Widely renowned as one of the runtiest offerings from the original Ramones litter, 1983’s “Subterranean Jungle” is now delivered - bolstered by 7 extra tracks - with Rhino’s customary lavish packaging and attention to detail.
And here’s the rub: it’s by no means a bad album, and while it’s hardly up there at the pinnacle of da brudders achievements, it’s fair to say it’s been harshly slandered over the years. For the most part at least.
Sure, there are glaring flaws aplenty. Most consistently annoying are Marky’s drums. Describe as “pistonlike” in the sleevenotes, this former skin thrasher would judiciously strangle any engineer who forced him to be content with this horrible, cod-futuristic sound so beloved of awful, poodle-permed metal bands in the early ‘80s. Of course, producers Richie Cordell and Glenn Kolotkin had just worked their chart magic with Joan Jett’s “I Love Rock’n’Roll” at the time, but such a nasty neutering of the Ramones trademark sound remains heinous.
Additionally, both poor relations within the group (Marky would be kicked out before the sessions ended for his alcohol problem) and increased pressure from above to have radio hits accounts for why songs like covers of The Boyfriends’ “I Need Your Love” and the ambitious Chambers Brothers’ retread “Time Has Come Today” were shoehorned into the Ramones image. Neither really comes off and when coupled with average stuff like the merely efficient cover of The Music Explosion’s “Little Bit O’ Soul” and the thinly-disguised “Blitzkreig Bop” rewrite “Somebody Like Me” you begin to fear the worst.
However, to write off the Ramones so glibly at this point would be a shocking error, and here are a number of tunes here that fiercely contest “Subterranean Jungle”s usual critical dismissal.
Indeed, “Subterranean Jungle”s major saving grace “Psycho Therapy” is a classic Ramones tune when viewed from any angle. It got Dee Dee and Johnny talking again and its’ (literally) insanely joyful ramalama remains a high water mark.
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Contrary to popular opinion, though, there’s a further clutch of (animal) crackers here. The Dee Dee-written and sung “Time Bomb” is a good insight into his volatile psyche, while two of his other contributions, “Outsider” and “Highest Trails Above” are standouts. The former captures the very essence of The Ramones’ stance, with its’ intro line: “I’m an outsider/ outside of everything” ringing especially true in the naff, image-conscious early MTV days, while “Highest Trails Above” marries a fantastic, full-on punk tune with some unlikely, psychedelic stream-of-consciousness lyrics and is valuable in showing what Dee Dee could achieve when not scribbling about drug-crazed nutters.
Joey also weighs in with two great tracks, “My-My Kind Of Girl” and the immortal “Every Time I Eat Vegetables It Makes Me Think Of You”. The bonus tracks here include a lovely, crystal acoustic version of the former that eclipses the low-watt Spector-isms of the official cut, while who else but Queens’ finest could get away with “...Vegetables”? Apart from an instantly memorable tune, it’s got a lyric involving Hiroshima, thorazine and East Berlin. Bloody hell, what more could a girl want, huh?
Several of the bonus demo cuts are worthy and certainly in the case of “Bumming Along” and “Unhappy Girl” you wonder why they didn’t make the LP proper. Still, even in this rough form they sound cool and re-inforce the impression that “Subterranean Jungle” deserves far better than the reputation of a lame dog requiring a merciful bullet to the head.
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