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

JUDY IS A PUNK (Demo)--Ramones 16

With a piano, tambourine, and extra background vocals, the second Marty Thau demo of the previously attempted JUDY IS A PUNK (see RAMONES: THE EARLY DEMOS) bends over backwards to display the popular potential of the band's material. For the recording that finally ended up on the debut LP, much of this was discarded, leaving only added handclaps as sole remnant of the commercial aspiration present in this version. It stands as one of those rarest of birds: The Overproduced Demo.

That aside, the group alters the song surprisingly little over the course of three tries. The first recording's key of D has already been abandoned for the nearby Eflat, which presents a twofold mystery: A) If varispeeding was used originally, what exactly was to be gained by slowing down to merely one fret away- a minimally detectable adjustment- and B) What exactly would motivate the minimalist RAMONES towards the final key of Eflat, an extremely uncommon starting point in guitar driven music?

The only other non-constant is DEEDEE's background vocals. He's wobbily but energetic on the first demo, and on the LP version (no doubt supported by MICKEY LEIGH) he is assured but less adventurous. On this take he's a bit listless, although for the first time here he adorns the instrumental break with the now-familiar arrangement of 'oohs.'

In the final tally, this second demo simply lacks the heavy, gooey punk of the first attempt, but also falls short of the raw, focused snap of the LP version. For all the window dressing, the Marty Thau demos succeeded at little other than making the RAMONES appear less dangerous and crazed than they actually were. Which, admittedly, might have been the point.






RAMONES JUDY IS A PUNK (DEMO)








Photo by Roberta Bayley

JUDY IS A PUNK--Ramones 3

One of the most persistent terms of derision shackled to the RAMONES is the mysterious myth that they write and play songs with 'only three chords.' Qualitatively this ignores countless examples, from CHUCK BERRY's Brown Eyed Handsome Man to the BEATLES' Hey Jude, which have proven time and time again that in creating music of stunning depth and style using 'merely' three chords is far from insufficient. Materially, it might be more accurate to state that the RAMONES primarily use two barre chords (the movable E and A positions), so rarely utilizing open chords that songs where they do (such as 53RD & 3RD) are given extra demonstrative distinction. However, since they group the movable chords into multitudes of block patterns all over the neck, the songs almost always use more than 5 or 6 chords. All of this sidesteps the obvious- there are great, truly three chord classic songs (such as the TROGGS' Wild Thing) that could be mastered easily by any novice. However, the maddening patterns of waves of chords on display in RAMONES tracks such as WE'RE A HAPPY FAMILY or I WANTED EVERYTHING would prove a considerable challenge to any guitarist unaccustomed to playing in the punk idiom.

All of that said, the 90 second JUDY IS A PUNK is one of only a handful of compositions by the band that actually are built on just three chords. The 1-4-5 track is rooted in Eflat, an extremely unlikely key in guitar driven music (though, once again, somewhat less oddball when configuring patterns of barre chords in random positions.) Two demos had been previously recorded of this track, and this end result sits somewhere in sound between the dense punk of the first attempt and the surprisingly piano-driven pop of the second (see RAMONES: THE EARLY DEMOS .)

With the words the RAMONES hit an early peak in mockingly deconstructing lyrical form and function. No sooner does the song start than the title is contradicted (JACKIE is the punk.) Then immediately after a few scant, tantalizing details are sketched (apparently primarily constructed to connect the startlingly nifty rhyme 'ice capades/S.L.A.') the characters are offhandedly dismissed with a callous, but cheerfully sung, 'perhaps they'll die.' (Equating the importance of a west coast trip, or appearing in a winter skating show, suggests that any attempt to dredge political meaning from mention of a German locale or the half baked Patti Hearst kidnapping Symbionese Liberation Army would be fruitless.) JOEY & DEEDEE then deliver the coup de grace by framing the verses in the fourth-wall smashing device appropriated from the ridiculous HERMAN'S HERMITS smash 'I'm Henry VIII, I Am' (where it surprisingly serves a similar function.)

As well, the BEACH BOYS influence of the backing vocals finds the band reaching even further back in time for sturdiness in pop form. Disregarding the improbability of practical application of these unlikely foundations, the RAMONES forged hit after hit for an unknowable future, top ten smashes in some alternate universe, chart toppers in a demented, close knit, secret present.



RAMONES JUDY IS A PUNK



Photo by Roberta Bayley