Ramones
Pleasant Dreams

THE REVIEW

We all know the Ramones, there's no need to continue celebrating a band that simply founded the true Punk Rock by pushing forward a discourse already started by MC5, partly the Who, and especially Iggy & Stooges, major influences on the group. The Ramones turned the world of rock upside down, revolutionizing and shaking it like no one else, perhaps not even Elvis. Ramones: the word says it all. But the roots of the group, as is known, were not only rooted in the wild rock n roll of the aforementioned bands but also in Surf, Bubblegum pop, and in general the broad world of sixties pop.        

After the first three unmatchable albums, the turning point, if we can call it that, had already arrived with "Road to Ruin," the fourth splendid album produced by the departed Tommy, further highlighting the great 60s pop influences already present before. After the Phil Spector overproduced but excellent "End of Century" to open the new decade, which would be the most challenging for the band, came this sixth studio album by the legendary brothers from Queens that continued in this vein, yet without completely renouncing the original punk. This time produced by the less renowned but also less despotic and tyrannical multi-instrumentalist from 10cc, Graham Gouldman, described by Marky Ramone as "the group's pop album" and "one of my favorites", this album is one of the most overlooked by critics and the public, and also somewhat underrated because there aren't any bad tracks, there are anonymous tracks but also great pieces that hold their own compared to those from previous albums, even if they do not reach those peaks. The first "We Want the Airwaves" is a small masterpiece of catchy punk and would become a classic of the band from here on out, as even more so the grandiose third track "The KKK Took My Baby Away" with lyrics dedicated to the well-known Joey/Johnny/Linda affair, Joey's ex-girlfriend "stolen" by the guitarist who later followed through and married her, one of the finest pieces in the quartet's repertoire sadly also covered in an atrocious way by Marilyn Manson. "It's Not My Place(In the 9 to 5 World)" and "She's a Sensation" respectively in sixth and seventh place the other most known tracks, excellent even if quite inferior to the previous ones.        

The others never drastically lower the general level, "All Quiet On The Eastern Front" starts well and remains good despite Dee Dee's avoidable choruses, "Don't Go", an excellent brief and melodic song, "You Sound Like You're Sick", "You Didn't Mean Anything To Me", "Come On Now", "The Business Is Killing Me" and "Sitting In My Room" smoothly complete the picture without too much excitement or anything particularly noteworthy, in short, neither praiseworthy nor blameworthy like the album itself.      

Closing with "7-11": a splendid eighth track, certainly the best of the work, the longest and most emotional in telling a tender and sad love story through the magnificent voice of the great Joey.          

An album not essential unless you are a Ramones fanatic like myself, but not an album to despise or completely ignore either, an album that fits well in the repertoire of a band that never released bad or undignified albums. It doesn't belong to the drive of the early days, but the feeling is that of a light yet enjoyable, well-arranged and well-made work as a whole, a very honest album in conclusion.      

Recommended for those who want to taste the more melodic side and at times romantic and melancholic side of the band. Even if it doesn't reach the heights of their best works, it's an album that between highs and lows flows smoothly without any dull moments. The Ramones are a band to be known, discovered, and savored for every single note of every single album.