Review Summary: "Britzkrieggu Boppu".
What would you get if you crossed the Ramones with Japanese girls? Many a punk rocker's secret fantasy, possibly; but also, and more realistically, Shonen Knife. In fact, this pioneering, all-girl Japanese punk group can basically be construed as a female version of the Ramones, whom they worship explicitly in their latest release, a tribute album entitled
Osaka Ramones.
Starting life in 1981, under the Yamano sisters, Shonen Knife has managed to hold steady for over 30 years, surviving countless formation changes to establish themselves as the leading punk-rock act in their country. Endorsements by bands such as Sonic Youth and Nirvana cannot hurt, either, and may also have contributed to the band's long shelf life.
Osaka Ramones is precisely the way the group found to celebrate this occasion, and pay homage to perhaps their biggest influence in the process.
The concept behind this tribute album is simple: take the Ramones, swap Joey for a cute Asian girl with a strong accent and a voice reminiscent of Barbara Ramone, and voilá!
Osaka Ramones is born! That is honestly all there is to it: the group did not touch the lyrics, rearrange the musical side of the tracks, or add any personal touches apart from the odd, slightly different vocal line and a much glossier production, which enhances the final product. In fact, only two words were changed in the entire record: on
Chinese Rocks the name is different, and on
Pinhead the word
"nurse" seems to have been swapped for
"nerd" (or maybe it's just Naoko Yamano's strong Engrish accent playing havoc). The rest is intact. Heck, the countless lyrics about girls haven't even been changed to refer to boys! In short,
We're A Happy Family this isn't. It's a straight up tribute, and all the better for it.
In fact, the Ramones' songs are already very good per se, and it's almost impossible to *** them up (although the likes of Rob Zombie really did try). But even if Shonen Knife were working with a less stellar output, they'd most certainly pull it off with their peppy attitude and obvious reverence for the source material. The fact that the group play it close to the hilt and infuse these tracks with an extra dose of peppiness and a clearer production only helps the already classic songs shine through all that much more. Sure, there are the mandatory couple of weaker moments, but in general,
Osaka Ramones has more than enough strong points to make it a fun, breezy ride throughout.
Curiously, the best results are obtained in the more obscure songs. Note, for example, how the group transfigure the uninspired
We Want The Airwaves into a standout, infuse the already excellent
Psychotherapy and
She's The One with an extra helping of bouncy energy, or pull off a flawless
The KKK Took My Baby Away. Even an ultra-underground track such as
Scattergun is made somewhat relevant, and blends well into an album where it should normally stick out like a sore thumb.
The more "mainstream" tracks are less noteworthy, but also delivered competently, and distinctly above average. Unintentional comedy is obtained by Yamano's enunciation of
"britzkrieg bop" on the opening classic, but aside from that and a couple of more pedestrian moments, there really isn't much to remark to Shonen Knife with regards to this album. The one gripe may have to do with the fact that the album starts to drag at around the midway point, but to be fair, this happened in the old Ramones records, too. Plus, the group manage to bounce back with some more standout tracks, keeping the listener entertained all the way through.
In short, then,
Osaka Ramones is a tribute album the way they should be done: reverent, yet innovative, well-played, relevant, simple, straightforward, and all around good. Any fan of the Ramones could do worse than take a look at it, since it most certainly beats the hit-or-miss
We're A Happy Family. As for Shonen Knife, all that is left is to wish them many more happy years on the road, representing Japanese punk rock!
Otanjoobi omedetoo gozaimasu!
Recommended Tracks
We Want The Airwaves
She's The One
Psychotherapy
The KKK Took My Baby Away
Album streaming officially at: http://music.aol.com/new-releases-full-cds/spinner#/14
