It's Alive (Ramones album)

Last updated
It's Alive
Ramones - It's Alive cover.jpg
Live album by
ReleasedApril 1979
RecordedDecember 31, 1977
Venue The Rainbow Theatre, London
Genre Punk rock
Length53:49
Label Sire
Producer
Ramones live album chronology
It's Alive
(1979)
Loco Live
(1991)

It's Alive is the first live album by the American punk rock band the Ramones, titled after the 1974 horror film of the same name. It was recorded at the Rainbow Theatre in London on December 31, 1977, and released in April 1979 as a 2-LP set. The album draws from the band's first three studio albums: Ramones (1976), Leave Home (1977), and Rocket to Russia (1977). Four concerts during the UK tour were recorded, but the New Year's Eve one was chosen because ten rows of seats were thrown at the stage after the concert and it was considered the best of the performances at the venue.

Contents

"Since it was New Year's Eve, our management brought in some balloons and gave everybody these 'Gabba gabba hey' signs to wave around. It was very celebratory. Johnny Thunders was there, and Sid Vicious with his new girlfriend, Nancy Spungen. Elton John was there, dressed up like Marlon Brando in The Wild One . We'd honed our craft really sharp by then. The Ramones' sound was basically the essence of rock 'n' roll. That's what we were going for." – Tommy Ramone [1]

The album and concert is referred to as the band at its live peak.[ citation needed ] The concert was filmed and later released in truncated form on the 2007 compilation DVD It's Alive 1974–1996 . The album was certified gold in Argentina in 1993. [2]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [3]
American Songwriter Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [4]
Classic Rock 9/10 [5]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [6]
Q Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [7]
Record Collector Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [8]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [9]
Smash Hits 8/10 [10]
Tom Hull – on the Web B+ ( Five Pointed Star Solid.svg Five Pointed Star Solid.svg Five Pointed Star Solid.svg ) [11]
The Village Voice A− [12]

In a 1996 retrospective review, Robert Christgau of The Village Voice wrote: "Redundant when it was dropped on the punk-besotted U.K. in 1979, this concert is precious history now—seems so impossibly light and quick it makes you suspect they didn't fully sustain their live pace into their forties after all." [12]

Paul Rigby of Record Collector described the album as a "high energy, one-hour blitz" that attests to "how high-octane they really were". [8]

AllMusic critic Mark Deming deemed It's Alive to be "not only the best Ramones live album," but also "one of the best and most effective live albums in the rock canon, and every bit as essential as Ramones , Leave Home , or Rocket to Russia ." [3]

In 2005, It's Alive was ranked number 279 in Rock Hard magazine's book The 500 Greatest Rock & Metal Albums of All Time. [13]

Track listing

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Original releaseLength
1."Rockaway Beach" Dee Dee Ramone Rocket to Russia (1977)2:24
2."Teenage Lobotomy"RamonesRocket to Russia (1977)1:55
3."Blitzkrieg Bop"Tommy Ramone, Dee Dee Ramone Ramones (1976)2:05
4."I Wanna Be Well" Joey Ramone Rocket to Russia (1977)2:23
5."Glad to See You Go"Joey Ramone, Dee Dee Ramone Leave Home (1977)1:51
6."Gimme Gimme Shock Treatment" Johnny Ramone, Dee Dee RamoneLeave Home (1977)1:37
7."You're Gonna Kill That Girl"Joey RamoneLeave Home (1977)2:28
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Original releaseLength
8."I Don't Care"Joey RamoneRocket to Russia (1977)1:41
9."Sheena Is a Punk Rocker"Joey RamoneRocket to Russia (1977)2:16
10."Havana Affair"Dee Dee Ramone, Johnny RamoneRamones (1976)1:35
11."Commando"Dee Dee Ramone, Johnny RamoneLeave Home (1977)1:40
12."Here Today, Gone Tomorrow"Joey RamoneRocket to Russia (1977)2:55
13."Surfin' Bird"Al Frazier, Sonny Harris, Carl White, Turner WilsonRocket to Russia (1977)2:20
14."Cretin Hop"RamonesRocket to Russia (1977)1:46
Side three
No.TitleWriter(s)Original releaseLength
15."Listen to My Heart"Dee Dee RamoneRamones (1976)1:36
16."California Sun" Henry Glover Leave Home (1977)1:45
17."I Don't Wanna Walk Around With You"Dee Dee RamoneRamones (1976)1:25
18."Pinhead"RamonesLeave Home (1977)2:46
19."Do You Want to Dance" Bobby Freeman Rocket to Russia (1977)1:39
20."Chain Saw"Joey RamoneRamones (1976)1:29
21."Today Your Love, Tomorrow the World"Dee Dee RamoneRamones (1976)1:55
Side four
No.TitleWriter(s)Original releaseLength
22."Now I Wanna Be a Good Boy"Dee Dee RamoneLeave Home (1977)2:03
23."Judy Is a Punk"Joey RamoneRamones (1976)1:14
24."Suzy Is a Headbanger"RamonesLeave Home (1977)1:53
25."Let's Dance"Jim LeeRamones (1976)2:03
26."Oh Oh I Love Her So"Joey RamoneLeave Home (1977)1:40
27."Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue"Dee Dee RamoneRamones (1976)1:18
28."We're a Happy Family"RamonesRocket to Russia (1977)2:07

Release history

It's Alive was first released on CD in the US in 1995. The album was reissued as a 4 CD/2 LP 40th Anniversary Deluxe Edition on September 20, 2019, limited to 8,000 copies. The set includes all four concerts that were recorded during the Ramones' UK tour in December 1977 and is housed in a 12x12 hardcover book, with liner notes written by Steve Albini and Ed Stasium. [14]

Personnel

Ramones

Production

Album Design-Spencer Drate Art Director-John Gillespie Photography-Various Photographers

Charts

Chart (1979)Peak
position
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan) [15] 38
UK Albums (OCC) [16] 27

Certifications

RegionCertification Certified units/sales
Argentina (CAPIF) [17] Gold30,000^
Spain (PROMUSICAE) [18] Gold50,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

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