 | Tracklist:
1. "Rockaway Beach" – 2:24
2. "Teenage Lobotomy" – 1:55
3. "Blitzkrieg Bop" – 2:05
4. "I Wanna Be Well" – 2:23
5. "Glad to See You Go" – 1:51
6. "Gimme Gimme Shock Treatment" – 1:37
7. "You're Gonna Kill That Girl" – 2:28
8. "I Don't Care" – 1:41
9. "Sheena Is a Punk Rocker" – 2:16
10. "Havana Affair" – 1:35
11. "Commando" – 1:40
12. "Here Today, Gone Tomorrow" – 2:55
13. "Surfin' Bird" – 2:20
14. "Cretin Hop" – 1:46
15. "Listen to My Heart" – 1:36
16. "California Sun" – 1:45
17. "I Don't Wanna Walk Around With You" – 1:25
18. "Pinhead" – 2:46
19. "Do You Wanna Dance?" – 1:39
20. "Chain Saw" – 1:29
21. "Today Your Love, Tomorrow the World" – 1:55
22. "Now I Wanna Be a Good Boy" – 2:03
23. "Judy Is a Punk" – 1:14
24. "Suzy Is a Headbanger" – 1:53
25. "Let's Dance" – 2:03
26. "Oh Oh I Love Her So" – 1:40
27. "Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue" – 1:18
28. "We're a Happy Family" – 2:07
Release Date: 1979 | |
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2 of 2 thought this review was well written
The sound of a crowd cheering. An open-chord strum on an electric guitar. Somebody says «good evening, we’re The Ramones, and this one’s called Rockaway Beach!» Another someone immediately goes «1, 2, 3, 4!» and the song starts. Thus gets underway one of the most famous live albums of all time, The Ramones’ It’s Alive!. I once saw an article describing this album as the only defining, career-changing live album ever released. While this statement is more than a little inflated, the importance of this record remains untouched.
It’s Alive! captures The Ramones at the peak of their form. Tommy Ramone was still on board, Rocket To Russia was selling like hotcakes, and the band had managed to make it big overseas. No wonder, therefore, that the band should decide to record this live album in London, England, on New Year’s Day 1978. They perform a lightning-fast set of 28 songs in under an hour, in front of an enthusiastic crowd. The time/number of songs ratio may seem incredible, but we must not forget that The Ramones belted out two or three songs in the time it took other bands to play one! In fact, the vast majority of these songs are under three minutes long, and (much in the punk spirit) take only as long as they need to.
However, being so d*mn fast can be a double-edged blade. On the one hand, the band nearly bring the house down with their ripping, tearing performance; on the other, some of the less interesting songs are drowned in the mass of repetitive riffing. This happens, for example, with Now I Wanna Be A Good Boy or Suzy Is A Headbanger (with the latter sounding much better on the Leave Home album than it does here). Upon further hearings of the album, one will instinctively start to skip these tracks, urging to get to the highlights.
And what highlights! Rockaway Beach gets our blood pumping, Blitzkrieg Bop, although slightly accelerated, is its usual glorious self, Glad To See You Go rips through our speakers, Commando has never sounded better, Cretin Hop is irresistible…and of course, they all lead to the cherry on top of the cake. D’You Wanna Dance? is absolutely the best track on here, one minute and thirty-nine seconds of pure punkabilly bliss. But the album does not end here, and there are still a few good songs left to go : Today Your Love Tomorrow The World, Let’s Dance and Oh Oh I Love Her So are particular standouts.
But all the songwriting genius is marred by one huge downside: in the long run, the album becomes haplessly tiredsome. The Ramones’ songs all sound so similar that my first reaction upon hearing this album was «gee, what a long opening track!» When I checked the CD’s timer, it was already track 3… This, of course, will cause a bit of boredom after a while. Plus, if you listen to this CD too many times over a short period of time (like I once did), you will never want to pick it up again.
Personally, this is my least favourite of all my Ramones albums (I own self-titled, Leave Home, Brain Drain, End Of The Century and this one). I believe this album has been more than a bit overhyped over the past few decades, but that doesn’t mean it’s a bad album. Let’s say it’s a perfect way to get into punk, or into The Ramones, but once you’ve been introduced, you will overlook this one for other stuff. At least I did…
Reccomended Tracks
Rockaway Beach
Blitzkrieg Bop
Glad To See You Go
California Sun
D’You Wanna Dance?
Let’s Dance
Oh Oh I Love Her So
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| Recent reviews by this author | | | |
Good review, I think the Ramones are awesome but I hate live albums.
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This has studio overdubs, so Live in NYC 1978 is automatically better, even if it is missing "Judy is a Punk".
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This doesn't have I Believe In Miracles so I don't want it. :mad:
Digging: Funeral for a Friend - Welcome Home Armageddon
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Yeah, that was what, 1989 or 1991?
This concert was in 1977.This Message Edited On 11.24.05
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Doesn't matter
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Your FACE doesn't matter.
:mad:
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pwn3d
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kripes-how doesnt it matter? if the concert was recorded in 78 and released in 79 obviously they cant do a song that wasnt written until ten years later
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studio overdubs?! where?
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you know kerrang! voted this their greatest album! i need this album after reading that and this review
| | | Album Rating: 4.5
Iv'e heard 'Loco live!' and its awesome, how does this compare?
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Ramones are awsome, this is awsome. It has some really great songs that really make their career stand out. I love Sheena is a Punkrocker and rockaway beach, and many others.
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Loco Live is much worse, because it was recorded at the decline of their career. Sometimes, it's so fast it's irritating. This is a better buy.
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that was released years after this was recorded. hence, it could not have featured here.
| | | Album Rating: 4.5
hmmm I really loved loco live  , this must be one hell of a live album. The only thing I believe that lets 'Loco' down is Joeys Growly lyrics, he's not supposed to be a growler. The speed is lovely though, especially Blitzkrieg bop and judy is a punk. Also it's more diverse as it includes tracks from most of their albums up to 1991.
| | | Album Rating: 4.5
Just bought this......fantastic :D
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Loco Live is an abomination.
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YOUR FACE IS AN ABOMINATION!
that was for kripes!
aha just kiddin dude.
Anways, I like the ramones but I'm not big on this album
| | | Album Rating: 4
Johnnys Guitar has never sounded better than on this album, also, have they recorded live with Richie??
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