Richie Ramone "Entitled" 2013***

Among other disasters, small and great, 2014 saw the passing of the last original Ramone, Tommy Ramone/ Erdelyi. Although the Ramones legacy lives on in a million other bands (It can justifiably be said that they've influenced more bands than anyone but The Beatles), there are precious few opportunities to fly the eagle flag and chant the hymn of the Ramones nation (you all know the words: Hey Ho, Let's Go!). Marky and CJ have been appearing in festivals and making albums, but there's one Ramone who had been absent until recently: Richie drummed for the Ramones for 3 albums and more than 500 shows during his 5 year stint in the band (1982-1987). He helped them regain some of the momentum they had lost during the early 80's and attract new fans with a more hardcore sound. He wrote, among others, one of their greatest hits "Somebody Put Something In My Drink". Now, more than 25 years after he left the band, he took once more the Ramone nom de guerre and released his first solo record. The first impression is that it does not sound like The Ramones. It misses Joey's pop sensibilities and Johnny's love of 60's rock. Which doesn't mean that Ramones fans won't like it, because there is a lot to like: the music is hard and fast with driving drums, great guitar solos and memorable choruses. Richie may not be a great singer but he pulls through without embarrassing himself, playing an amalgam of punk and no-nonsense hard rock. Three of his own compositions from his Ramones days are resurrected here: "I Know Better Now," "I'm Not Jesus," "Humankind" and they all sound different from the originals but just as good. A few songs (e.g. "Take My Hand") sound curiously like Dinosaur Jr but mostly it reminds me of that other New York punk institution, The Dictators. "Smash You" is the one song that sounds exactly like The Ramones. Together with "Criminal", "Entitled" and "Into The Fire" they make up a quartet of new songs that stand up well next to the ones of his Ramones period. Although it does not add much to The Ramones legacy and it's doubtful that will be even a footnote in the band's history, it's nevertheless an enjoyable album with fantastic drumming and fun songs. In the absence of Joey, Johnny, Dee Dee and Tommy it's good to at least have Richie around to carry on the family name. Like the graffiti on the cover of the very last Ramones album said "Viva La Revolution - Arriva Los Ramones"!

**** for I Know Better Now

*** for Criminal, Entitled, Take My Hand, Smash You, Into The Fire, I’m Not Jesus, Humankind

** for Better Than Me, Someday Girl, Vulnerable, Forgotten Years

DUST "Hard Attack-Dust" 1971-72(Orig) 2013(Reissue)****

DUST were a hard rock trio from Brooklyn NY, formed in 1968 by 18-year old Richie Weis and 16-year old mates Kenny Aaronson (bass) and Mark Bell (drums). They released 2 albums "Dust" (1971) and "Hard Attack" (1972) which are now considered early proto-metal, although the music is much more complex, combining crunching hard rock with melodic psychedelia and even country elements. Black Widow, Mountain and Led Zeppelin are often mentioned as kindred spirits. Black Sabbath too, for the heavier songs. This compilation contains both albums, starting for some reason from the last. "Pull Away/So Many Times" opens the proceedings with some acoustic guitar to transform into a bass-driven hard rocker. "Walk In The Soft Rain" and "Thusly Spoken" are excellently produced softer songs, even incorporating strings in an effort to display versatility. "Learning to Die" and "All In All" is what The Yardbirds would sound if they had gone on for another 10 years and evolved into a Metal band. "Ivory" is an instrumental propelled by super-fast drumming and guitars. "I Been Thinkin" and "How Many Horses" are a couple of nice country-ish songs and "Suicide" a monster rocker with a riff worthy of Sabbath or even Metallica. Pretty dark subject matter, too. Dig these lyrics "I thought of hangin'/But I knew it was wrong/Then thought of poison/But what I had wasn't strong/Electrocution I thought would make me a star/I stood in the rain/With my electric guitar". "Stone Woman" from the first album is a straight rocker, a bit like Steppenwolf meets the Allman Bros."Goin' Easy" is a blues number, "Chasin' Ladies" and "Love Me Hard" a couple of great hard rockers and "From A Dry Camel" is an atmospheric metal piece that sounds like it escaped from the Black Sabbath debut. Although the records did not sell, people were paying attention. Richie Weis was offered a job in production, masterminding the first two KISS albums. Kenny Aaronson joined Stories and later had a long career as sideman. Mark Bell developed a reputation for his fast and tireless drumming which eventually brought him to the fastest live band in New York City. He changed his name to Marky Ramone and became part of rock'n'roll history. He's still going strong today.

**** for Pull Away/So Many Times, Learning To Die, Suicide, Stone Woman, Chasin' Ladies, From A Dry Camel

*** for Walk In The Soft Rain, Thusly Spoken, Ivory, Love Me Hard, Often Shadows Felt

** for  All In All I Been Thinkin, How Many Horses, Entrance, Goin' Easy, Loose Goose