The Ramones are a band first formed in 1974 and are regularly labelled as the first punk rock band. The members of the band all adopted the surname Ramone and although not actually related, they became like a family brought together thanks to their critical acclaim. Although commercially they weren't a massive success during their peak, they are a band that has an extended shelf life much like other legendary punk bands such as the Sex Pistols and The Clash.
The 3 founding members of the band Dee Dee, Johnny and Joey Ramone are unfortunately no longer with us. The rest of the band now live relatively quiet lives away from the spotlight, and this album was created with the sould intention of saying "thank you for the music." It may be cheesy and it may also remind you of ABBA (don't pretend like you've never heard of them) but that's certainly what this album is doing.
Some of the biggest and most influential names in modern day rock music have come together in the one album to pay tribute to such an amazing band. Green Day, Red Hot Chili Peppers, John Frusciante, Metallica, Tom Waits, Kiss to name but a few of the massive names to grace this album. Johnny Ramone was the man who oversaw the creation of the album and he instructed the artists to perform the Ramones songs in a way unlike the original. Some quite obviously obliged and took the song in a new and fantastic direction, incorporating their particular style to do the song justice. Others decided to stick with the feel of the original and just put their voice tag with it, whilst others murdered the original with their horrid attempt.
I say others which is the collective term when actually I mean other (plural) and that one is Rob Zombie and his version of the terrific Ramones classic Blitzkrieg Bop. He managed to take what I believe to be the greatest tribute album ever and drag it down to a level I just don't want to think about. He manages to take all the excitement and energy from the original and make it dull and strenuous to listen to.
The packaging is terrific and as you can see the cover art alone would make the price tag worth it, but given that horror author legend Stephen King wrote the albums liner notes, I think that's an added bonus on their part. My personal favourite on there is the Chili Peppers rendition of Havana Affair which was apparently Johnny Ramones favourite which is apparently why it's track 1. Two other great tracks are Tom Waits version of Return of Jackie & Judy as his unique voice makes it entertaining, and Green Days take on Outsider as they incorporate their own punk energy into the short Ramones classic.
Sadly Johnny Ramone died the year after this albums release, but at least he was alive to see that the Ramones were such an important part of music that they got some of the biggest bands in history to pay tribute to them.