Ramones Album: “Weird Tales of the Ramones [Box]”

I'm not even going to attempt to defend my adulation of the Ramones or define their cultural importance, since a great many have already done so here. Rather, I think it important to point out the only major flaw with the set: the selection of post-TOO TOUGH TO DIE songs. This set was compiled by Johnny Ramone, and the third disc of the set reflects his bias (and I say this with the utmost respect; Johnny Ramone was perhaps the most perfect rock n roll guitarist since Chuck Berry). Strangely, he opted to include such dreck as Dee Dee's "Love Kills" (from ANIMAL BOY), an ode to Sid and Nancy which I've always felt greatly diminished the Ramones' punk authority, and marked the unfortunate downslide in Dee Dee's songwriting abilities (other Dee Dee songs, especially "Poison Heart" from MONDO BIZARRO, are still painful to listen to, and difficult to justify). Further, the inclusion of so many C.J.-sung songs, rather than the still-great Joey tunes on ADIOS AMIGOS is inexplicable, especially the execrable "Scattergun" (at least "Life's A Gas" and "Spiderman" are included). Lastly, HALFWAY TO SANITY and BRAIN DRAIN, their two most consistent late-period albums, are inexplicably under-represented.

The point of this gripe is simply to point out a missed opportunity; everybody already knows by now that the first four albums are peerless, even if they don't "get" the Ramones. The misguided survey of their waning years only furthers the assumption that they went downhill precipitously after 1984 (which is somewhat true, yet predominantly exaggerated). I can't help but wonder what it would have been like had Joey and Johnny been forced to collaborate on this compilation. If nothing else, it would have been more balanced.

Otherwise, the remastering sounds great (a further improvement over the already-wonderful album reissues) and the comic book is ingenious.

Well what can you say about the Ramones? They are the TRUE Godfathers of punk rock. The originals. Forget all the hu-bub about whether Sex Pistols or Ramones came first. Track the bands releases and live shows back to the 70's and you'll see the Ramones were the first and best. Anyone framiliar with the current crop of pop-punk and skate-punk music has to know that this is where it started!

And, finally, a box set. Why it took almost 30 years for this to hit the shelves I don't know. Nor do I care, because here it is. This was the last thing Joey Ramone had a hand in for his band before his death. Now, the cd's included feature every popular and recognizable Ramone song including some songs that weren't quite as popular but were just as good. It also features some unreleased remixes of a couple of songs on disc 2. Interesting, but not as cool as the originals. Also included is a DVD with some video and live performances. Finally, as a bonus treat, the first ever Ramones comic book. The art is amazing, the story, funny and interesting.

If you're a huge Ramones fan, you probably already have this, if not and you have a few extra bucks (40 or 50), trust me, punk rock would not exist in its current fashion today, without the Ramones.

CD's: 5 stars

DVD: 4 stars

Comic Book: 5 stars

I didn't expect much before I bought this. I thought it was a waste of money becuase I already had "Hey Ho, Let's Go: The Ramones Anthology". And I don't think this should've been released because that was already out. I thought it's just another disc with a DVD and that they should've released a box-set with all the Ramones albums. The re-master versions. I still think they should've done that. But I am a hardcore Ramones fan so I had to have this in my hands. The first thing I poped in was the DVD. The DVD is awesome. Every single Ramones video made. Except for "Touring", which is on the "Raw" DVD. And maybe another video. I didn't know that "Life stlyes of the Ramones"(which was originally released in 1990" had interviews. It's great seeing Johnny being interviewed in the dugot of the Yankee's stadium. George Seminara(director) said "Johnny still wasn't satisfied". The Second thing I looked at was the comic book. The comic book is really great and has some funny moments. It comes with 3D glasses, which is really cool but after a while you get a headache. I think it would've been better if the comic book was more longer and talked more about the whole history of the Ramones. It talks about the beggining a little bit at first but then it just gets out of order. There is around 30 songs here that are not on the Ramones anthology. And I think "I don't wanna walk around with you" and "Today your love, tomorrow the world" are better songs the "Loudmout" and "Havanna Afair". 85 songs that Johnny Ramone compiled before he died. He made quite a collection. I don't think there's really much of any songs missing besides the one I mention. I also think "I can't make it on time" is better than "I'm affected". But over all I don't think Ramones fans will not be dissapointed when they open this.

No, you're not imagining things. That hollow sound you're hearing is Sire and Rhino scraping the bottom of the Ramones barrel and coming up empty.

Other than remastered, expanded editions of "Acid Eaters," "Adios Amigos," "Animal Boy," "Halfway To Sanity," "Mondo Bizarro," and "Brain Drain," it's strictly "been there, done that" on the repackaging front, the band's notoriously spartan way of conducting business not inspiring any search and recovery missions for dusty, eroding analog tapes.

If recent photos are any indication, however, that's not to say there's no surprises concealed in Phil Spector's hair. All those takes of "Rock 'N' Roll High School's" opening power chord he forced Johnny to endure would fill a few box sets of their own, a la the Stooges' "1970: The Complete Fun House Sessions."

I'd be the last to suggest they don't deserve it, but "Weird Tales Of The Ramones" appears to be nothing more than an attempt to pad the coffers of the estates of the three deceased members of the band and the three yet to check into the wooden Waldorf.

And I paid for it with my own money.

The ability to separate schmoes like myself from hard-earned greenbacks for music we already own in a different wrapper is what makes the souls of companies like Rhino, Castle, Sanctuary, and my personal favorite - Captain Oi! - so dark. In all fairness to Rhino, however, the Ramones are an easy sell and those likely to buy this four-disc box (three CD's and one DVD) probably won't need to be strongarmed. If the band's high-speed crack-up of three chords and blissful bubblegum aesthetic doesn't leave you inspired and grinning like an idiot, you've got a hole in your soul.

Nearly 30 years after that first album baffled so many clueless radio programmers and hippies who refused to believe the sun had finally set on the summer of love, with nothing more than a brace of songs gestated in suburbia about diversions like television, huffing model airplane cement, and adolescent attitude adjustment with Louisville Sluggers, the Ramones canon still tastes as fresh as a just-cracked bottle of Yoo Hoo, almost magical in its power to remedy whatever may be laying you low, capable of blasting you outside of yourself, making you feel super-alive and able to pretend this moment/hour/day/night is the rest of your life. What else in the realm of the living or dead really matters?

It's a testimony to the Ramones' savant-like flair for consistently delivering the sonic goods that things don't really start to flag here until late in Disc 3, but with the exception of "Mondo Bizarro," I've never really been a much of a believer in the C.J.-era songwriting anyway so that may just be my tough luck.

The DVD is all gravy, although most of it will be familiar to owners of "Lifestyles Of The Ramones" on VHS. And while most videos in general leave me perplexed, the clip for the cover of The Who's "Substitute" scales new heights of incomprehensibility; something to do with a cave dweller who dreams of picking up hot babes while masquerading as fat Elvis, encountering The Cramps and Michael Berryman from "The Hills Have Eyes" along the way. Conversely, "I Don't Want Wanna Grow Up" and "Spiderman" are the embodiment of truth in marketing, da bruddahs finding themselves reincarnated as comic book and animated cartoon characters, respectively.

As with any Rhino project, the packaging is impeccable and for long-time fans may be the only reason to spring for this one, if a 50-page, oversized comic book featuring the art of Sergio Aragones, Bill Griffith, John Holmstrom, Mary Fleener, Xaime Hernandez and others turns your crank that is.

By this time, it's probably safe to answer Dick Miller's puzzled question in "Rock & Roll High School" that yes, their parents do know they are/were Ramones. "Weird Tales" does its damnedest to let the rest of the world in on the secret, offering up a golden ticket into their hermetically-sealed universe of celebratory dysfunction. Hardly essential for the faithful, but a tantalizing little package for collector scum.

As a history of the Ramones music this item is not your best bet. It puts even focus on their whole career. Thier early albumns laid a groundwork for the music that we hear today and it would have been nice to have more of the early stuff { today your love, tommorrow the world, etc.) on the cd. If you are looking for an introduction to the Ramones it would be better to get one of the many compilations that are out there. The DVD has alot of their videos on it and added some to the Lifestyles of the ramones video that was previously available. The selling point for this item is the great comic book that comes with it. In the other compilations that are available someone always wrote a tribute to the ramones and gave some background. This is trully a unique item to find in a box set. Anyone who is familliar with the music will love the comic and that makes this set worth buying.