Ramones (Screeching Weasel Album)
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Between 1993 and 2000, a series of Ramones covers albums were released by
Selfless Records Selfless Records is a record label that releases punk rock music. The label was notable for putting out a number of albums that were covers of entire Ramones albums, including Leave Home, Ramones and Rocket to Russia. Artists * Antischism * Big B ...
(later Clearview Records), an
independent record label An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small and medium-sized enterprise, small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels ...
based in
Garland, Texas Garland is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, located within Dallas County, Texas, Dallas County with portions extending into Collin County, Texas, Collin and Rockwall County, Texas, Rockwall counties. It is located northeast of Dallas and is a ...
specializing in
punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...
, on which bands influenced by seminal punk group the
Ramones The Ramones were an American punk rock band formed in the New York City neighborhood Forest Hills, Queens in 1974. Known for helping establish the punk movement in the United States and elsewhere, the Ramones are often recognized as one of th ...
performed
cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...
s of entire Ramones albums. Under the Selfless label,
Screeching Weasel Screeching Weasel is an American punk rock band consisting of Ben Weasel (vocals), Mike Kennerty (guitar), Mike Hunchback (guitar), Zach "Poutine" Brandner (bass) and Pierre Marche (drums) founded in 1986 by Ben Weasel and John Pierson (music ...
,
the Queers The Queers are an American punk rock band, formed in 1981 by Portsmouth, New Hampshire native Joseph “Joe” P. King (a.k.a. Joe Queer) along with Scott Gildersleeve (a.k.a. Tulu), and John “Jack” Hayes (a.k.a. Wimpy Rutherford). With the ...
, and
the Vindictives The Vindictives are an American, Chicago-based punk rock group, founded by singer and songwriter Joey Vindictive in 1991, releasing 12 EPs and albums by July 1996. History They began their career in 1991, cutting their first 7-inch record later ...
respectively covered the first three Ramones albums: ''
Ramones The Ramones were an American punk rock band formed in the New York City neighborhood Forest Hills, Queens in 1974. Known for helping establish the punk movement in the United States and elsewhere, the Ramones are often recognized as one of th ...
'' (1976), ''
Rocket to Russia ''Rocket to Russia'' is the third studio album by the American punk rock band Ramones, and was released on November 4, 1977, through Sire Records. It is the band's last album to feature original drummer Tommy Ramone, who left the band in 1978 ...
'' (1977), and ''
Leave Home ''Leave Home'' is the second studio album by the American punk rock band Ramones. It was released on January 10, 1977, through Sire Records, with the expanded CD being released through Rhino Entertainment on June 19, 2001. The front photo was ...
'' (1977). Selfless then became Clearview Records and continued the series, with
Boris the Sprinkler Boris the Sprinkler is a punk rock band that formed in Green Bay, Wisconsin in 1992. Front man Rev. Nørb has been a regular fanzine columnist over a period of four decades, writing regularly for '' Maximum RocknRoll,'' ''Hit List,'' and '' Razor ...
, the
Parasites Parasitism is a close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives (at least some of the time) on or inside another organism, the host, causing it some harm, and is adapted structurally to this way of life. The en ...
,
the Mr. T Experience The Mr. T Experience (sometimes abbreviated MTX) is an American punk rock band formed in 1985 in Berkeley, California, United States. They have released eleven full-length albums along with numerous EPs and singles and have toured internationall ...
, the Beatnik Termites, and the McRackins respectively covering ''
End of the Century ''End of the Century'' is the fifth studio album by the American punk rock band Ramones, released on February 4, 1980, through Sire Records. The album was the band's first to be produced by Phil Spector, though he had offered the band his assis ...
'' (1980), '' It's Alive'' (1979), '' Road to Ruin'' (1978), ''
Pleasant Dreams ''Pleasant Dreams'' is the sixth studio album by the American punk rock band Ramones, released on July 20, 1981, through Sire Records. While the band members wanted Steve Lillywhite to produce, Sire chose Graham Gouldman in an attempt to gain ...
'' (1981), and ''
Too Tough to Die ''Too Tough to Die'' is the eighth studio album by the American punk rock band Ramones. It was released on October 1, 1984, and is the first Ramones record to feature Richie Ramone on drums. With ex-member Tommy Ramone producing (credited as T ...
'' (1984). Each entry in the series was issued as a limited edition
LP record The LP (from long playing or long play) is an Analog recording, analog sound storage medium, specifically a phonograph record format characterized by: a speed of  revolutions per minute, rpm; a 12- or 10-inch (30- or 25-cm) diameter; use ...
, with 1,400 copies pressed in the standard black, 300 on colored discs, and an additional 300 with an alternate
screen printed Screen printing is a printing technique where a mesh is used to transfer ink (or dye) onto a substrate, except in areas made impermeable to the ink by a blocking stencil. A blade or squeegee is moved across the screen in a "flood stroke" to ...
cover intended for the band to sell on tour. Some of the albums were later re-released on
compact disc The compact disc (CD) is a Digital media, digital optical disc data storage format co-developed by Philips and Sony to store and play digital audio recordings. It employs the Compact Disc Digital Audio (CD-DA) standard and was capable of hol ...
by Clearview or other labels.


Albums


Screeching Weasel – ''Ramones''

The series began when Selfless Records head Todd Greene contacted
Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
-based band
Screeching Weasel Screeching Weasel is an American punk rock band consisting of Ben Weasel (vocals), Mike Kennerty (guitar), Mike Hunchback (guitar), Zach "Poutine" Brandner (bass) and Pierre Marche (drums) founded in 1986 by Ben Weasel and John Pierson (music ...
while they were celebrating the completion of recording sessions for their album '' Wiggle'', asking if they would record their favorite
Ramones The Ramones were an American punk rock band formed in the New York City neighborhood Forest Hills, Queens in 1974. Known for helping establish the punk movement in the United States and elsewhere, the Ramones are often recognized as one of th ...
album for his label. "It was a completely stupid idea," wrote singer
Ben Weasel Benjamin Foster (born April 8, 1968), also known as Ben Weasel, is an American musician best known as the lead singer and guitarist of the punk rock band Screeching Weasel. Early life Foster was born in 1968, and was raised in Prospect Heigh ...
several years later, "so of course we did it. My favorite Ramones album is actually ''
Leave Home ''Leave Home'' is the second studio album by the American punk rock band Ramones. It was released on January 10, 1977, through Sire Records, with the expanded CD being released through Rhino Entertainment on June 19, 2001. The front photo was ...
'', but we all agreed we could do a halfway decent job with their first album." They recorded the album with
recording engineer An audio engineer (also known as a sound engineer or recording engineer) helps to produce a recording or a live performance, balancing and adjusting sound sources using equalization, dynamics processing and audio effects, mixing, reproducti ...
Mass Giorgini Massimiliano Adelmo Giorgini (born 1968) is an American bassist and record producer who rose to fame when several of the bands he produced experienced huge gains in popularity during the pop-punk boom of the mid-'90s. Among these bands was Giorg ...
at his Sonic Iguana Studios in
Lafayette, Indiana Lafayette ( ) is a city in and is the county seat of Tippecanoe County, Indiana, United States, located northwest of Indianapolis and southeast of Chicago. According to the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of Lafayette ...
, working from midnight on October 17, 1992 until 2:00 AM the following day, with the band members acting as
record producer A record producer or music producer is a music creating project's overall supervisor whose responsibilities can involve a range of creative and technical leadership roles. Typically the job involves hands-on oversight of recording sessions; ensu ...
s. "We recorded it at Sonic Iguana in something silly like fifteen hours", wrote Weasel, "and mixed it to sound like the first Ramones album (bass outta one speaker, guitar outta the other). It was stupid, but a lot of fun and it marks the only Screeching Weasel album on which anVapid sang lead on a song (' Let's Dance')." The cover photograph mimics the ''Ramones'' cover, with the band members (guitarist John Jughead Pierson, drummer
Dan Panic Dan Sullivan, also known as Dan Panic or Danny Panic, is an American punk rock drummer from Chicago. Career Dan Sullivan began his musical career with Ivy League, a quartet from Chicago's western suburbs who released one 7-inch EP in 1990. He ...
, Weasel, and bassist Vapid) pictured in
black and white Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white to produce a range of achromatic brightnesses of grey. It is also known as greyscale in technical settings. Media The history of various visual media began with black and white, ...
against a brick wall, wearing torn blue jeans, black leather jackets, and Ramones T-shirts. Screeching Weasel later included four tracks from the album—" Judy Is a Punk", "Chain Saw", "
Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue ''Ramones'' is the debut studio album by the American punk rock band Ramones, released on April 23, 1976, by Sire Records. After ''Hit Parader'' editor Lisa Robinson saw the band at a gig in New York City, she wrote several articles about the ...
", and " Havana Affair"—on their 1995 compilation album ''
Kill the Musicians ''Kill the Musicians'' is a compilation album released in 1995 which was meant to serve as a "cleaning up" of loose ends after Screeching Weasel's breakup in 1994. The compilation collects demos, B-sides, vinyl-only EPs, and other various odds ...
''. In 1998 they paired the entire album with their 1996 EP '' Formula 27'' as the compilation '' Beat Is on the Brat''.


The Queers – ''Rocket to Russia''

North Hampton, New Hampshire North Hampton is a town in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 4,538 at the 2020 census. While the majority of the town is inland, North Hampton includes a part of New Hampshire's limited Atlantic seacoast. Histo ...
-based band
the Queers The Queers are an American punk rock band, formed in 1981 by Portsmouth, New Hampshire native Joseph “Joe” P. King (a.k.a. Joe Queer) along with Scott Gildersleeve (a.k.a. Tulu), and John “Jack” Hayes (a.k.a. Wimpy Rutherford). With the ...
were the next to record an album in the series, covering 1977's ''
Rocket to Russia ''Rocket to Russia'' is the third studio album by the American punk rock band Ramones, and was released on November 4, 1977, through Sire Records. It is the band's last album to feature original drummer Tommy Ramone, who left the band in 1978 ...
''. Their version was recorded at Flat Iron Studios in Chicago in 1994 with Ben Weasel as producer. According to singer and guitarist "Joe Queer" King and bassist Chris "B-Face" Barnard, it was recorded in a single day with no rehearsals. They later criticized other bands who spent more time rehearsing and recording their entries in the series, saying "You can't improve on the Ramones, they were the greatest punk rock band the world will ever know." The Queers' usual drummer, Hugh O'Neill, was on a forced leave of absence from the band; earlier that year, they had staged an intervention in order to convince him to stop using
heroin Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a morphinan opioid substance synthesized from the Opium, dried latex of the Papaver somniferum, opium poppy; it is mainly used as a recreational drug for its eupho ...
. This accounted for his absence from ''Rocket to Russia'' and their following album, 1994's ''
Beat Off ''Beat Off'' is the fourth studio album by the American punk rock band the Queers, released in 1994 by Lookout! Records. Recorded during a time when the Queers' usual drummer, Hugh O'Neill, was on a forced leave of absence from the band to deal ...
''. For ''Rocket to Russia'' they were joined by drummer Jay Adelberg. By April of that year Screeching Weasel drummer Dan Panic and bassist Dan Vapid had joined the Queers, and the band played as openers for the Ramones at a show in Hampton Beach, which Vapid later called the most pivotal moment of his time with the Queers. After Selfless became Clearview Records, ''Rocket to Russia'' was reissued on compact disc in 1998 with the catalog number CRVW 28. Reviewing this version of the album for
Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
, Stewart Mason rated it 2 stars out of 5, saying that of the albums in the series it was "probably the most faithful to the original. This is not at all surprising, considering head Queer Joe King's unswerving devotion to Ramones-style pop-punk in all of his band's own releases. All 14 songs, even the covers of
Bobby Freeman Robert Thomas Freeman (June 13, 1940 – January 23, 2017)"Bobby Freeman"
Ace Records.co.uk. Retrieve ...
's '
Do You Wanna Dance "Do You Want to Dance" is a song written by American singer Bobby Freeman and recorded by him in 1958. It reached number No. 5 on the United States ''Billboard'' Top 100 Sides pop chart, No. 2 on the ''Billboard'' R&B chart, and No. 1 in Can ...
' and
the Trashmen The Trashmen were an American rock band formed in Minneapolis in 1962 and are best known for their biggest hit, 1963's " Surfin' Bird", which reached No. 4 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. The original line-up of the group featured guitarists Ton ...
's '
Surfin' Bird "Surfin' Bird" is a song performed by American surf rock band the Trashmen, containing the repetitive lyric "the bird is the word". It has been covered many times. The song is a combination of two R&B hits by the Rivingtons: "Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow" ...
', sound pretty much exactly like the originals with King's voice dubbed over Joey amones. It's all an impressive feat of mimicry, as well as a nice tribute to the group's obvious heroes. It doesn't make one want to listen to the album more than once, though." The album was
remix A remix, also sometimes called reorchestration or rework, is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, poem, or photograph ca ...
ed in December 2000 by King, Barnard, and producer and recording engineer Jim Tierney at the Electric Cave in
Portsmouth, New Hampshire Portsmouth is a city in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census it had a population of 21,956. A historic seaport and popular summer tourist destination on ...
, and reissued in 2001 by
Liberation Records Liberation Records is an American record company based in the Los Angeles area known for do it yourself ethos and pioneering guerrilla marketing strategies. It was formed by then 16-year-old underground rock music fanzine publisher David Taba in ...
(catalog number L 37838). This release added the Queers original "Blabbermouth" from the 1994 compilation ''Punk USA''.


The Vindictives – ''Leave Home''

Chicago-based band
the Vindictives The Vindictives are an American, Chicago-based punk rock group, founded by singer and songwriter Joey Vindictive in 1991, releasing 12 EPs and albums by July 1996. History They began their career in 1991, cutting their first 7-inch record later ...
recorded the third entry in the series, covering the 1977 Ramones album ''
Leave Home ''Leave Home'' is the second studio album by the American punk rock band Ramones. It was released on January 10, 1977, through Sire Records, with the expanded CD being released through Rhino Entertainment on June 19, 2001. The front photo was ...
''. Their version was recorded on March 14, 1994 with producer and engineer Mark Schwarz at Vuber Studio in Chicago. Unlike Screeching Weasel and the Queers, the Vindictives made substantial changes to the structure of the album they were covering, rearranging the order of the songs, adding backing vocals and extended
guitar solo A guitar solo is a melody, melodic passage, instrumental section (music), section, or entire piece of music, pre-written (or improvised) to be played on a classical guitar, classical, electric guitar, electric, or acoustic guitar. In 20th and ...
s, adding
sound bite A sound bite or soundbite is a short clip of speech or music extracted from a longer piece of audio, often used to promote or exemplify the full-length piece. In the context of journalism, a sound bite is characterized by a short phrase or sentence ...
s from the 1932 film '' Freaks'' to the song "Pinhead" (the film had inspired the original song), and adding sound effects to "Commando" and "Gimme Gimme Shock Treatment". The alternate screen printed cover for the tour edition of this album was illustrated by
Chris Appelgren Chris Appelgren, also known as Chris Applecore, is an American record executive, illustrator, and musician who served owner and president of Lookout! Records from 1997 when label founder Larry Livermore and partner Patrick Hynes retired, until 201 ...
of
Lookout! Records Lookout Records (stylized as Lookout! Records) was an independent record label, initially based in Laytonville, California, and later in Berkeley, focusing on punk rock. Established in 1987, the label is best known for having released Operatio ...
. The Vindictives' version of ''Leave Home'' was reissued on LP and CD by Liberation Records in 1998 with new cover artwork by noted punk album art Illustrator, Mark deSalvo. (catalog number L 37808). Reviewing this edition for Allmusic, Mike DaRonco rated it two stars out of five in a negative review, calling it "a pretty redundant and worthless concept except for maybe calling attention to 'one of the greatest rock & roll bands ever', but at least Screeching Weasel had the decency to cover ''Ramones'' straight through without any changes. So not only do the Vindictives do their own version of classics like '
Sheena Is a Punk Rocker "Sheena Is a Punk Rocker" is a song by American punk rock band Ramones, released in 1977 through Sire Records. Written by front man and lead vocalist Joey Ramone, it appears on the band's third studio album ''Rocket to Russia'' (1977). The song ...
' and 'Pinhead' with extended guitar solos and unnecessary backing vocals, but none of the songs are in the order of the original version. Blasphemy!" Reviewer Tom Trauma of Punknews.org also gave a negative opinion of the album in 2016, rating it two and a half stars out of five and remarking that "Generally bands should be praised for pushing the envelope, but in this case there were probably more misses than hits." He criticized the guitar sound as "jagged" and "more metallic sounding" than the original, and said the album had "more lead guitar than Johnny amoneplayed in his whole career." "The heavy Vindictives treatment may have worked if only used on a song or two", he concluded; "Over the course of 16 tracks it's just too much. They definitely swung for the fences. If they had connected, this might have been the masterpiece of the series. Ultimately, they're guilty of making a perfect, untouchable album into a mediocre one. As it turned out, it was the least listenable of the first three."


Boris the Sprinkler – ''End of the Century''

Later in 1994 Selfless Records changed its name to Clearview Records. In 1996 the label revived the Ramones covers series, with
Boris the Sprinkler Boris the Sprinkler is a punk rock band that formed in Green Bay, Wisconsin in 1992. Front man Rev. Nørb has been a regular fanzine columnist over a period of four decades, writing regularly for '' Maximum RocknRoll,'' ''Hit List,'' and '' Razor ...
covering the band's 1980 album ''
End of the Century ''End of the Century'' is the fifth studio album by the American punk rock band Ramones, released on February 4, 1980, through Sire Records. The album was the band's first to be produced by Phil Spector, though he had offered the band his assis ...
''. It was recorded in the band's home town of
Green Bay, Wisconsin Green Bay is a city in Brown County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. It is located at the head of Green Bay (Lake Michigan), Green Bay (known locally as "the bay of Green Bay"), a sub-basin of Lake Michigan at the mouth of the F ...
at Simple Studios, the basement studio of bassist "Eric No. 2" Thielen, who produced the album under the pseudonym Eric J. Simple. It was the first album in the series to be issued on CD by Clearview, in addition to the usual 2,000 LP copies. Reviewing it for Allmusic, Mike DaRonco rated it two stars out of five, saying that the band "openly admit during the long intro of '
Do You Remember Rock 'n' Roll Radio? "Do You Remember Rock 'n' Roll Radio?" is a song by American punk rock band Ramones, released by Sire Records as the second single and opening track from the band's fifth studio album '' End of the Century'' (1980). It was released on May 16, 1980 ...
' that what they're covering is one of the worst Ramones records ever released. Not that Rev. Nørb and company are wrong by any means, but they certainly don't improve upon ''End of the Century''. Seriously, why would a band re-record an album in its entirety when it was already perfected the first time around?"


Parasites – ''It's Alive''

The
Parasites Parasitism is a close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives (at least some of the time) on or inside another organism, the host, causing it some harm, and is adapted structurally to this way of life. The en ...
, based in
Berkeley, California Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Anglo-Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland, Cali ...
, had the fifth entry in the series in 1997 with a cover of the Ramones' first
live album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track or cassette), or digital. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th centur ...
, 1979's '' It's Alive''. The original had been recorded on
New Year's Eve In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Eve refers to the evening, or commonly the entire day, of the last day of the year, 31 December, also known as Old Year's Day. In many countries, New Year's Eve is celebrated with dancing, eating, drinkin ...
, December 31, 1977; the Parasites similarly recorded their version on December 31, 1996 at famed Berkeley punk club
924 Gilman Street The Alternative Music Foundation located at 924 Gilman Street, almost exclusively referred to as "Gilman", is a non-profit, all-ages, collectively organized music club. It is located in the West Berkeley, Berkeley, California, West Berkeley ar ...
. It was mixed by Kurt Belch at HAM studio in Seattle. Rather than covering the entire album in its original 28-song,
double LP A double album (or double record) is an audio album that spans two units of the primary medium in which it is sold, typically either records or compact disc. A double album is usually, though not always, released as such because the recording i ...
form, the Parasites instead covered the pared-down, 20-song, single-LP version of the album that had been released only in Japan. This version of ''It's Alive'' had included a transcribed lyric sheet with numerous inaccuracies, including misheard transcriptions of Joey Ramone's between-song comments. The Parasites included this lyric sheet in their version of the album, and sang all of the lyrics according to how they were printed on the sheet, including all of the inaccuracies. The
liner notes Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or cassette j-cards. Origin Liner notes are descended from the prog ...
were written by Boris the Sprinkler singer Rev. Nørb in April 1997; In them, he claimed that Boris the Sprinkler had originally been slated to cover 1978's '' Road to Ruin'', which was the next Ramones studio album after ''Leave Home'' and ''Rocket to Russia'', but while he felt that "half that album is totally great, and cannot be improved upon by mere mortals, the other half is utter dreck that I wouldn't sing if you put a goddamned bazooka to my head", and so had asked Greene if they could cover ''It's Alive'' instead, reasoning that it technically followed ''Rocket to Russia'' in the Ramones' discography. Greene had declined on the grounds that ''It's Alive'' consisted entirely of songs from the first three Ramones albums, which had already been covered by Screeching Weasel, the Vindictives, and the Queers, though Rev. Nørb suspected that it was really because Greene did not want to finance a double live album. They had settled for Boris the Sprinkler covering ''End of the Century'' instead. Nørb had forgotten that the shorter, Japan-only edition of ''It's Alive'' existed, and gave credit to Parasites singer and guitarist Dave Parasite for owning a copy and convincing Greene to have his band cover it. The Parasites' version of ''It's Alive'' was reissued on CD in 2008 by Kid Tested Records, with the catalog number KTR 002.


The Mr. T Experience – ''Road to Ruin''

Another Berkeley band,
the Mr. T Experience The Mr. T Experience (sometimes abbreviated MTX) is an American punk rock band formed in 1985 in Berkeley, California, United States. They have released eleven full-length albums along with numerous EPs and singles and have toured internationall ...
, provided the next installment in the series with their cover of 1978's '' Road to Ruin''. Their version was recorded at Foxhound Studio in
Oakland Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major West Coast port, Oakland is ...
with producer and engineer Kevin Army, and featured
Penelope Houston Penelope Houston (born December 17, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter best known as the singer for the San Francisco-based punk rock band the Avengers. She was raised in Seattle. In the mid-1970s she attended Fairhaven College in Belling ...
of the
Avengers Avenger(s) or The Avenger(s) may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Marvel Comics universe * Avengers (comics), a team of superheroes **Avengers (Marvel Cinematic Universe), a central team of protagonist superheroes of "The Infinity Sag ...
as a guest vocalist on "Questioningly".


Beatnik Termites – ''Pleasant Dreams''

The Beatnik Termites from
Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–United States border, Canada–U.S. maritime border ...
recorded the seventh album in the series with their cover version of 1981's ''
Pleasant Dreams ''Pleasant Dreams'' is the sixth studio album by the American punk rock band Ramones, released on July 20, 1981, through Sire Records. While the band members wanted Steve Lillywhite to produce, Sire chose Graham Gouldman in an attempt to gain ...
''. Like Screeching Weasel had, they recorded their album at Sonic Iguana Studios in Lafayette, Indiana with producer and engineer
Mass Giorgini Massimiliano Adelmo Giorgini (born 1968) is an American bassist and record producer who rose to fame when several of the bands he produced experienced huge gains in popularity during the pop-punk boom of the mid-'90s. Among these bands was Giorg ...
. Ray Ahn of Australian punk band the
Hard-Ons The Hard-Ons are an Australian punk rock band, that formed in 1982 in Punchbowl, New South Wales. Its founding members were Keish de Silva on lead vocals and drums, Peter "Blackie" Black on guitar and backing vocals, and Ray Ahn on bass guita ...
played bass guitar on the record as a special guest. The band released a CD version of the album on their own imprint, Insubordination Records, with the catalog number ISR 030. The Beatnik Termites' version of the album was mentioned in the liner notes of the 2002
remaster A remaster is a change in the sound or image quality of previously created forms of media, whether Mastering (audio), audiophonic, Cinematography, cinematic, or Videography, videographic. The resulting product is said to be remastered. The term ...
ed edition of the Ramones' ''Pleasant Dreams'' published by
Rhino Entertainment Rhino Entertainment Company (formerly Rhino Records Inc.) is an American specialty record label and production company founded in 1978. It is currently the catalog division for Warner Music Group. Its current CEO is Mark Pinkus. History Founded ...
.


The McRackins – ''Too Tough to Die''

Canadian band the McRackins, from
Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...
, had the final entry in the series, covering the Ramones' 1984 album ''
Too Tough to Die ''Too Tough to Die'' is the eighth studio album by the American punk rock band Ramones. It was released on October 1, 1984, and is the first Ramones record to feature Richie Ramone on drums. With ex-member Tommy Ramone producing (credited as T ...
'' in 2000. Produced by Todd Stefanson and singer and guitarist Bil McRackin, it was co-released with Berkeley-based label Coldfront Records (catalog number CF 044).


Other Bands Continue the Project

Punk bands on other independent labels have continued the project of covering the Ramones discography, independently of Clearview/Selfless. In 1998,
Liberation Records Liberation Records is an American record company based in the Los Angeles area known for do it yourself ethos and pioneering guerrilla marketing strategies. It was formed by then 16-year-old underground rock music fanzine publisher David Taba in ...
released a version of ''Too Tough to Die'' by Jon Cougar Concentration Camp (this was released before the final Selfless/Clearview entry, by McRackins, of that same album). In 2004, a Norwegian band known as the Tip Toppers recorded a cover of ''
Subterranean Jungle ''Subterranean Jungle'' is the seventh studio album by the American punk rock band Ramones, released by Sire Records on February 28, 1983. Overall, the album featured a return to a somewhat more hard punk rock style compared to the band's previo ...
'' (1983), which had been skipped over in the original series. The Kobanes and the New Rochelles continued the tradition, releasing covers of the next two albums from the Ramones' discography (doing so in flipped chronology, just as ''Rocket to Russia'' and ''Leave Home'' were released out of sequence in the original series, and then ''Road to Ruin'' and ''End of the Century'' were also released out of order). The Kobanes released a cover of '' Halfway to Sanity'' (1987) in 2011, while the New Rochelles tackled ''
Animal Boy ''Animal Boy'' is the ninth studio album by the American punk rock band Ramones, released through Sire Records on May 19, 1986. Due to conflicts within the group, the album features less of lead singer Joey Ramone, both in performing and writing ...
'' (1986) in 2019. Spain's K7s recorded a cover of
Mondo Bizarro ''Mondo Bizarro'' (a misspelled version of "Mondo Bizzarro", meaning "Weird World" in Italian) is the twelfth studio album by American punk rock band Ramones, released on September 1, 1992, by Radioactive Records. It is the first studio album to ...
in 2021. In 2022 Geoff Palmer added a twist to the Ramones tribute series by covering the infamous 1989 Dee Dee King rap album '' Standing in the Spotlight'', while The Canceled Sitcoms recorded another version of
Leave Home ''Leave Home'' is the second studio album by the American punk rock band Ramones. It was released on January 10, 1977, through Sire Records, with the expanded CD being released through Rhino Entertainment on June 19, 2001. The front photo was ...
this same year. DeeCRACKS teamed with Andrea Manges from
The Manges The Manges are an Italian pop punk band that formed in La Spezia in 1993. The band's first release was a 2000 split with the McRackins titled ''Amp Records Battle Royale!'' In 2001 the Manges recorded their debut album ''The Manges 'R' Good Eno ...
to record a cover of Brain Drain in 2024. To date, the only of the Ramones 14 studio albums to have not been covered in their entirety are their last two-
Acid Eaters ''Acid Eaters'' is the thirteenth studio album by the American punk rock band Ramones. Released in 1993, towards the end of the Ramones' career, the album is the band's only album entirely composed of covers. ''Acid Eaters'' forms a musical t ...
(itself a covers album), and Adios Amigos.


References

{{Ramones Ramones tribute albums