"Is this what the future will bring? I pray for peace more than anything." ("PLANET EARTH 1988")
Unh?? ...Er, this is THE RAMONES we're talking about here, huh? Yeah, it is, friends, the 10-year old, experienced version, now celebrated by another extensive, lavish and warranted re-issue courtesy of Rhino.
And, while we're on the home truth trail, get this - "Too Tough To Die" (apt title or what?) is without question the fifth absolute classic RAMONES album, more than capable of arm wrestling with the likes of "Leave Home" and getting an eagle tattoo with "Rocket To Russia."
Your reviewer makes absolutely no bones about the fact that he loves this album. Let's face it, one of the greatest joys in rock'n'roll music - and this is one of the few REAL rock'n'roll bands - is when a fantastic band have a spell in the doldrums only to come back stronger than ever, which is pretty much the deal here. Now bolstered with a generous 12 extra tracks, "Too Tough To Die" is a total blast, a hurtling juggernaut of a record from start to finish announcing that (for a while anyway) Queens' finest were back and firing on all cylinders.
If you've read our review of the "Subterranean Jungle" re-issue, you'll know that despite the trauma of making that record, THE RAMONES emerged stronger and communicating again. "Too Tough To Die" bears out this new spirit of commitment, with fanstastic songwriting contributions from Joey, Johnny and especially Dee Dee.
Actually, it's tempting to refer to "Too Tough..." as Dee Dee's record, as he had a major hand in writing 9 of the thirteen songs and certainly most of the band's new-found, street-based concern sprang from his desire to comment on the world's parlous, polluted state back in the mid 1980s. Experience tells here: THE RAMONES of the late 1970s could never have written hard-won anthems like "I'm Not Afraid Of Life" or the title track. Even Dee Dee's mental shoutalong "Endless Vacation" suggests a cautionary, anti-chemical stance: especially poignant when you think of his recent sad demise.
But frankly all the band are on form here. New drummer Richie (Richard Reinhardt, formerly of THE VELVETEENS) tends to be airbrushed out of the Ramones' history now, which is a shame as he's an absolute powerhouse here, cracking a rhythmic whip throughout. Meanwhile, Joey sings like a man possessed and turns in two of his best songs in "Chasing The Night" and "Daytime Dilemma(Dangers Of Love)." This latter remains this writer's favourite Ramones song ever: power and melodic suss in excelsis, this tragic, incest-based tale (yeah...this definitely IS The Ramones) puts up the sun roof and just cruises. God, it's gorgeous.
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I've not forgotten Johnny either. His whiplash powerchording calls the shots time and time again, ensuring that songs like "Danger Zone", "Humankind" and Dee Dee's political crisis thriller "Planet Earth 1988" get airborne rapidly. Wrap this up in the loud, sympathetic production from Ed Stasium and Tommy Erdelyi (AKA Tommy Ramone - always their best production team) and you're onto an absolute winner.
Superficially, you initially think THE RAMONES had put their poppier expeiments behind them here, but they were sussed enough to include songs like "No Go" (imagine a Sun Studios production from the late 50s with added Marshall stacks) and "Howling At The Moon(Sha La La)", where - in the latter's case - they actually got that twat Dave Stewart (Eurythmics) to do something useful and produce a sublime, altruistic pop moment with bells and a (woah!) Hank Marvin guitar bit from Johnny.
The additional tracks are mostly demos, which reinforce the feeling that THE RAMONES worked their asses off to get this album right. Most of the rough versions are pretty complete in themselves, and while some of the tracks require Joey's vocals badly (he was ill for a while in pre-production causing Dee Dee to fill in), there's some cool stuff, not to mention a neat UK double A-side single from early '85 comprising an economic crunch through the Stones' "Street Fighting Man" and a hidden jewel in "Smash You": a typically lippy Ramones, er, love song.
"Too Tough To Die" certainly didn't take THE RAMONES to the top of the billboard chart (a fading dream at this stage), but its' impressive thunder was both a critical re-birth and an iron-spiked glove in the face for most of the new crop of US hardcore pretenders of the time and as Joey himself said "it put us right back on top again." Too right.
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