Mira C. (withshoes) from CEDAR FALLS, IA Reviewed on 4/10/2008...
Good, fun cd. Winds you up and makes you want to break stuff.
Lisa K. (ldk) from DURHAM, NC Reviewed on 8/21/2006...
Everything you need to get the Ramones stuck in your head for a week at a time. Best garage cleaning music ever.
1 of 1 member(s) found this review helpful.
CD Reviews
The Ramones Rule!
Chappa | Olympus Mons, Mars | 06/06/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This is an awesome career retrospective! It covers the material from the album "Ramones" (1976) up to "Halfway To Sanity" (1987). It's a prefect sample of the band's recorded output with Sire Records. Before I purchased this collection back in 1995, I only had "Pleasant Dreams", so all songs here except for two were new for me, and I thought all the remaining 28 were fantastic right on the first listen!
Some of my favorites are "I Wanna Live" (killer intro), "Somebody Put Something In My Drink" (a killer chorus), plus the punk pop classics like "Blitzkrieg Bop", "Sheena is A Punk Rocker", "Gimme Gimme Shock Treatment", "Commando", "Rockaway Beach", etc.
The booklet contains a very detalied essay about the group's formation plus some info about the albums and the songs taken from each. The problem is that the printing is quite small!
There are three songs featured in their single edit/alternate mix form instead of the original album version: "Sheena Is A Punk Rocker" - the main difference is Johnny's buzzsaw rhythm guitar is lower in the mix, "Howling At The Moon (Sha-La-La)" - the whole second verse is edited out, and "Needles & Pins" - there's some extra electric rhythm guitar that appears from the second chorus. Also included is a rare single b-side that the band recorded during the "Subterranean Jungle" sessions in 1982 titled "Indian Giver", a cool song!
If you like pop infused punk rock, then you can't go wrong with this compilation or any album from the Ramones!
Thanks for taking the time to read!
Later..."
The best punk rock album ever!!!
Diego Oscar Arenas | 03/07/2010
(5 out of 5 stars)
"You don't need any other punk rock album to listen. Here's the best raw, powerful punk rock of all times!!"
The Hardest Working Band in the Business
Mr. Richard D. Coreno | Berea, Ohio USA | 04/13/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"The first in what quickly became the repackaging of the band's material every few years by a variety of record labels, it remains the best single-disc retrospective.
The 30 tracks clock in at 75:33 and covers 1976-1987, a period of influential work that carved a new path for punk rock. Included is a 50-page booklet and several "bonus" tracks; single edit versions of Sheena is a Punk Rocker, Needles & Pins and Howling at the Moon, one B-side - Indian Giver - and a stereo movie mix of the classic teen anthem, Rock 'n' Roll High School.
The album had modest success on the 1988 Billboard 200 album chart - peaking at #166 - and was certified Gold in 1994 by the Recording Industry Association of America.
The 15-plus years on Sire Records included the best material from the band. And that just could be the reason why this album is still the top seller for the Ramones some 20 years after its release, since it includes nearly every highlight from that remarkable time period.