Album Reviews

Originally recorded for a King Biscuit Flower Hour radio show and taken from a decent stereo board mix, this set chronicles The Ramones at their peak before an adoring home audience. The group had just returned from a triumphant European tour during which It's Alive had been recorded at the Rainbow Theatre on New Year's Eve just a week before.

It's a blistering 27 song set accomplished in less than an hour, and taken at ultra-high energy even for The Ramones! The hits you expect are here: “Rockaway Beach,” “Teenage Lobotomy,” “Blitzkrieg Bop,” “I Wanna Be Well” (takes on extra meaning), as are the covers taken a warp speed: “California Sun,” “Do You Wanna Dance,” and “Surfin' Bird.”

While the band was hot in Europe, back in the USA they couldn't fill a big venue anywhere but their hometown of NYC. The Palladium was a fabulous downtown venue-a fading glorious theater with great acoustics, and while this board mix features little of the natural acoustic, it clearly contributed to the clarity of the sound-especially the drums, which have a nice crack about them. The overall sound is bright however, and the bottom end is somewhat limited, but still this is a surprisingly good live recording of one of the greatest rock and roll bands of all time! Even if they only knew three chords and all the songs sounded the same. Who cares?

Get Back's early vinyl pressings (Earmark is a Get Back label) were “iffy,” but lately the pressings have been excellent and this double set, pressed at GZ in the Czech Republic outside of Prague is one of them. Add really nice packaging -thick paper stock, color inserts and worthwhile liner notes by the band's tour manager from 1974-1996 and you have an LP set worth owning. I doubt the source was the original analog tape though.

However, keep in mind that the set is almost identical to It's Alive so if you have that (if?) this is the same-except for one thing: the hometown crowd gets even more energy out of the boys.

The band dedicates a song to WNEW-FM NYC and as I was writing this I heard that legenday WNEW DJ Scott Muni had died. Gabba Gabba Hey! And rock on Scott, and Joey, and Johnny, and Dee Dee!!!! To see what else Get Back has on vinyl: go to www.abraxasrecords.com. It's a big catalog.