Ramones Mania (Best Of The Ramones) CD

The Ramones: Joey Ramone (vocals); Johnny Ramone (guitar); Dee Dee Ramone (bass); Tommy Ramone, Marky Ramone, Richie Ramone (drums).
Producers include: Tommy Erdelyi, Ed Stasium, Phil Spector, Tony Bongiovi, Ritchie Cordell.
Engineers include: Tommy Erdelyi, Ed Stasium.
Recorded at Sundragon Studios, Media Sound, Intergalactic Studios, New York, New York; Cherokee Recording Studios, Los Angeles, California; Kingdom Sound, Long Island, New York from October, 1976 to December, 1985.
Ramones Mania is a relentless collection of 30 tracks from the Ramones' first ten albums, ranging from the classic Ramones to the less-than-classic Halfway to Sanity. Although not all of their great '70s songs are included, it boils down the highlights from the inconsistent '80s albums quite effectively, making it a useful summation of their peak period, even if the sequencing is not chronological. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine
RAMONES MANIA is a double album's worth of 30 bona fide Ramones classics. Each song is a revelation in its own right, from the Ramones call-to-arms, 1976's "Blitzkrieg Bop" to the chugga-chugga of 1987's "I Wanna Live." The Ramones' prime years are highlighted by selections from each of their outstanding albums.
All the classics one would expect are present and accounted for, including "Rockaway Beach," "Beat on the Brat," and "Teenage Lobotomy." Also included are such well-chosen tunes as "Commando," "Bonzo Goes to Bitburg," and the Dee Dee/Johnny Thunders/Jerry Nolan/Richard Hell ode to dope "Chinese Rocks." Of interest to Ramones completists is the hard-to-find B-side "Indian Giver," a bubblegum hit in its own right, and a song so good that a lesser band would have made it an A-side. As either an introduction or a single-disc career overview, RAMONES MANIA is indispensable.

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