On the surface, having an extensive box set released in your honor doesn’t seem very “punk rock.” But the Ramones have long since transcended punk status, so why not be further immortalized with a comprehensive retrospective? That’s right, the Ramones are much more than the grandfathers of punk. The band’s mastery of melody, innovative approach and knack for timeless song structures, places them in a category far beyond the hordes of imitators.
This new 4-disc set does the band serious justice. First, it contains a mammoth 85 tracks, and all of the usual suspects are here—Sheena, Judy, Pinhead and the Brat, plus “Rock ‘N’ Roll High School,” “I Wanna Be Sedated,” “Do You Remember Rock ‘N’ Roll Radio?,” and all the rest of ‘em. So we’re off to a good start with the first three discs. Next up, the DVD contains the highly sought after documentary LIFESTYLES OF THE RAMONES, which was previously only available on VHS, or as a costly import DVD. The documentary features all of the band’s promo videos while on Sire Records, interspersed with interviews and quirky vignettes. It’s nice to see some of the more obscure clips like “We Want the Airwaves” and “Time Has Come Today.” For a treat the set also includes all the videos the band made for their subsequent label, Radioactive. Although they were on the verge of running out of steam, the Ramones managed to release a couple decent albums on the label, and went on to produce six videos, including the rarely seen “Spider Man” and a blistering live rendition of “Blitzkrieg Bop.”
Aside from the music and video components, the highlight of this set is its out-of-this-world packaging. Staying true to its reputation for unique designs, Rhino has pulled out all the stops with this one. Featuring 25 top comic artists, the set is presented as one fat graphic novel, telling stories about the band in comic book form. It’s not only funny to read, but striking to look at, each artist approaching the source material with their own unique vision. There’s even a caricature of the band KISS as dinosaurs, to illustrate the state of rock at the time of The Ramones’ inception (in spite of the fact that KISS’s comic-book approach was more in line with the Ramones’ style than many later punk bands were). Some of the material is presented in 3-D, thus a pair of glasses is also included. The 50-page book also features artist bios and a few other surprises. The package comes complete in a hard-back book format.
For newcomers—discovering punk through the likes of Green Day and Rancid—and seasoned vets alike, this set is a first-rate overview of the band whose legacy truly is too tough to die. The packaging alone is worth the price of this set—have at it.
+ Jim Kaz
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