THE RAMONES SONGS 1978 PROFESSIONAL

And take on the Sports and Joe Jackson with a song about the radio that would be the worst they'd ever written were it not for 'This Ain't Havana' and 'High Risk Insurance,' in which the group's reactionary political instincts finally escape that invisible ironic shield (bet Johnny provided worse-than-Barry-McGuire rhymes like 'on your way to life's promotion/You hinder it with emotion'). They also remake two of their own songs-'Judy Is a Punk' (good sequel) and 'Rock 'n' Roll High School' (unnecessary Spectorization)-and one of the Heartbreakers' (inferior). The best cut is 'I'm Affected' (note double-edged title) the second best is a Ronettes remake (Joey outsings Andy Kim) the third best is a ballad about their manager (now departed). But the guitar breaks bring tears to my personal eyes, and I await Gary Stewart's version of 'Questioningly.' A Only the 'Bad Brain' (a title) theme seems repetitious-personally, I'm glad it's fading.

THE RAMONES SONGS 1978 PROFESSIONAL

The lyrics of 'I Just Want to Have Something to Do' and 'I Wanna Be Sedated' test the barrier between their Queens-geek personas and their real lives as professional musicians without a hint of rocky-road bullshit. Album four alternates definitive high-speed rockers-'I Wanted Everything,' 'I'm Against It,' and 'She's the One' are as good as any they've ever done-with more candidly lyrical slow ones that rank with the oldie, 'Needles and Pins,' as compositions. Like any great group, this one is always topping itself. If 'Sheena Is a Punk Rocker' was the most significant number eighty-four in history, what will 'Rockaway Beach' do for number twenty? (Did I hear five?) A

And, for their record company and the ears of the world, an actual potential hit. Inspired revivals (the Trashmen) and banal cover versions (Bette Midler and Cass Elliott beat them to 'Do You Wanna Dance?'). Love (thwarted) and social protest (they would seem to oppose DDT). Stoopidity, both celebrated and satirized. Yes, folks, there's something for everyone on this ready-made punk-rock classic. Not that they've returned so very much-a few relatively obvious melodies, a few relatively obvious vocals. Having revealed how much you can take out and still have rock and roll, they now explore how much you can put back in and still have Ramones. People who love the joke for its power, wit, and economy will be happy to hear it twice. People who consider this a one-joke band aren't going to change their minds now.

And I hear it cost $6400 to put on plastic. For me, it blows everything else off the radio: it's clean the way the Dolls never were, sprightly the way the Velvets never were, and just plain listenable the way Black Sabbath never was. But my theory has always been that good rock and roll should damn well make you uneasy, and the sheer pleasure of this stuff-which of course elicits howls of pain from the good old rock and roll crowd-is undeniable. You couldn't say they condone any nasties, natch-they merely suggest that the power of their music has some fairly ominous sources and tap those sources even as they offer the suggestion. I love this record-love it-even though I know these boys flirt with images of brutality (Nazi especially) in much the same way 'Midnight Rambler' flirts with rape.

The ramones songs 1978