Back in 1993, The Ramones were releasing their thirteenth studio album, very near to the end of a long and controversial career. Acid Eaters, entirely built out of covers, pays an hommage not only to the bands/songs from which The Ramones made versions of but also to a characteristic that seemed to be central to their stage performances: the ability of transforming other people’s tunes – usually rock’n'roll – into punk rock in such a unique style.
The psychadelic layout of the album seemed to illustrate the journey that the whole line up makes to the sixties, with tracks like Bob Dylan’s My Back Pages, Jefferson Airplane’s Somebody To Love or The Troggs’ I Can’t Control Myself gaining new personalities that’d fit like a glove through Joey Ramone’s voice.
Their last studio album, Adios Amigos!, was released two years after and sold badly – just as Acid Eaters did -, confirming that the ‘Hey Ho Let’s Go’ days were over for the Ramone family. Joey Ramone’s solo album, Don’t Worry About Me (2002), marked the end of an era, being released posthumously – the singer died in 2001 – and containing an unorthodox version of Louis Armstrong’s What A Wonderful World.
Yeah, it is a wonderful world; and sometimes, a wonderful world of covers, when they are made with the right spirit, just The Ramones did.
The Seeds’ Can’t Seem to Make You Mine (The Seeds, 1966)
The Ramones’ Can’t Seem to Make You Mine (Acid Eaters, 1993)
