Happy New Year with It's Alive!

"Hey, we're the Ramones and this one's called Rockaway Beach!"
Today it's the 35th anniversary of the show that became the greatest live-album of all times – It's Alive. After Joeys introduction follows 28 songs in 54 minutes and 38 seconds. And a crowd at the Rainbow Theatre in London that goes wild, ten rows of seats were thrown at the stage after the concert.
"I think our peak, our greatest moment, is that New Year's Eve show of 1977 into 1978. I think that's our greatest moment as a band", Johnny Ramone says in his book "Commando".
I can only agree. The double-LP was released in april 1979. But for some reason it didn't came out in the USA before many years later.
The japanese version is boiled down to a single LP with 20 tracks and have a totally different cover.
The title, It's Alive, comes from the horror-movie from 1974 with the same name.
For many years rumors said that the filming from the Rainbow Theatre was destroyed or lost but 2007 Rhino released most of the show on the "It's Alive 1974-1996" dvd. The quality is great, I only wish that the whole show was included. Maybe it will be out sometime in the future...
Happy New Year!

The Rhino singles

More than 16 years after the Ramones split up there are still "official" singles coming out on vinyl. In1986 Time Warner bought the last part of the record label Rhino Entertainment. Rhino was specialized in reissues and Warner was the owner of Sire Records.

The first release is a cooperation between Rhino and the independent pop-culture retailer Newbury Comics in New England. The record is a picture disc, the first and only official picture disc 7" with the Ramones, and was released in 2008. It's limited to 1 500 copies but still easy to find. The B-side has a previously unreleased version of Beat on the Brat from the soundcheck at New years eve 1977 at the Rainbow Theatre in London. The show that became the greatest live record ever, It's alive!

Songs: I wanna be sedated/Beat on the Brat (live)

Number: Newbury Comics/Rhino DPSV-8344

Year: 2008

Country: USA

In 2010 Rhino released a repro of the U.S. single I wanna be your Boyfriend, originally from 1976. The single was sold on the Record Store Day in the USA in 2010 and was pressed in 1 000 copies. The picture sleeve looks like the original but with thicker paper.

Songs: I wanna be your Boyfriend//California Sun/I don't wanna walk around with you (live)

Number: Sire/Rhino SAA-734

Year: 2010

Country: USA

The next year there was another Ramones-release on the Record Store Day, this time a split with Red Hot Chili Peppers.
"Warner Bros. Records is pleased to announce the launch of "Side by Side" – a series of extremly limited-edition 7" vinyl singles featuring iconic WB artists covering other historic and personally influential iconic WB family artists", the company wrote in a press release.
The single, with both bands playing Havana Affair, was pressed on red vinyl in 6 500 copies – except for 100 pieces that came on clear vinyl.

Songs: Havana Affair/Havana Affair

Number: Sire 527423-7

Year: 2011

Country: Pressed in Holland

In july 2011 Rhino rereleased the Ramones first four albums on 180-gram audiophile vinyl. The first 500 copies had a bonus single on blue vinyl. The singles are:

Songs: I wanna be your Boyfriend//California Sun/I don't wanna walk around with you (live)

Number: Sire/Rhino R1-528430

Year: 2011

Country: USA

Songs: Swallow my pride/I don't care

Number: Sire/Rhino R1-528429

Year: 2011

Country: USA

Songs: Sheena is a punk rocker//Pinhead/Let's dance (live)

Number: Sire/Rhino R1-528432

Year: 2011

Country: USA

Songs: She's the one/I wanna be sedated

Number: Sire/Rhino R1-528431

Year: 2011

Country: USA

The latest release on Rhino came out in the UK on the Record Store Day in 2012. Along with four other singles from the Sire vaults Warner/Rhino released the classic Blitzkrieg bop 7".
This time in a "original vintage Sire 7 house bag" that I never have seen before and with paper labels instead of the original labels from 1976 that was pressed directly on the vinyl.
The single was limited to 800 copies.

Songs: Blitzkrieg Bop/Havana Affair

Number: Sire/Rhino 8122797365

Year: 2011

Country: EU

Record of the week – the german Don't come close

The germans released a lot of nice Ramones-singles between 1977 an 1989 with unique picture sleeves. One of them is Don't come close from 1978. As always when it comes to german singles look out for the cut-out sleeves.  The records where re-sold to record stores for a sale at discounted price and to mark this the sleeves have a small hole right through the centre of the sleeve. A lot of the german singles have this mark.
This sleeve is made of thin paper so it's common with seam split. But never the less this is a beautiful, unique picture sleeve!

Songs: Don't come close/I don't want you

Number: Sire 15 869 AT

Year: 1978

Country: Germany

Fake singles part four – the dutch Do you wanna dance?

I couldn't help notice that someone was selling the bootleg of this release as a "mega rare dutch single". On purpose or not, I don't know. But given the winning bid the buyer must have thought that this was the original pressing.

The single was released in Holland in 1978 and has a great live photo on the sleeve. It's quite hard to find today and it seems like a lot of the records was distributed to Sweden, a lot of the used copies over the years have been sold by swedish sellers.
I think the bootleg is a swedish pressing too. The easiest way to tell the difference is by looking at the label. The original pressing have a big centre hole. But you can also see the difference by looking at the sleeve. The original sleeve is wider, if you don't see the third tuning screw on Dee Dee base it is the fake sleeve. Klick the picture above.

Here is the "real" release. By the way, I have a decent extra copy of the original single up for trade. Send me a mail if you are interested.
ramonesonvinyl@gmail.com

Songs: Do you wanna dance?/It's a long way back to Germany

Number: Philips 6078 521

Year: 1978

Country: Netherlands

Canada part one – the GRT years

Under the early years before Warner acquired Sire records in 1978 the distribution was in the hands of ABC records in the U.S. and Phonogram i most parts of the rest of the world – but not in Canada. Here the Ramones releases was distributed by GRT of Canada Ltd. GRT stands for General Record & Tape and was a division of GRT of California between 1969 and 1979. 
"GRT in Canada acted very independently. The American company was primarily distributing tapes (8 tracks, cassettes, reel-to-reel) while the Canadian company signed Canadian acts and distributed labels like Sire in Canada which were not distributed by GRT in the States", a former Promotion Manager for GRT records in Canada tells me.
The Ramones did not sell very well in the country.
"Except for myself they were not promoted or promoted very lightly in Canada", he says. 
The first three albums and three singles came out on Sire/GRT before Warner took over and rereleased the albums again. This is the original pressings of the first three albums in Canada. 
Here is the complete list of Ramones records released on Sire/GRT:

Songs: I wanna be your Boyfriend//California Sun/I don't wanna walk around with you

Number: Sire/GRT 1147-734

Year: 1976

Country: Canada

Notes: Released in a GRT company sleeve with straight top.

Songs: I wanna be your Boyfriend//California Sun/I don't wanna walk around with you

Number: Sire/GRT 1147-734 PROMO

Year: 1976

Country: Canada

Notes: Released in a GRT company sleeve with straight top.

Album: Ramones

Number: Sire/GRT 9147-7520

Year: 1976

Country: Canada

Notes: Inner sleeve with lyrics. Later rereleased as QSR 6020.

Songs: Sheena is a punk rocker//I don't care

Number: Sire/GRT 1147-1006

Year: 1977

Country: Canada

Notes: Released in a GRT company sleeve with rounded top.

Album: Leave Home

Number: Sire/GRT 9147-7528

Year: 1977

Country: Canada

Notes: Inner sleeve with lyrics. Later rereleased as QSR 6031.

Songs: Rockaway Beach/Locket love

Number: Sire/GRT 1147-1008

Year: 1977

Country: Canada

Notes: Released in a GRT company sleeve with rounded top.

Album: Rocket to Russia

Number: Sire/GRT 9147-6042

Year: 1977

Country: Canada

Notes: Inner sleeve with lyrics. Later rereleased as QSR 6042.

Fake sleeves for real records

A picture sleeve for the U.S. Don't Come Close 7" ...

...and for the Someting to Believe in single.

Recently there has been two U.S.-pressed Ramones singles up on Ebay with picture sleeves that I never have seen before. Apparently someone is making picture sleeves for singles that was released without real sleeves. There is no doubt that the sleeves are "homemade", stay away from them if you are looking for official picture sleeves.
From what I heard the sleeves was sold at the record fair in Utrecht, without records, and from there they have found the way to Ebay.
More new unofficial releases that was seen in Utrecht: The dutch Blitzkrieg Bop 7" on clear vinyl and on red vinyl. It seems like there is money to be made in copying these hard-to-find classics.

Record of the week – the debut from Taiwan

The Ramones never ending world tour did not reach Taiwan but the records did. Two of the albums, the debut and End of the Century, was released in Taiwan. But not the official way, as the thai Ramones singles the Taiwan records are counterfeit or pirate records. 

The classic first album was released on Jen Sheng records, the company printed the release date, in Taiwan year, on the label: 1976/06 (65.6 in Taiwan year). 

Jen Sheng released a lot of western music in the 70's but it's hard to find any information about the manufacturer. The sleeve is made of two thin paper sheets in a plastic cover. The front has the same design as the original album but with a JS-logo and a text about the Blitzkrieg Bop-single. The back has the lyrics from the original inner sleeve. In 1977 the company changed name to New Jen Sheng and re-released the album, this time with different labels and a slightly different backside of the cover.

Album: Ramones 

Number: Jen Sheng JS-5101

Year: 1976

Country: Taiwan

Album: Ramones 

Number: New Jen Sheng JS-5101

Year: 1977 (?)

Country: Taiwan