Ramones Greatest Hits Live CD

The Ramones: Joey Ramone (vocals); Johnny Ramone (guitar); C.J. Ramone (bass); Marky Ramone (drums).
Engineers include: Ed Stasium, Ian Bryan, Daniel Rey.
Recorded live at the Academy, New York, New York on February 29, 1996 and at Baby Monster Studios, New York, New York.
Personnel: Joey Ramone (vocals); Johnny Ramone (guitar); Marky Ramone (drums).
Audio Mixer: Daniel Rey .
Recording information: Baby Monster Studios, N.Y.C., NY; SPA Recording, N.Y.C., NY; The Academy, N.Y.C., NY.
Illustrators: J.C. Wegman; Ron Larson; Mike Bell.
On the Ramones' Greatest Hits Live, the world's first punk band trots out its classics ("Blitzkrieg Bop," "I Wanna Be Sedated," etc.) along with two new studio tracks: "R.A.M.O.N.E.S." and "Any Way You Want It." ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Usually, Greatest Hits Live albums are the province of aging stars and reunited rock & roll oldies group, well past their prime. They make no attempt to play new material or reinterpret their older material, they just churn it out to please the crowd. The Ramones' Greatest Hits Live is no exception to the rule. The world's first punk band acts like an oldies act, trotting out their classics ("Blitzkrieg Bop," "I Wanna Be Sedated," etc.) with an astonishing lack of interest or energy -- they really sound like a relic, not a once-revolutionary force. The two new studio tracks -- the masturbatory "R.A.M.O.N.E.S." and "Any Way You Want It" (which is disappointingly not a Journey cover) -- only confirm that the band threw in the towel a few years too late. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine
To coincide with their appearance as part of the Lollapallooza '96 festival tour (alongside the likes of Rancid, Soundgarden, and Metallica), the Ramones issued their third live album, GREATEST HITS LIVE. The group was nearing the end of a mammoth "farewell tour," (they'd done several of these already) but although they were in the twilight of their career, nobody could lay down such an enjoyable, three-chord racket like the Ramones.
As the title says, just their best tracks make the cut--featured are super-charged versions of classics like "Blitzkrieg Bop," "Do You Remember Rock N' Roll Radio," "I Wanna Be Sedated," and "Rockaway Beach." While it may not be as stupendous as their original live set, 1979's IT'S ALIVE, 1996's GREATEST HITS LIVE still packs quite a punch.Entertainment Weekly (7/19/96, p.75) - "...one of rock's most important bands, you could do a whole lot worse than full-throttle live versions of `Beat On The Brat,' `Sheena Is A Punk Rocker,' and 16 other songs..."
- Rating: B