Joey Ramone Don't Worry About Me CD

Shortly before his untimely death in April of 2001, punk rock icon Joey Ramone finished what would be his very first (and ultimately last) solo album, DON'T WORRY ABOUT ME, which was issued almost exactly one year later. It's understandable that some will automatically assume that it sounds like a new Ramones album would in the early 21st century, but DON'T WORRY ABOUT ME comes off both reflective and even (gasp!) mature at times. "I Got Knocked Down (But I'll Get Back Up)," for example, appears to have to been written while Ramone was battling his illness (especially with such lyrics as "Sittin' in a hospital bed, I want my life"). But longtime Ramones fans need not worry-- there's plenty of gritty, loud, fun rock & roll to go around. Witness the spot-on cover version of the Stooges' early classic "1969," and the quirky "Maria Bartiromo," a tribute to the CNBC TV stock market announcer of the same name (one of Joey's latter-day avocations was day trading).

Recorded at The Magic Shop, Water Music, Baby Monster, and Loho Studios, New York, New York.

Personnel: Joey Ramone; Dr. Chud, Helen Love, Jerry Only, Marky Ramone, Mickey Leigh.

Personnel: Joey Ramone (vocals); Al Maddy (guitar, bas, background vocals); Daniel Rey, Mickey Leigh (guitar, background vocals); Joe McGinty (keyboards); Jerry Only, Andy Shernoff (bass); Frank Funaro, Marky Ramone, Dr. Chud (drums); Helen Love, Veronica Kaufman, Captain Sensible (background vocals).

Rolling Stone (2/28/02, pp.57-8) - 3.5 stars out of 5- "...A big loud punk-rock record that makes you feel alive....every bit as great as those final Ramones records..."
Spin (3/02, pp.129-130) - 8 out of 10 - "...A slice of goofball life-lust....standing on the shoulders of the Ramones sound, letting its unflapable power sustain him..."
Entertainment Weekly (2/22/02, p.146) - "...A testament to the uplifting power of rock, and a welcome addition to The Ramones' oeuvre..." - Rating: A-
Q (2/02, p.113) - 4 stars out of 5 - "...A markedly better album than anything The Ramones produced after their '70s heyday..."
Alternative Press (4/02, p.80) - 7 out of 10 - "...If you fell for [the Ramones'] shtick once, you'd proably fall for it again....[Joey] explores the grittier side of the Ramones sound..."
The Wire (2/02, p.63) - "...A speedy set of originals and covers with the same streetwise bravado and impish sense of fun that he had when he was fronting The Ramones..."
CMJ (3/18/02, p.5) - "...11 short, sticky and infectious songs [of] universal gold..."
Mojo (Publisher) (3/02, p.114) - "...A fine pop-punk record which bristles with 'joie de vivre'..."
NME (Magazine) (2/9/02, p.36) - ('1-2-3-4!' out of 10) - "...It sounds like a great lost Ramones album....He's bitter and tired, harsh, sad and disappointed but finally ready and sure that he's moving on. It is perfect."