LIVE AT THE ROXY 8/12/76-- Leave Home 16-31

The remaining LEAVE HOME Expanded CD bonus offerings comprise an entire live performance at the ROXY in Hollywood from August of 1976-- indeed, their first major trip away from 'HOME.' It reveals the band honing their early stage attack, and spotlighting a handful of tracks from their upcoming sophomore LP-- at that point still a half year away from being released. The set displays blooming confidence and an already noticably accelerating drive (two selections from this recording, CALIFORNIA SUN and I DON'T WANNA WALK AROUND WITH YOU eventually found their way on to 45 b-sides.) But although undoubtedly capturing a pivotal point triggering the soon-to-explode L.A. punk scene, this very good (but not exceptional) show is bound to compare unfavorably with IT'S ALIVE and other readily available performances featuring the original lineup. With several notable original demos still uncollected, and the added single track SHEENA IS A PUNK ROCKER inexplicably nudged off the program for eventual appearance elsewhere, the wisdom of including this complete show remains debatable. (Certainly, for example, on the IT'S ALIVE dvd collection, a tendency towards cherrypicking from key shows as opposed to using all available tracks would dominate.) Sonically only slightly better than bootleg level quality, this material is perhaps best absorbed as a snapshot of the band at exactly the midway point between their inception and initial peak. For our purposes here-- focusing on recording and composition-- a brief assessment shall suffice.



16. LOUDMOUTH
     The standard opener of their embryonic era kicks off with JOEY's humorous audience greeting, where a polite introduction is contradictorily followed by an immediate admonishment to shut up. A new, powerful musical assurance is plainly tangible.

LOUDMOUTH





17. BEAT ON THE BRAT
     One of IT'S ALIVE's most glaring omissions, the live potential of this debut favorite is happily realized and documented, despite a few shaky moments from TOMMY.

BEAT ON THE BRAT





18. BLITZKRIEG BOP
     Taken at what now seems like an almost sluggish tempo, the single "on SIRE records!" is met with a disconcerting lack of audience participation.

BLITZKRIEG BOP





19. I REMEMBER YOU
      Surprisingly early in the set, the band slows it down a notch. JOEY gives it his all in his featured, crooning highlight.

I REMEMBER YOU





20. GLAD TO SEE YOU GO
     Ample evidence of the wealth of material the band still had on tap for their second release, this effortless go at the still unrecorded GLAD TO SEE YOU GO flies by flawlessly.

GLAD TO SEE YOU GO





21.  CHAINSAW
     The sturdy first lp "love song" proves dependable.

CHAINSAW





22. 53RD & 3RD
     The pathos of DEEDEE's psychodrama are predictably milked, even at this early stage.

53RD & 3RD





23. I WANNA BE YOUR BOYFRIEND
     An astoundingly long pause before the group trots out this pleading favorite to all of the "special girls" out there. From here on out though, it's a Blitzkrieg all the way.

I WANNA BE YOUR BOYFRIEND





24. HAVANA AFFAIR
     They punch all the way through their "salsa" number with panache. Lamentably, over the years JOEY's inclination to crack non-sequiturs between songs diminished almost completely.

HAVANA AFFAIR





25. LISTEN TO MY HEART
     Precision abounds in these performances, although later--as the live material is grouped into small bursts-- this song will be programmed into a spot which will flaunt the opening guitar figure more impressively.

LISTEN TO MY HEART





26.  CALIFORNIA SUN
     "Hot doggers, hang ten!", then blastoff into one of the band's most rehearsed covers. Along with I DON'T WANNA WALK AROUND WITH YOU, this appeared as the 45 b-side to I WANNA BE YOUR BOYFRIEND in America and I REMEMBER YOU in the UK.

CALIFORNIA SUN





27. JUDY IS A PUNK
     The set starts to hurtle towards the end aboard a barrage of debut album crushers, starting with JUDY IS A PUNK, whose odd key protrudes conspicuously.

JUDY IS A PUNK





28. I DON'T WANNA WALK AROUND WITH YOU
     Pauses in between songs fade away, and DEEDEE dominates--thumping relentlessly on bass and grabbing all the glory of the final line of lyric, leaving him almost without breath for the next 1-2-3-4. In German, naturally.

I DON'T WANNA WALK AROUND WITH YOU





29. TODAY YOUR LOVE, TOMORROW THE WORLD
     Only a slightly messy coda mars the set closer, which more than fulfills its role as designated explosive climax.

TODAY YOUR LOVE, TOMORROW THE WORLD





30. NOW I WANNA SNIFF SOME GLUE
     The suddenly measurably increased tempos carry through to the encore, as unexpectedly TOMMY counts things off. Breathtaking.

NOW I WANNA SNIFF SOME GLUE





31.  LET'S DANCE
     What sounds like a shabby edit fails to cover up a rare opening error from perfectionist JOHNNY. Nonetheless, as the RAMONES feverishly finish the show, they have obliterated nearly any notion that their brutal minimalism could not be delivered with dazzling, potent cohesion.

LET'S DANCE

53RD & 3RD--Ramones 11

Doubtlessly one of the RAMONES most powerfully defiant statements, 53RD & 3RD displays the band's willingness to intermingle a warped, fantasy based world view with their own troublesome personal realities to the furthest possible extreme. The romanticized portraits of prostitution present in previous recordings such as THE BEATLES' Lady Madonna or KISS' Black Diamond are left far behind as the ante is upped via a male homosexual protagonist, a blunt first person narrative, and a remorseless razorblade climax. In the name of sick humor the group has already stretched the album startlingly beyond accepted thematic boundaries, and while the Vietnam vet detail (likely a red herring adherence to the still flowering militaristic bent) and exaggeration of the concluding crime's intensity point to the probability of artistic license, the brazen sizing up of a potential john--and the queasy uneasiness of potential rejection--and the desire for retaliatory violence--all ring disturbingly true. The possibility that lyricist DEEDEE may be maneuvering in unfamiliar territory (participatory or not) is all but quashed by the revelatory specificity of the song title's locale: a well known NYC boy hustler pickup area.

To this brutal tale is attached the debut lp's heaviest melody- a pummeling, medium tempo E-D-A progression uncharacteristically strummed with open chords to maximize the lingering drone, although DEEDEE diminishes the effect by predictably moving 'up' towards his preferred higher strings. (TOMMY has his back with some great tom work, though.) JOEY fearlessly manifests the threatening come on of the verses before retreating into the dejected weariness of the chorus' brief 1-4-5 tunefulness. Then, after two go arounds DEEDEE meaningfully opts to take his first (and on this album, only) stab into the lead vocal spotlight for the bleak middle eight, throwing himself headlong into the song's most intense phrases. Casting virtually all remaining doubt aside, he audibly stakes personal claim in a realm where blood must be spilled in order to reassert compromised manhood, no matter what consequences may be brought- even Retribution. 

Somehow the intensity is ratcheted up further with a return to the chorus, this time modulated a step up from D to E. (This unfamiliar tactic is triggered by another rarity: a demonstrative drum fill from TOMMY.) Finally, the release of the repetitive closing coda commences, but not before they reveal one more trick up their sleeve- a surprising halt before the vocals once again re-enter.

This is perhaps, sonically speaking, one of the tracks which compares least favorably with the earlier demo version- although the deep aural qualities of that take may be the fallout of varispeeding down to a slower tempo (see RAMONES: THE EARLY DEMOS.) Still, the RAMONES' relentless extremism has resulted in a stunning detour of unexpected seriousness and potency. Drenched in merciless menace, the unflinching poetry of the unfamiliar angle remains as unique as it is unpleasant, and the oft repeated assessment 'one joke band' will henceforth only be uttered by the determinedly unobservant.


RAMONES 53RD & 3RD








Photo by Roberta Bayley