Its A Trip
The Ramones may have been influenced by the MC5, the Stooges, the Velvet Underground, and the New York Dolls. But, they were also influenced by Psychedelic Rock that they play on their cover album Acid Eaters. The best songs on this album are "Journey To The Center Of The Mind" by Ted Nugent and The Amboy Dukes, "Out Of Time" by the Rolling Stones, "My Back Pages" by Bob Dylan, and "Have You Ever Seen The Rain" by Creedence Clearwater Revival. This album works so well because the Ramones play the songs shorter and somewhat in their own style, but also keeping the sound of the original songs. "Substitute" is a good song with Pete Townshend from the Who singing backround vocals. "Surf City" was a good attempt but somehow it comes off as slower and less fun that the original. "Somebody To Love" by Jefferson Airplane, was probably the weakest song on the album, even if it did have the porn star Traci Lords singing backround vocals, it just was not a necessary cover. Acid Eaters is a definent must listen for all Ramones fans and 60's psychedelia.
Excellent Musicianship Makes For Excellent Covers
Punk icons the Ramones have always stayed true to their roots of 50s and 60s rock-pop, and though covers of the songs they appreciate most have appeared in past albums like "Rocket To Russia" and "Leave Home," "Acid Eaters" is their first full-album ode to classic FM staples.
"Acid Eaters" (the punk pioneers' own version of The Band's "Moondog Matinee") finds the the quartet tracing their roots to the "golden era" of rock and roll. Attention-grabbing versions of the Rolling Stones' "Out Of Time," The Who's "Substitute" and Jefferson Starship's "Somebody To Love" are among the many highlights of the album. It's also obvious that the Ramones' limited--yet genuinely appealing--musicianship has grown gradually after nearly twenty years. Whether it's for the sake of the song they're covering, or if it's progressed on its own, one can't tell, but the spark is always there. Guitar solos are found here as well, something that was rarely part of the band's magical punk formula, as well as vocals from bassist C.J. Ramone (though they can't compare with the powerhouse pitches of frontman Joey). Top notch tracks are The Amboy Dukes' "Journey To the Center of the Mind," Eric Burdon's "When I Was Young," and a pure punk reading of Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Have You Ever Seen the Rain," the latter few would have expected to appear on a Ramones cover album.
"Acid Eaters" is an accomplished set that could only be delivered in such progressing fashion from the forefathers of punk. Few bands can pull off such an album without flaw, but as always The Ramones prove worthy of the challenge.
Not the best...
Acid Eaters is by no means a bad album, it just doesnt hold up to the Ramones standards. Releasing an entire album of 60s phycodelic cover songs doesnt seem to be a good idea for the Ramones and the results are mixed.
Some songs on here are very enriched by the Ramones touch and manage to sound very punk. But other songs are a little boring.
I did notice that Joey doesnt seem to be giving 100% on this album. The songs that CJ sings have alot more energy than the ones Joey does. However, the Substitute and When I was Young are excellent, excellent songs. Joeys vocals on when I was young sent chills down my spine; he managed to sound as desprate as on Needles and Pins from the Road to Ruin Album.
Journey to the Center of the Mind, Shape of things to come and My back pages are all great tunes as well.
Some of the other songs seem very forced though. All in all, a mixed bag. I would recomend this album to hardcore fans only.
The Ramones are my favorite band of all time. But this album of 60's hippie-style cover songs was the worst thing they ever recorded. Don't just take my word for it, here's CJ Ramone: "It should have been an EP...The Jefferson Airplane song we did, oh Lord...it was just horrible, horrible." (Quote taken from Hey Ho Let's Go: The Story of the Ramones by Everett True)
Why this particular era of music was covered is beyond me. Consider the track record of the good cover songs they had done before Acid Eaters: "Needles and Pins," "Do You Wanna Dance," "California Sun," "Palisades Park," to name a few. These were early/mid 60's bubblegum pop songs, not psychedelic tunes. These songs sounded great when played in the Ramones' guitar-heavy, simple-is-better fashion. Not so for the hippy-trippy material.
One of the main problems with Acid Eaters is the production, with the guitar being too low in the mix on most songs. "Have You Ever Seen the Rain" is one of the few exceptions, with the signature power-chord sound we expect from the Ramones finally emerging. Unfortunately Joey's vocals are not at their best. In fact, on all the songs he sounds tired and lackluster. It's obvious the whole band was pretty uninspired. They sound like a mediocre bar band trying to make a few bucks. The high point for Joey vocally is their version of "Substitute" by the Who, but even that is just OK, not great. The Rolling Stones cover "Out of Time" would have made a good track on Joey's solo album, since it was more mellow than most Ramones material. Here it just becomes part of the tiresome parade of cover songs. The closest thing to bubblegum pop here is "Surf City," but by the time I got that far I was just tired of listening.
My favorite track on this was "Journey to the Center of the Mind," with CJ on vocals. It's pretty sad when CJ sounds better than Joey. But it still sounds like a good opening band, not like the powerful entity that was the Ramones. One of those bands that sounds good after a few beers live, but the next day when you listen to the CD you're disappointed. Sorry CJ.
The compilation "Ramones Anthology" was a pretty good summary of the Ramones material. There is not one song from Acid Eaters on there, so that should tell you something. Buy any other Ramones release other than this one. And if you're a completist who has to buy all the Ramones stuff, get "The Chrysalis Years" instead. For a reasonable price you get a 3 CD set that includes five albums: Acid Eaters, Brain Drain, Loco Live, Mondo Bizarro and Adios Amigos. Plus you get their cover of the Spiderman TV show theme as a bonus track. Sadly enough, that cover song is way better than anything off of this disappointing release.
Worst Ramones ever!
Only the Ramones could pull something like this in such a fun and carefree manner! This is a must for Ramones fans, and a lesson for others to hear how it's done! Bravo!
The Ramones play the Amboy Dukes! The Ramones play the Troggs! The Ramones play the Stones! Each new chestnut can render veteran fans speechless, and that's the point of Acid Eaters, of course. In addition to offering short, sharp two-minute blasts of nostalgia, these 12 tunes make the case once more for the Ramones as essential rock archetypes: There have been punks before and since, but have any really done it better?
It's a shrewd move: The Ramones still sound like the Ramones, even if their new A-list originals are fewer and further between, and the results are certainly more fun than the inferior covers heard from other, bigger bands. But the set list is more conservative than the title suggests. Too many of the songs are staples of classic rock radio, and true fans will wish the Ramones simply covered Nuggets, Lenny Kaye's influential collection of real acid-eating garage bands from the '60s.--Jim DeRogatis
