Album Review: Joey Ramone - ...Ya Know?

The second posthumous release from Joey Ramone sees his legacy live on, despite the initial difficulties between Joey's brother Mickey Leigh and producer Daniel Rey who played on a lot of the original recordings of these tracks.

The songs have been completely re-built around the original vocal tracks, some dating back to the late '80s. Unfortunately the anthemic Rock And Roll Is The Answer is marred by a metal finger-tapping guitar solo that seems unbelievable out of context, even taking into account the pledge to rock'n'roll that the song (repeatedly) makes. It's amazing that the love song to New York City never made it onto a Ramones album. It's a classic mid-late era Ramones fist-pumper helped out by the E-Street Band's Steven Van Zandt.

I Couldn't Sleep pays ode to the '60s pop Joey Ramone loved so much, as does Party Line which has been dressed up with a production that echoes the Phil Spector production he often chased in the studio. Apparently originally intended as a duet with Debbie Harry, Holly Beth Vincent takes on the challenge nicely. There's a real '50s influence on the very different version of Merry Christmas (I Don't Want To Fight Tonight), one of the only tracks that has appeared in a different form previously.

Not having the same amount of input from Joey Ramone as on the album he worked on up until his death, Don't Worry Bout Me, it's hard to know how he would really feel about this collection. But as a gift to the diehard Ramones fans, it's surely something he would have wanted.