Sequels are never as good as the originals. That’s one of the main truths of the movie industry. Sure, there have been a few movies over the years which defied this logic (
The Empire Strikes Back, Rush hour 2, Scream 2) but basically the fact remains. In a certain way, the same can be said for music. Many a good band has fallen prey to the maligned «second album effect», whereby their second outing fails to live up to the expectations created by the first. However, the fact that it’s difficult to surpass the first part of something doesn’t mean that we can’t
match it. That’s basically what the Ramones do with
Leave Home
First taking shape in 1973, The Ramones essentially created what we nowadays know as punk-pop. They were the first to mix crunchy riffs with an incredible pop sensibility and catchy hooks, and they influenced everything that came afterwards, from Social Distortion to Blink 182. Their first album, released in 1974, immediately became a cornerstone for the entire punk movement, at least in its American branch. Apart from containing the quintessential punk song, in the form of
Blitzkrieg Bop, the record also spawned such hits as
Judy Is A Punk, Havana Affair or
Chainsaw. Now, with 1976’s
Leave Home, the band had an obligation to supplant it. They fell short…just.
Leave Home is the logical continuation of
Ramones, not only sonically but conceptually – for their first two albums, the Ramones took all the songs they had written and divided them chronologically between the two. Thus, the 15 songs that comprise
Leave Home were spawned in the same batch of the 14 that made up
Ramones – except they were written a few days later. The sole exception was
Sheena Is A Punk Rocker, included in the American edition of the record, that would later be reprised on
Rocket To Russia.
The reason
Sheena was included in this album has to do with another, infamous song.
Carbona Not Glue was censored most everywhere the album was released, and it was pulled from the first edition. Overseas it was replaced by the equally excellent
Baby Sitter, and in America by
Sheena. The good news is , both
Carbona AND Baby Sitter are included in this new, remastered version, allowing us to profit from two great songs.
But those aren’t the only two great songs on the album. Opener
Glad To See You Go is a true orgy of fast riffing and drumming, with sneered lyrics from the late, great Joey Ramone;
Commando is one of the simplest, yet best takes on Cold War politics, backed by a simple ascending chord progression;
Suzy Is A Headbanger is the customary ode to social misfits («Suzy is a headbanger, her mother is a geek», sings Joey). And then there’s the group’s fixation with B-movie horror themes, well depicted in both the weak
Pinhead (think a less interesting
Commando) and the above-average
You Should Never have Opened That Door. Another of the Ramones’ staples is the cover song, and here they excel with a take on the already quite fun
California Sun. The result is they make it even funnier, achieving the ultimate summer celebration song.
By this point, some of you may be complaining that I’m not going into the songs in much detail. However, because the Ramones are so well known and their songs so simple, there’s really not much need to describe the songs in detail. Suffice to say, they’re loud, fast, and incredibly fun. Nevertheless, much like they had done on
Boyfriend on the previous album, the Ramones show that they can slow down when necessary –
I Remember You. What’s Your Game and
Swallow My Pride are more emotive numbers which boast somewhat slower drum patterns, with the former even containing a solo.
However,
Leave Home suffers from the same problem as
Ramones: filler.
I Remember You, Pinhead, Now I Wanna Be A Good Boy and
What’s Your Game are much less interesting than all the rest, and will often be skipped on the course of your listen. Furthermore, the two slow songs placed next to each other
What’s Her Game and
Swallow My Pride create a hole in the middle of the record that really ruins its momentum.
But despite these little flaws, the fact remains:
Leave Home is an excellent album. It’s not the Ramones’ finest hour (that privilege still belongs to their debut), but it’s a fun listen, recommended to both fans and people who want to know where Green Day got their inspiration.
(NOTE: The remastered version includes an integral recording of a Ramones show from 1975. It’s an excellent addition, and it makes the album even more value for money.)
[u}Recommended Tracks[/u]
Glad to See You Go
Oh Oh I Love Her So
Suzy Is A Headbanger
Carbona Not Glue
Commando
California Sun
Baby Sitter
