Classic Album Review, Ramones, It's Alive

Ramones It's Alive (1979-Sire)

And a first for my blog. Well more than one first. The first band/artist to be in it more than once. The first live album and the first double album.

I can't do my usual and go thorough the album dissecting songs and trying to give you (or convince) a description of the content. I also will not insult anyones intelligence as if you read what I type you have an idea.

The band were on the road for years and due to this the time is right for a live album. Three albums in for most bands would seem a little bit quick. Not quick enough for this band. MC5 had the balls to make the first album they done a live album so nothing remarkable in having one three albums in. But for the casual fan the live record is a bit of a best of and for kids with little pocket money a chance to get em all.

The band fire though 28 songs pretty much the whole catalog the band have.  No bullshit solos, fake chit chat and all that is not here. As Joe Strummer said "people have things to do" in direction at how fast the bad were and agreeing that get it done now as we have other things to do.

Classic song after song is here all sound better and the band sound fantastic. Faster and angrier the LPs they done were fantastic but still after the first album they had to hold back in the studio. For many fans a live show was never going to happen, too far away or what ever. This is as good as a replacement you can have.

The band were recording four gigs in total with the idea releasing the best one. Before listening to the music recorded this was chosen as the fans ripped up ten rows of seats at the Rainbow theater and threw them at the band.

I wrote about the bands last album before as I feel it was a great album overlooked. This album is loved by fans but overlooked by press and even fans outside the UK as it was a UK release. There have been reissues on cheap CDs over the years but the original LP sounds amazing so if you see it in a shop for a few quid get it.

The album for me is a benchmark for live albums. The sound and all out balls on this is amazing. 30+ years later I have never heard a live album like it. Look at all the punk bands now, they rarely do live albums and this is the reason why. Don't bother it has been covered and with extras.

The concert was filmed for VHS but the tapes came out too grainy on VHS as the lighting was too poor. But the DVD format changed that and the Live DVD of the same name has this concert in glorious Technicolor. But only half the concert is present. This band were that good you can't film them.

I could go on for ever but it is a great album, sounds fantastic with an amazing track listing. Punk was said to have died in 78 this came out in 79 and the band had another fantastic album in Road to Ruin out the year between the albums recording and release. So buy Road to Ruin and this and you are covered.

It's Alive is available from Amazon and E Bay but the vinyl LP for me sounds the best.

Twitter: 29xthefun 

Classic album review. Jason and the Scorchers, LOST & FOUND

Some you may have missed.

Right I have ran out of stuff to moan about so I will hand over this blog (moan page) to some classic albums that people for some reason have missed. It will be a real mix of music so if you only like 90s music or only listen to rap don’t bother looking back again.

First up is the reason I am doing this as I am still totally shocked they never made it.

Jason and the Scorchers, LOST & FOUND (EMI – 1984)

This band formed and done three full albums (this being the first) and then split after not making it in 1990. Just a year later you had the alt rock explosion from the likes of the Pixes, Nirvana and REM. They would all go on to sell millions and change music history by killing the glam rock/metal crap of the 80s.

The band came about as Jason Ringenberg (Vocals) was told his voice was crap when he sung other peoples songs. He decided to form a band and do it himself and not long after the self funded debut came out. An EP called Fervor in 1983 got them signed to EMI and then a proper full on album to be made.

Mixing country and punk rock the band made a new sound and most of all a great sound. Hated by both country and rock they done something similar as REM as they were just not taken well with the AOR fans. Many big REM fans don’t know that Michael Stipe co-wrote a song with Jason and can be found on the first EP.

The band were getting a lot of heat from country fans as the cross of punk and country was so unpopular that people picketed the gigs. I think this helped fuel the band to make them hate them even more and the band entered the studio. 

With no real budget they could only really capture the bands live sound and record it. And by hell they did, this album rocks like a motherfucker from start to end. Opening up with a big guitar drum harmonica start that you will never hear ever again. ‘Last Time Around’ is one of the best starts to an album I have ever heard it just sets the whole band up so well and I am sure it made many mums and dads scowl in hatred. The second track is the anthem ‘White Lies’, a real punk song that should have been a hit. A good video was made but MTV just don’t get it. The band was only really able to play the south and try and exploit the country link. 

‘Shop it Around’ was released and even managed to top 40 in the UK. But the band was busy in the US and could not do anything about it. I often think that this was a big mistake as Top of the Pops would have loved a band like that and I do think UK country and punks fans would have got it. This is a rare album where just about all the songs could have been released as singles. ‘Broken Whiskey Glass’ again a popular song here and a song Jason is still mostly recognized for mixes the styles of music so well that you just can’t believe a band can do this all on one grove of a 12” LP

Even listening to this now it is so much fresher now than it ever was. The guitars sound so loud and sharp something you just don't get now. This is one of those albums when yo put it on you have to turn the volume down a little. The way this album sounds is like a blueprint for the alt rock bands who came along after them. 

The album is out in the UK as the EMI Years and has extra tracks included. In the US you can get it as a double album Fervor and Lost and Found.