it works it's classic Ramones: "Don't Bust My Chops" and "All Screwed Up" are in the melodic three-chord vein they did best, and there's a great cover of the 60's bubblegum pop song "Palisades Park" originally written by Chuck Barris of Gong Show fame.

Next up is the horrible Acid Eaters album from 1993. I reviewed this one in depth on its own here on Amazon, if you need details. To sum it up, this is an all-60's covers album that the record company pressured the Ramones into doing. CJ Ramone, for example, had some pretty negative things to say about it. It's pretty lackluster, but at least you get the "Spiderman" track at the end which is better than anything from Acid Eaters.

Next up, 1992's Mondo Bizarro, the first studio album featuring CJ instead of Dee Dee on bass. CJ also sings 2 of the songs here; his vocals are decent but Dee Dee was a lot snottier and "punker" sounding. Not like the later-era Ramones were trying to be punk; they were more of an established hard rock band by this point. Besides, they basically did all but create punk in the U.S., so what did they have to prove? "Poison Heart" is the standout track here, it's a mid-tempo rocker similar in sound to "Miracles" with world-weary lyrics written by Dee Dee. Other worthwhile tracks include "It's Gonna Be Alright," which is a tribute to Ramones fans, "Tomorrow She Goes Away," and "I Won't Let it Happen." The Doors cover "Take it as it Comes" is surprisingly good considering the results they had on Acid Eaters; I would chalk it up to better production on Mondo Bizarro. There's a lot of throwaway filler tracks, though, like "Cabbies on Crack" and "Heidi is a Headcase."

Next, Adios Amigos from 1995: the Ramones' last studio album. Less throwaway tracks on here than Mondo Bizarro. It starts out with a Tom Waits cover "I Don't Want to Grow Up" which sounds like it was written for the "bruddas." Due to Joey's bad health, CJ sings lead on a mind-boggling 5 of the 13 songs, and does pretty well. Besides "Grow Up," the standout songs are the excellent "Life's a Gas" and "Take the Pain Away." It seems like on the later Ramones albums the slower songs were the best, as opposed to the balls-out 1-2-3-4 pace of the early stuff. Another slow song is the unusually sad-sounding "She Talks to Rainbows," with Joey at his melancholy best. The album concludes with "Born to Die in Berlin," with lyrics by who else but our friend Dee Dee? He sings on it as well, which makes this a happy ending (studio-wise) for one of the best and most influential bands of all time.

The 3rd disc is "Loco Live," recorded live in Barcelona in March 1991. Despite most of the band (and many critics) disliking the production on this album, for Ramones fans it's a pretty good overview of their songs, especially later tracks like "Don't Bust My Chops" and "Love Kills" that didn't show up too often in the live sets. Marky was the only Ramone to really praise this album, mainly because he overdubbed his drum tracks later in the studio, ha ha. You do get four tracks previously available only on the UK release: "Love Kills," "Don't Bust My Chops," "Too Tough to Die," and "Palisades Park." Unfortunately, The Chrysalis Years omits four other tracks previously available on the US release, forcing hardcore Ramones fans to track down another CD. The deleted tracks are "I Just Want to Have Something to Do," "Havana Affair," "I Don't Wanna Go Down to the Basement," and the infamous "Carbona Not Glue."

If you can overlook the missing live tracks, this is a collector's dream: 84 tracks in all! Long live the memory of Joey and Dee Dee Ramone. Hey, ho, let's go! to all the Ramones fans out there.

very underrated

Okay, this is not one of their classic albums from the late 70s when they were new, shocking, and most importantly, YOUNG. But many would tell you "The Chrysalis Years" is devoid of any creative material and is unlistenable compared to the Ramones' past glory. I do agree that they were cashing in on the fact that more people were finally respecting them, but this sounds very fresh and original compared to other aging punk bands. CJ is the best! Best songs: "I Believe in Miracles," "Don't Bust My Chops," "Censorsh*t," "Strength to Endure," "Poison Heart," "I Don't Wanna Grow Up," "Makin' Monsters for My Friends," "Scatter Gun," "Born to Die in Berlin," "Blitzkrieg Bop (live)" and "Bonzo Goes to Bitburg (live)." So when you can't take listening to I Wanna Be Sedated for the 1400th time, pop in this latter-day anthology.