Dinosaurs on the record cover are certainly appropriate for the Ramones. It's been 21 years since they were at the root of punk, which is just having another revival with Green Day and the likes. But the Ramones never cared much about trends. Through good and bad times, they've been playing the same kind of music over two decades. And while some people might argue that this is a bad thing, their new release Adios Amigos! proves that time just doesn't seem to pass for the Ramones. From the original lineup, singer Joey and Johnny on guitar are still on board. Marky took over the drums many years ago, and bass player CJ joined the band in '89, taking occasional lead vocals.
The album starts with the Tom Waits song "I Don't Want To Grow Up", adapted to the speed and energy that have become a Ramones trademark. All but one of the other tracks are Ramones originals. Their consistency over the years makes it hard to avoid that some songs revoke memories of previous classics, e. g. "Life's A Gas" reminds a lot of "I Wanna Live". There's one song where they don't borrow from their own past, though; the melody of "Scattergun" is fatally similar to Paul Brady's "Steel Claw". Like all good punk songs, most of the tracks are below 3 minutes, they easily play through 13 listed plus one "hidden" track in 36 minutes. Only "She Talks To Rainbows", a wonderful punk ballad, diverges from the straight three-chord punk rock that they play like no one else.
There's a lot of talk whether they will really make the album title true, and say "adios". On one hand it would be a pity to quit being in such excellent shape; on the other hand it's always been a sign of class to stop at a high point. Adios Amigos! is a great album, it will make Ramones fans jump with joy, and gives everybody that lost track with them (or completely missed them so far) a perfect chance to jump on.
