REVIEW: The Ramones, We're Outta Here (MCA)
- Chris Candreva
The Ramones have always seemed to me like two bands. In the studio, I've always thought they owed more to the Motown sound and Phil Specter then to Sex Pistols Punk. There's actually a melody in there. Sped up, distorted, but you can hear it.
The times I've seen them live, however, I've wondered if this was the same band. It's lounder, it's faster, it's raw, it's powerful - it's incomprehensible. You were lucky if you could figure out what song they were playing at any given point in the show. The first time I attributed it to a sucky sound system (Joey kept motioning off stage, and finally threw his mike down and walked off stage in disgust. The replacment mike was no better.), but EVERY TIME ?
After hearing We're Outta Here, I now know the answer: Whoever does their stage sound doesn't know a sound board from a cutting board. This is what a live show should sound like. Twice as fast, three times as hard - but you can still tell what the hell song you are listening to. We're not talking hi-fidelity here: Our copy came on a cassette tape, and frankly I can't see a CD sounding any better. Recorded at their last show at the Palace in Hollywood, CA, This captures the feeling of seeing the Ramones in a club - with a competent sound man.
Are The Ramones gone for good ? Who knows, but even the rumor is as good an excuse as any for a live album. This is a must have for any Ramones fan. Keep a copy in the car for long highway drives.
