Review Revue: Ramones - Subterranean Jungle

Here's another one: How is this the first time I've covered a Ramones album in this almost decade-long series of blog posts? I mean, the Ramones! Come on! Is there a more influential band with a deeper catalog more filled with albums that college radio DJs are likely to have intensely critical and controversial opinions about? I have no excuse, all I can do is try to correct the record.

The Ramones need no introduction, but what their seventh album, Subterranean Jungle, might well need is a healthy dose of college-radio-DJ-splaining. Unlike some other albums I could have chosen (and might choose in the future), Subterranean Jungle was seen by many as a return to form and didn't elicit too many nasty complaints about selling out, overproduction, and so on. It's still a fun bunch of music-nerding out, though.

"GABBAGABBAHEY! FINALLY! Sounds more like early Ramones . . . not as highly produced as Pleasant Dreams or End of the Century . . . strange miking of the drums."

"Yeah. The cymbals especially."

"Yes, I would like this for my birthday. Thanks. (The subways are never that clean)"

"As Tony the Tiger would say GRRRRRREAT! PS Especially remakes 2.2 & 1.1. Also good are 2.1 & 1.3!!!"

"Great cover of 'Time Ha Come Today' - old Chamber Bros. tune."

"Yes! From 1966."

"Tracks 5 + 6 on side 1 are tighter than a duck's ass. (This means 'watch out,' becos you'llmiss, like me.)" [Which, if I may elaborate further, means that there is very little space between the end of track 5 and the beginning of track 6, so the DJ had to be ready to make a quick switch before it was too late.]

"Yow! The Ramones do a great cover of a FRAZZ tune."

"Sorry - it's the Music Explosion." [As long as we're correcting each other . . . actually, it's the Little Darlings. But of course they didn't have Wikipedia at KCMU in 1983.]

"I was kidding!"

"Sure... sure..."

"As the world's #1 Ramones fan, I say it's good, but not their best. But with a few great cuts."

"'Little Bit of Soul' great rock + roller"

"What?? New jeans + tennis shoes?!"

"'Everytime I Eat Vegetables...' solid rock + roll."

"'I Need Your Love' - nice cover of the Boyfriend's song."

"I've been here too long - get me outta 'H.'"

"There are so many good cuts here, it should be in 'H' til 'the cows come home' (- Capt. Action, 5/29/83)" [This comment was only written two months after the album was first added to the KCMU library, which doesn't seem that insanely long to me, especially for a kickass Ramones record.]