Rocket to Russia // The Ramones
It’s the summer of 1977. It’s New York City. Punk as a genre feels like it’s on the edge of something big: its gig crowds are getting bigger, its singles are selling more, and more and more underground bands are getting record contracts. 1977 New York is like London in the 1960s when the Beatles and the Rolling Stones were getting big. Exciting, with the taste of electricity in the air. Ramones themselves already have a hit on their hands that summer, ‘Sheena Is A Punk Rocker’, one of the band’s most enduring tracks, is released. It’s jerky, dance-y sound combined the sounds of 60s surf rock and bubblegum pop with good old fashioned Ramonesesque punk (shouty, quick and dirty, explosive), a sign of what was to come on the band’s third album, the subject of this review: Rocket To Russia.
The album, which legendary guitarist Johnny cites as their best in his autobiography, Commando, is slick, fun classic punk. Led by the grind of Johnny’s guitar and classic shoutey vocals by Joey, it is a dancable record that says yes, punk can be fun, and it ought to be. Frantic and flippant, the power chord heavy album is a homage to the earliest of rockers as much as it brings forward Ramones’ fresh sound – think Beach Boys style harmonies. Chock full of enduring hits, Rocket To Russia is a record that will make just about anyone see why Ramones are pure punk royalty, and masters of the explosive New York sound.
Words by Nana Gongadze