Review Summary: "Ramones" revitalized rock and is a seminal punk album.
In a world of Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, and Emerson Lake & Palmer (although great bands in their own right), the Ramones were freaks. The sophisticated music listeners were disgusted by their total lack of musical skill, ugly faces, and lurid subject matter. In other words, they wanted to make the Ramones obsolete by pointing out they weren't exactly the Jimi Hendrix Experience.
Fortunately for rock music, the fire couldn't be stamped out by naysayers. This album, and the thirteen to follow, are perfect representations of that. Sure, they couldn't play bass like Jones, sing like Plant, play drums like Bonham, and they certainly couldn't play solos like Page, but it doesn't in anyway diminish the quality. They may not be the best musicians, but they knew how to speak to the kids. On every song on this album, they put 100% of what they had into writing power-rock anthems, as evident by the hordes of rock bands to come (of practically every genre) citing the Ramones as a major influence.
These are the songs that define the Ramones at their best. Although their songwriting naturally improved, this is the album that all their others ought to be compared to, and shows just how great three chords and a bad attitude can sound.
