Review: Rockabilly Tribute to the Ramones

Rockabilly Tribute to the Ramones

As a long, long, long time Ramones fan (for all of you under 30, this means 'since you were conceived') I'm always intrigued by covers of their music & different interpretations: The Ramones Songbook as interpreted by the Nutley Brass is a favorite.

I wasn't sure what to expect from a rockabilly tribute, but I was sure it was going to be punkabilly covers, which wasn't going to be different or exciting enough to my ears. But when I heard the first strains of 'Blitzkrieg Bop', I was delighted- this is straight-up old school rockabilly in the vein of Gene Vincent, Carl Perkins, Buddy Holly, et al. In fact, it's hard to tell when each song starts exactly which Ramones song it is until about 15 seconds into it, which is just brilliant! I am really amazed how well the Ramones songs translate into the rockabilly sound, and it's a testament to their fine songwriting abilities.

Oddly enough, the only song I felt didn't really work was "Do You Remember Rock 'N' Roll Radio?" and I could live the rest of my life without hearing 'I Wanna Be Sedated' ever again - probably my least favorite Ramones song of all time. 'Beat on the Brat', 'Teenage Lobotomy' and 'Blitzkrieg Bop' were 3 songs I felt were especially successful.

I was also surprised to see 'Bop 'Til You Drop' included, but it's extremely well done & doesn't even sound like a Ramones tune, which is interesting. The liners notes sadly do not list the musicians involved with this recording, but they run the rockabilly gamut of sound from Western swing to the more 'classic' rockabilly style.

A few of the songs could have been shorter by about 30 seconds or so, but then I'm so used to hearing them played at breakneck speed I may just have expected them to be done sooner....