Brain Drain again

This is one of two Ramones studio albums I never previously owned or was at least extensively familiar with. The few times I heard it in the 80s I was not impressed. For one thing, I was turned off by the notion that the Ramones did a song called "Pet Sematary" and didn't really give it a chance. I was always turned off by Stephen King as a youth, probably because all my classmates read him while my typically anguished and alienated teenage existence was spent reading things like Joyce, Faulkner and Yeats (if that sounds snobby and pretentious so be it).

But now I like "Pet Sematary," mostly because of Joey's singing. It's definitely lightweight and corny, but for some reason these qualities seem less threatening when considering a 20 year old album than when deciding if "the new Ramones" is worth buying. I do not skip this song.

I love love love "I Believe in Miracles," out of proportion, I am sure, to its actual merits. Again this is mostly due to Joey, I think. The guitars on this album, by the way, are not recorded in a very satisfying way. Anyway this song is the greatest, even if it isn't. Lyrically it's like one of those embarrassing celebrity memoirs where the protagonist exults over their salvation from drugs, only to publicly fall from grace again..."I used to be on an endless run/Believe in miracles 'cause I'm one" writes Dee Dee, 12 years before dying from a heroin overdose. But Joey sings it, not Dee Dee, so it is easy to downplay the autobiographical aspect of it...

Zero Zero UFO is perplexing, not bad but not great, I generally don't skip it. "Don't Bust My Chops" isn't terrible but I often skip it. Unlike "I Believe in Miracles," it's probably better than the enjoyment I get out of it (almost none) would indicate.

"Punishment Fits the Crime" is a fascinating artifact. It is sung by Dee Dee but is nothing like any of his other efforts. It might be one of the worst songs ever recorded, I'm not really sure, but it's still kind of engaging and I don't always skip it. I don't know what it means, and the closest genre I can ascribe to it is probably glam metal...Here's the chorus: "Let the punishment fit the crime/The footprint on the sand of time/The philosophy of the poet's rhyme/Make a man humble in his prime." Laughably bad stuff but I almost enjoy it sometimes.

"All Screwed Up" almost hits the target but not quite. I do not generally skip it. There's a kernel here worth keeping but I am not convinced they pull it off. "Palisades Park" is a good idea but for some reason the cover doesn't work, I don't know if it's too fast or what exactly happened. After that is "Pet Sematary," already reviewed above. "Learn To Listen" I skip, there's nothing very enjoyable there, it's kind of a hardcore mess.

"Can't Get You Outta My Mind" is brilliant, maybe even a classic, I like it more and more and I'm no longer convinced the Pleasant Dreams outtake version is better, this one is probably a bit heavier and the Mama's and Papa's harmonies on the first being pared down a bit may not be a bad thing.

"Ignorance is Bliss" is so-so but I don't always skip it. "Come Back Baby" and "Merry Christmas" are both very nice Joey numbers, never to be skipped.

So: five really good ones. I am going to upgrade the stars on this below, because this is a much more engaging album than I thought.