VARIOUS ARTISTS
We’re a Happy Family:
Tribute to Ramones
Columbia Records 2003
www.ramones.com
www.robzombie.com

Featuring: Red Hot Chili Peppers, Rob Zombie, Eddie Vedder, Metallica, U2, Kiss, Marilyn Manson, Garbage, Green Day, The Pretenders, Rancid, Peter Yorn, The Offspring, Rooney, Tom Waits.

What’s the 4-1-1?
It would take pages and pages to give you the back story of The Ramones. To sum it up, The Ramones were one of the most notable punk rock bands out of Queens N.Y. They got their start at the famous CBGB’s nightclub in the mid-seventies. It wasn’t long before they secured a record deal. Over the last thirty years, The Ramones amassed a strong fan base which relished in their stripped down, three minute, three chord, fast tempo sound. They stayed true to their underground roots and never went commercial. There would be no punk rock music without The Ramones. With the recent passing of Joey and Dee Ramone, the mainstream rock world wanted to pay their respects by covering some of The Ramones most notable songs. Spearheaded by producers Johnny Ramone and Rob Zombie, We’re a Happy Family: A Tribute to Ramones is a star-studded CD released to remind us how influential the group truly was.

Genre
Punk / modern rock / classic rock

The Good
Some artists stay true to the original punk sound, while others rework the tracks to fit their style. Some of the reworked tracks are The Red Hot Chili Peppers Latin-themed, “Havana Affair”, Rob Zombie’s guitar heavy, electronic infused “Blitzkrieg Bop”, U2’s soft-pop version of “Beat on the Brat”, and Marilyn Manson’s scary “The KKK Took My Baby Away”. You’d swear that Manson wrote. The Pretenders turn “Something to Believe In” into a ballad, and there are no words to describe what Tom Waits did to “Return of Jackie and Judy”.

Metallica’s cover of “53rd & 3rd” sounds more like the original. It’s clear that the bay-area thrashers were influenced by The Ramones. The contributing punk bands The Offspring, Rancid, and Green Day stayed true to the Ramones’ raw sound, but added their unique twist to it. Instead of consuming it and making it their own, Kiss decided to keep “Do You remember Rock n Roll Radio” the same. Perhaps the most surprising tracks were the two contributed by Eddie Vedder and Zeke. Who would have thought that one of the leaders of grunge would have so much “punk” in him? “I believe in Miracles” is heavy and Eddie delivers like he was one of The Ramones. Equally impressive is Vedder’s version of “Daytime Dilemma (Dangers of Love)”.

The Bad
Only three punk bands on a tribute to The Ramones? Come on!

The Verdict
The tribute CD isn’t bad, but it isn’t The Ramones, and it certainly isn’t punk rock. The disc does make you realize how much influence The Ramones signature sound had on today’s rock acts. If you want to hear some cool new tracks by your favorite mainstream rock artist, then We’re A Happy Family is worth it. But if you want to hear some in-your-face, bare bones, two and a half minute punk anthems….pick up a Ramones CD!

Did you know?
No one in the group really had the last name Ramone. (But you knew that already)

Rating: out of 5

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--George Dionne