Here it is: actual, factual proof that the Ramones kicked butt.
"We're A Happy Family" is a Ramones tribute album and not just some outfit of no-name bands looking for cheap notoriety. There are some big name acts here, like Metallica, Kiss, U2, Green Day, Rob Zombie and The Pretenders. But even with the all-star line up, the disc really is not all that impressive.
The majority of artists featured seem to miss the point of the Ramones' punk rock: to care as little as possible. Every tune the Ramones recorded had a certain silly, snotty sense of humor that never existed in mainstream rock. Without that humor, a few of these tracks were just not meant to be.
Take U2's rendition of "Beat on the Brat," which does not work out at all. Musically, U2 is about as far from the Ramones as possible. Bono coos out lyrics like "beat on the brat with a baseball bat" as if he is singing with a straight face.
In "The KKK Took My Baby Away," Marilyn Manson turns a song whose title is impossible to hear without laughing into a dark, plodding industrial anthem.
Zombie's rendition of "Blitzkrieg Bop" is a graceful failure. His sound is nothing like the Ramones', but he does have a similar goofy sense of humor. Then again, he has spent much of his career composing industrial songs about B horror films, so this track is worth hearing.
Of course no listener will be able to understand how Pete Yorn got on this album.
Only hard-core Ramones fans should consider buying this album, since its practical value is only as a fan's item of interest. A few tracks are worth hearing, but for the most part, the sentimental value of this album is a good deal higher than that of the actual music.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
