By about halfway through, Joey is already out of breath for "Pinhead," which also features the show's only high tech special effect, a giant sign which says "Gabba Gabba Hey." There are a few technical glitches here, as the audio and video seem out of synch at times. But these are easily overlooked because the show itself is so amazing. Maybe the video guy just couldn't keep up with the pace.
Anyway, this DVD would be worth it for the London show alone. But there is so much more here. Did I mention we're talking four hours worth of vintage live Ramones here?
Among the most interesting footage here is a very early show from 1974 at New York's punk rock nightclub CBGB's. The band basically sound like shit here, and haven't yet perfected their act. But it is still fascinating to watch. Here you see the four of them crowded together on a stage so small they can barely fit on it. They haven't yet adopted the matching leather jackets, and Joey looks for all the world like a young Howard Stern. In between songs, they argue about whether to do "Loudmouth" or "I Don't Wanna Go Down To The Basement," finally deciding on the latter.
Two years later at Max's Kansas City they don't sound much better, screwing up the start to "I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend" right out of the gate. But by the time they make it back to CBGB's for a 1976 show right before the album Rocket To Russia came out, they've totally perfected their act right down to the matching jeans and leather. The hometown crowd eats it up of course, greeting them like they were the biggest rock stars on earth. As I've already said, the 1977 London show which closes out disc one is about as close to perfection as it gets.
A lot of Ramones fans will probably tell you that the first four albums made up through 1978 represent the Ramones creative peak, and in truth that is probably a pretty fair assessment (although I personally think the Phil Spector produced End Of The Century is underrated). Much of the second disc concentrates on the period after those four records. What you see here is the Ramones gradually playing bigger and better places, including one show where they played before a couple hundred thousand people at San Bernadino, California's first US Festival in 1982 (where Joey's mike goes dead during "Gimme Shock Treatment").
Article comments
1 - JC Mosquito
Glen - sure, End of the Century is underrated, but of those later records don't forget Too Tough to Die - maybe their last real kick at the cat. After that - autopilot - as Johnny hmself once said, maybe there should be a mandatory retirement age for rock and rollers. Man, I haven't pulled out my Ramones vinyl for a good long while - maybe tonight when I have time.
2 - Glen Boyd
What happened to that other comment?
-Glen
3 - JC Mosquito
Maybe it was a case of "Here Today, Gone Tamarraaaawwwww!"
4 - Glen Boyd
Maybe, Skeet. Followed by a spirited "1-2-3-4!!" no doubt...
-Glen
P.S. By the way I liked Too Tough To Die too...I especially loved Dee Dee's song "Endless Vacation."
5 - Mat Brewster
I never caught the ramones live, but my brother did back in the mid-90s. He saw them at some bit outdoor venue in Texas opening for Pearl Jam. He said he sat way in the back but even at that space it was WAAAAAY too loud!
I still kick myself for not going.
6 - Glen Boyd
So you can understand then Mat, that if the Ramones were that loud in the back of an outdoor stadium (or even an ampitheatre) -- it was downright painful witnessing that in a room no larger than your standard corner tavern. Painful, but also exhilarating for a twenty year old rocker dude all jacked up on beer and testosterone.
Back then, it was loose women, cold beer, and punk rock for me. Ahh memories...
-Glen
7 - Connie Phillips
Congrats! This article has been forwarded to the Advance.net websites and Boston.com.
8 - Erich
Loved the enthusiasm and the review (just finished the set myself), but I have to point out there are no complete concert performances on this set. Even the Rainbow Theater show (the set's longest grouping of songs) has only half of the original live album's 28 tracks.