I don't know if i agree that the Ramones didn't have a bad album -- who would listen to "Adios Amigos" or "Acid Eaters" if it didn't say "RAMONES" on the cover, and "Greatest Hits Live" was pretty lame. But, that said, i'll bite:

1) "Pleasant Dreams" is an underrated album. The production doesn't do it any favors, and Joey's weird "songwriterly" efforts like "We Want The Airwaves" and "It's Not My Place" and "This Business Is Killing Me" and "7-11" are pretty lousy. However, the record's got a number of really good songs on it, and it all works together fairly well. Everyone knows "All's Quiet On The Eastern Front" and "The KKK Took My Baby Away;" less appreciated songs on that record are "You Sound Like You're Sick" and "Sitting In My Room."

2) I love "Subterranean Jungle." I know lots of people really hate it. I love the bubblegum metal production, and even Walter Lure's guitar solos. The "hit" is obviously "Psycho Therapy," but "Every Time I Eat Vegetables It Makes Me Think Of You" is great as well, as are their covers of the CHAMBERS BROTHERS and BOYFRIENDS. I think the whole album is fun from start to finish.

3) I am also a fan of "Too Tough To Die." The songs are grouped together in an interesting way -- three drudgey slow ones to start ((in itself an odd thing)), then three punk tunes to kick it in the ass...then four synth-pop type things ((most of which are pretty good!)), two more punk ones, and it ends with "No Go," which is kind of a punkabilly thing. I thought the production could be brighter, i guess, but overall you can make a decent case for this one being the strongest album since the first three. "Durango 95," "Danger Zone," "Chasing The Night," "Humankind" and "No Go" are all underappreciated ((along with more appreciated numbers like "Wart Hog" and "Endless Vacation" and "Howling at the Moon" and "Daytime Dilemma" and such)).

4) I also like "Animal Boy," although i think it's a reasonable secondary jumping-off point for people who want to own all the Ramones records up to a certain point -- that point being somewhere after the first 3/4 albums but before "Adios Amigos" et al. I enjoy Richie Ramone's drumming more than Marky's. I think "Crummy Stuff" is the great forgotten song on this one. "Freak of Nature" and "Love Kills" are cool, too. I think the willfully-thrashy stuff like "Animal Boy" is sort of self-conscious and weak-ish, however, and "Something To Believe In" doesn't do much for me.

5) "Halfway To Sanity" -- this record is about halfway to good and halfway to shit. I liked "Weasel Face" and "Go L'il Camaro Go" and "Bop Til You Drop" and "I Lost My Mind" and "Real Cool Time." I did not like the gloomy crap like "I Wanna Live" or "Garden of Serenity" whatsoever. Lots of real duds on this album.

6) "Brain Drain" -- this is their first real dud. I liked "Palidsades Park" and i thought "Zero Zero UFO" was ok. Other than that, ick. I hate stuff like "Pet Sematary" and "Merry Christmas."

7) "Loco Live" -- yuck. It was depressing to go see them at this point, they had clearly played the songs so many times that they'd forgotten how to play them. I'd be trying to get into it, and they'd respond with these half-assed, raced-through tippy-tappy-tippy-tappy versions of songs that i once loved. Bleah.

8) "Mondo Bizarro" -- I thought this one was pretty decent, probably their last legitimately good record. The production was great; i think "Censorshit" "Heidi Is A Headcase" and "Touring" were the three hits ((although it should be noted "Touring" had been around since at least the "Pleasant Dreams" sessions, underscoring the band's difficulty in writing a dozen simple songs every two years)). I dislike stuff like "Poison Heart" and "Strength To Endure." Not my scene at all.

9) "Acid Eaters" -- um...tried to like it. Could not. Having C.J. singing lead on three songs, including the album's leadoff track, also did not sit well with me. 

10) "Adios Amigos" -- not much here. Table scraps. So much outside songwriting influence as to render the final product completely incoherent. I guess C.J.'s songs like "Scattergun" and "Got A Lot To Say" were ok. The Tom Waits thing was kinda decent.

11) "Greatest Hits Live" and anything else i am missing -- yuck!

That's my take. Thanks for asking.

You're right , Brain Drain. Another album most people don't seem to dig , but , it's great....I remember buying it when it first came out . I'd just moved to Chicago , and was listening to it a lot when not finding out about new - to me - clubs. One club did a Ramones night around that time (OK , for anyone who lives here , it was NEO. iF I'D BEEN HERE , LONGER , I MIGHT HAVE KNOWN BETTER.). THE DJ REFUSED TO PLAY ANY RAMONES MUSIC ! I SAID "DO YOU EVEN KNOW WHO THE RAMONES ARE?!!", TO WHICH HE JUST LAUGHED. DJs That refuse to play decent music are treated like gold in this town , and probably your town , too ! I SHOULD PLAY THAT ALBUM AGAIN , SOON.....
 
SMF said:

Can't Get You Out of My Mind was originally on Brain Drain at the end of the 80's. I have it on the Too Tough To Die CD reissue I bought to replace the well-worn cassette I got in '84. This Business Is Killing Me is a great condemnation of the music industry. It's not an original idea by any means, but you can almost see Joey Ramone slaving away under an exposed 40 watt bulb with a dull pencil and scrap paper.



John Battles said:

"Too Tough To Die" is my favorite Ramones album , full stop. The same crust as the first three , plus considerably evolved songwriting , and Joey really coming into his own as a singer , making Nick Cave sound like Morrissey , especially on the opener "Mama's Boy" . That was the first song to truly scare the shit out of me since "Beautiful Gardens" by The Cramps....."I Can't Get You Out of My Mind" , was'nt that on "Halfway To Sanity"? I'd have to look it up. But "This Business...." is one of many enjoyably strange toons on "Pleasant Dreams"....My favorite is probably "All is Quiet on The Eastern Front" or "You Did'nt Mean Anything To Me"( All this angst , and then..."We came across a miracle , there was beer in the soda machine"!.).
SMF said:

SMF said:

Too Tough to Die. Chock full of great tunes. Planet Earth 1988 may be the only Ramones song (other than cover songs) that ends in a minor chord!

I also love I Can't Get You Out Of My Mind and This Business is Killing Me off of Pleasant Dreams.

And how about their version of Happy Birthday played for Mr. Burns on the Simpsons...

EDIT DUE TO MY FAULTY BRAIN:

The song ending in a minor chord is I'm Not Afraid of Life... not Planet Earth 1988.
Oops.

Whew, I'm glad I cleared that up!

Can't Get You Out of My Mind was originally on Brain Drain at the end of the 80's. I have it on the Too Tough To Die CD reissue I bought to replace the well-worn cassette I got in '84. This Business Is Killing Me is a great condemnation of the music industry. It's not an original idea by any means, but you can almost see Joey Ramone slaving away under an exposed 40 watt bulb with a dull pencil and scrap paper.

John Battles said:

"Too Tough To Die" is my favorite Ramones album , full stop. The same crust as the first three , plus considerably evolved songwriting , and Joey really coming into his own as a singer , making Nick Cave sound like Morrissey , especially on the opener "Mama's Boy" . That was the first song to truly scare the shit out of me since "Beautiful Gardens" by The Cramps....."I Can't Get You Out of My Mind" , was'nt that on "Halfway To Sanity"? I'd have to look it up. But "This Business...." is one of many enjoyably strange toons on "Pleasant Dreams"....My favorite is probably "All is Quiet on The Eastern Front" or "You Did'nt Mean Anything To Me"( All this angst , and then..."We came across a miracle , there was beer in the soda machine"!.).
SMF said:

SMF said:

Too Tough to Die. Chock full of great tunes. Planet Earth 1988 may be the only Ramones song (other than cover songs) that ends in a minor chord!

I also love I Can't Get You Out Of My Mind and This Business is Killing Me off of Pleasant Dreams.

And how about their version of Happy Birthday played for Mr. Burns on the Simpsons...

EDIT DUE TO MY FAULTY BRAIN:

The song ending in a minor chord is I'm Not Afraid of Life... not Planet Earth 1988.
Oops.

Whew, I'm glad I cleared that up!

I agree  tho' Graham Gouldman's production is so murky...THE BAND OFTEN COMPLAINED ABOUT THE COVER ILLUSTRATION , BUT , THAT'S WHAT THE ALBUM SOUNDS LIKE.    Punk Noir .     SOME SONGS , TO ME , SEEM OVER PRODUCED , WHILE OTHERS SEEM JUST THE OPPOSITE.  i USED TO THINK IT WAS THEIR WORST ALBUM , BUT THERE'S REALLY SOME INTERESTING STUFF ON THERE.
 
Fuzzmeister said:

Pleasant Dreams. Simply because it was full of great songs!

I have'nt thought of that one in quite some time.

Old School Hero said:

A song not many people seem to be into on a site like this is I Won't Let It Happen. I love that song.

You know , I LOVE "Subterranean Jungle", even though I wondered why the drums sounded so artificial. Come to find out , it was a drum machine. Even then , I was hearing drum machines nearly every day (Because it's so much more "Street" than The Ramones.) , so , sometimes I still can't tell the difference  , especially , now , when I'm  guaranteed to hear drum machines daily , probably like most of you. Marky had bottomed out , and his parts were recorded over.....as if they could'nt have brought in a ringer , ohhhh , say Jerry Nolan. 

But ,that album saved my life , in the Summer of '83 , when I was working in a sub -Chucky Cheese pizza place with Ozzy and Priest - worshipping older Brothers of Beavis and Butthead.It struck a chord. Three of 'em. Sometimes , even four , plus some blistering leads by Walter Lure.....

I still like End Of The Century. I think the pairing with Spector made very little sense at the time....Though I'd love to have a postcard of Phil with his gun and his jeweled goblet of Manischewitz wine. There were some really good songs on that album , even though Dee Dee called them "Some of the worst crap I ever wrote". Making the album was'nt the mistake. Thinking it would break them , mainstream , was.
 
Alex said:

End of the Century and Subterranean Jungle!

"Go Lil' Camaro , Go" is definitely a keeper. Especially since it came out in the summer. This , despite the fact that Camaros were largely driven by douchebags at the time (Do they still even make Camaros , anymore?).  
 
MikeL said:

Try telling this to Michael Kastelic of the Cynics:)  As far as he's concerned, those first three albums were the only good ones because Tommy was both the band's drummer and producer at the time.

Speaking for myself, I've heard some great tracks from the later albums on the UG, but I've just never gotten around to checking them out.  I especially like "7-11," "Go Lil' Camaro Go," "A Real Cool Time," and "Bonzo Goes to Bitburg."  The only later album I have is "End of the Century,"  and "Danny Says" is my favorite track from that album.

Well , I'll see you and I'll raise you this , it's like saying The Cynics never had a good album after the first few , which ,of course , is utter bullshit.Both bands started out with something , and changed it , here and there , just enuff.  Mike has his convictions on that topic , as do many people , but , Tommy's production , in my somewhat addled opinion , was at it's BEST on " Too Tough To Die". Marky took a lot of heat , just because he knows more than three beats , but , while I like the simplicity of Tommy's drumming , had he stayed on , they probably would have had to have gotten Jerry Nolan or somebody to play the embellishments , the way Walter Lure was brought in to play some much - needed leads when Johnny refused to learn any.....
 
MikeL said:

Try telling this to Michael Kastelic of the Cynics:)  As far as he's concerned, those first three albums were the only good ones because Tommy was both the band's drummer and producer at the time.

Speaking for myself, I've heard some great tracks from the later albums on the UG, but I've just never gotten around to checking them out.  I especially like "7-11," "Go Lil' Camaro Go," "A Real Cool Time," and "Bonzo Goes to Bitburg."  The only later album I have is "End of the Century,"  and "Danny Says" is my favorite track from that album.

"Too Tough To Die" is my favorite Ramones album , full stop. The same crust as the first three , plus considerably evolved songwriting , and Joey really coming into his own as a singer , making Nick Cave sound like Morrissey , especially on the opener "Mama's Boy" . That was the first song to truly scare the shit out of me since "Beautiful Gardens" by The Cramps....."I Can't Get You Out of My Mind" , was'nt that on "Halfway To Sanity"? I'd have to look it up. But "This Business...." is one of many enjoyably strange toons on "Pleasant Dreams"....My favorite is probably "All is Quiet on The Eastern Front" or "You Did'nt Mean Anything To Me"( All this angst , and then..."We came across a miracle , there was beer in the soda machine"!.).
SMF said:

SMF said:

Too Tough to Die. Chock full of great tunes. Planet Earth 1988 may be the only Ramones song (other than cover songs) that ends in a minor chord!

I also love I Can't Get You Out Of My Mind and This Business is Killing Me off of Pleasant Dreams.

And how about their version of Happy Birthday played for Mr. Burns on the Simpsons...

EDIT DUE TO MY FAULTY BRAIN:

The song ending in a minor chord is I'm Not Afraid of Life... not Planet Earth 1988.
Oops.

Whew, I'm glad I cleared that up!

 I , personally , can't make it thru all of that album , BUT , I never traded it back in. I like "Poor Little Rich Girl', "The Crusher" and "Baby Doll" (Not  to be mistaken for the Neil Diamond - riff rocker Dee Dee wrote for The Chesterfield Kings.) is a beautiful love song."Funky Man" , now THAT's fucking hilarious ! Drop what you'r doing , and watch the video on You Tube !
Scotty C. said:

Even Dee Dee's crappy rap album is a riot to listen to!

Yes, love glam, and Prima Donna

The Fnords ,

There were two different groups , The New Order , and , later , The New Race.

      The New Order , based in LA ( With several posthumous releases ) was made up of Ron Asheton and Dennis Thompson (Also both in New Race , who were very briefly based in Australia , in the early 80's  , with Deniz Tek , Rob Younger , and , I think , Pip Hoyle(?) from Radio Birdman.) , along with Jimmy Recca and Scott Thurston (Both ex- Stooges), and a couple of different singers , including Warwick Gilbert (sic) from The Amboy Dukes. They formed not long after The Stooges broke up , and even got Iggy to sit in , once . They were being courted for a major record deal , but , the story goes , Gilbert got high on Angel Dust , and blew it ,completely. The other guys , reportedly , beat the crap out of him. I mentioned The New Order in the same breath as these uninspiring LA METAL BANDS (I almost forget L.A. Guns.), because the band was more stripped down Metal - Rock than Proto - Punk , unfortunately , but they had potential. Their other singer was more suited to the band , anyway.

The Stooges/MC5 supergroup was called New Race, and also had members that had been in Radio Birdman.

Hanoi Rocks were ace, but "self-destruction blues" kind of sums up their inevitable demise, sadly.

I remember when The LA bands started getting more press in the 80's. Bands like Faster Pussycat , Poison , Guns 'n' Roses , and already - old guard bands , like Motley Crue , all that stuff , people were calling it the second coming of The New York Dolls. I still can't get my mind around THAT one. Hanoi Rocks were the only band I could think of that really carried on in the spirit of The Dolls , while maintaining their own unique sound. They got lumped in with Heavy Metal , just because they had long hair and wore makeup. It's true , they were a band that was cool to reference during the LA 80's Metal Scene , but , I did'nt hear their influence in any of those acts , even though Michael Monroe and Sam Yaffa  (Hanoi Rocks' Singer and Bassist.)were based in L.A. at the time (Yaffa joined the locally popular Jet Boy. Their record just scared me.). There may have been lesser known bands that "Got it" , but , when I went to L.A. in '87 , if you were'nt playing BUTT ROCK , you were'nt gigging. The Rockabilly and Garage scenes that city was known for were virtually nonexistent , and ,it only got worse in the ensuing years that I went there.

I mighjt have been able to dig some of that 80's Metal , wherever it was being played , if it had just been RAW....oh , YEAH , AND Heavy. Listen to Killer Kane and Blackie Lawless' band , Killer Kane , or the commercially unsuccessful Stooges/MC5 "Supergroup" , The New Order (Both bands were based in LA) . Even if it's too Metal for YOU , IT WAS RAW.

 I neve really got into Motley Crue at all , but , their first album had that crust....but , only , because it was comprised of demos.

What was being called Glam or even Metal , generally was'nt.....Now there's a name for it , BUTT ROCK , thank you.

 i WAS THINKING THE SAME THING....Not Metal , but Hard Rock. I'm certainly not a fan (Tho' David Lee's book is HILARIOUS.), But , I'd never call them Glam
.... Glam was over by the time VH's first LP came out (Early '78?). Whoever was still around from that era had moved on to other things , or reworked their sound , drastically ( "Love is Like Oxygen " , while a good song , is miles removed from "Hellraiser" or 'Ballroom Blitz". Of course , David Lee Roth got his schtick from Jim Dandy , so maybe , instead of , or along with , "Butt Rock" , we should call it "Schlong ROCK"..

Joanie Lindstrom said:

Not at all IMHO.  I'd say hard rock.

Shame, I'd like to see it.
MikeL said:

Afraid not:(.



Chris Henniker said:

Did you get any shots of it? I couldn't get any for copyright reasons.

MikeL said:

Since you mention this, I saw Lou Reed's costume from his "Transformer" days at the Hard Rock Cafe in NYC during my last trip back in January.  I'll admit it's nothing all that spectacular, but it was still cool to see.

Chris Henniker said:

The other day, I was exploring London and ended up at the V&A In Kensington. I coughed up £12 to go to the exhibition on British design from 1948-2012 and I even got to see the costumes of David Bowie, Brian Ferry & Brian Eno.  The workmanship is incredible on each of them and they still looked amazing, even today.

I also got to see the Factory Records early stuff there, which looks awesome today.  

Talking of hair metal, were there any bands who mixed it with 60's psychedelia, or power pop,  noise rock, punk or R&B?  

I love Hanoi Rocks myself:)

The Fnords said:

For the hair metal /glam /punk /surf /etc. mix, might I suggest Hanoi Rocks?

D.

For the hair metal /glam /punk /surf /etc. mix, might I suggest Hanoi Rocks?

D.

Did any of us mention The Leather Boy (Not the 80's group.). Badass Biker/Garage Punk'n'ROLL , BEST KNOWN FOR "On The Go" (On Wavy Gravy , Strange Things , others.), and the worthy contenders Soulin'and I'm a Leather Boy. I just found an LP , NOT KNOWING THERE WAS EVEN AN LP's worth of material , under his real name , Milan (Forgot his last name , he was Eastern European , tho'). He recorded several singles as The Leather Boy , Milan and others , as well as writing and producing some great sides for othe racts (The only well known one on this comp is Lou Christie.). He even started out with a Xmas Twist record. But , his Biker and Garage Rock sides , which comprise most of the album (Entitled "Hell Bent  For Leather" - Between THAT AND THE Hip Hop- looking artwork   , it's a wonder I even picked it up to figure out what it was.....I was always a fan of The Leather Boy STUFF , BUT , i DID'NT KNOW  MILAN  WAS SO PROLIFIC , Like a more Garage Punk Kim Fowley.....

Ha!

How about Henry Fiat's Open Sore they kick ass.

the dRIVIN bEATS

I thought it was for the last volume. The track "Puppy Dog".
I'll have a dig around and see what else we have that would be a suitable contender.

Thanks! :)

kopper said:

No, they don't need to be resubmitted. I keep them all on file. Although if it's been a few volumes since you submitted, there's not a good chance it'll get used. If that's the case, you're welcome to submit another song.

Derek Kosky said:

Kopper,

Do tracks submitted for the previous comp get considered for the next one, or do they need to be resubmitted?

No, they don't need to be resubmitted. I keep them all on file. Although if it's been a few volumes since you submitted, there's not a good chance it'll get used. If that's the case, you're welcome to submit another song.

Derek Kosky said:

Kopper,

Do tracks submitted for the previous comp get considered for the next one, or do they need to be resubmitted?

Kopper,

Do tracks submitted for the previous comp get considered for the next one, or do they need to be resubmitted?

We'll keep you in mind for Vol. 10... currently have artists lined up for the next two.

Stephen Blickenstaff said:

I'd love to do some artwork for the Hideout Comp series.