Let’s Dance: Ramones’ “It’s Alive” Expanded for 40th Anniversary

July 24, 2019 By Joe Marchese — 2 Comments
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Rhino’s ongoing series of deluxe box sets celebrating the Ramones’ legacy continues on September 20 with a fifth entry: the 40th anniversary 4CD/2LP edition of the band’s 1979 live album It’s Alive.  Recorded in London on New Year’s Eve 1977 and released in April 1979, It’s Alive featured blistering takes on songs from the band’s first three studio albums.  Only the Ramones could have fit 28 songs onto less than 54 minutes of vinyl.

Limited to 8,000 units, the It’s Alive Deluxe Edition is packaged in a 12 x 12 hardcover book featuring new liner notes by Steve Albini and original album producer-engineer Ed Stasium, who also remastered the music here.  It features all four concerts that were professionally recorded during the band’s U.K. tour of December 1977, three of which are making their first release: Top Rank, Birmingham (December 28, 1977); Victoria Hall, Stoke-On-Trent (December 29, 1977); Friars, Aylesbury (December 30, 1977); and The Rainbow Theatre, London (December 31, 1977).  The latter was utilized for the original album release, which became the last album to feature all four original Ramones: Dee Dee, Joey, Johnny, and Tommy Ramone.   Highlights include all-time band favorites such as “Rockaway Beach,” “Blitzkrieg Bop,” “Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue,” and “We’re a Happy Family” plus high-octane covers of “Do You Wanna Dance,” “Surfin’ Bird,” “California Sun,” and more.  The original album will be pressed on two 180-gram vinyl LPs for this release.

It’s Alive: 40th Anniversary Deluxe Edition is available for pre-order from Sire/Rhino, arriving September 20, at the links below!

Ramones, It’s Alive: 40th Anniversary Deluxe Edition (Sire/Rhino, 2019) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

CD 1: The Rainbow Theatre, London, December 31, 1977

  1. “Rockaway Beach”
  2. “Teenage Lobotomy”
  3. “Blitzkrieg Bop”
  4. “I Wanna Be Well”
  5. “Glad To See You Go”
  6. “Gimme Gimme Shock Treatment”
  7. “You’re Gonna Kill That Girl”
  8. “I Don’t Care”
  9. “Sheena Is A Punk Rocker”
  10. “Havana Affair”
  11. “Commando”
  12. “Here Today, Gone Tomorrow”
  13. “Surfin’ Bird”
  14. “Cretin Hop”
  15. “Listen To My Heart”
  16. “California Sun”
  17. “I Don’t Wanna Walk Around With You”
  18. “Pinhead”
  19. “Do You Wanna Dance”
  20. “Chainsaw”
  21. “Today Your Love, Tomorrow The World”
  22. “I Wanna Be A Good Boy”
  23. “Judy Is A Punk”
  24. “Suzy Is A Headbanger”
  25. “Let’s Dance”
  26. “Oh Oh I Love Her So”
  27. “Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue”
  28. “We’re A Happy Family”

CD 2: Top Rank, Birmingham, Warwickshire, December 28, 1977 (previously unreleased)

  1. “Rockaway Beach”
  2. “Teenage Lobotomy”
  3. “Blitzkrieg Bop”
  4. “I Wanna Be Well”
  5. “Glad To See You Go”
  6. “Gimme Gimme Shock Treatment”
  7. “You’re Gonna Kill That Girl”
  8. “I Don’t Care”
  9. “Sheena Is A Punk Rocker”
  10. “I Can’t Give You Anything”
  11. “Commando”
  12. “Here Today, Gone Tomorrow”
  13. “Surfin’ Bird”
  14. “Cretin Hop”
  15. “Listen To My Heart”
  16. “California Sun”
  17. “I Don’t Wanna Walk Around With You”
  18. “Pinhead”
  19. “Do You Wanna Dance”
  20. “Chainsaw”
  21. “Today Your Love, Tomorrow The World”
  22. “I Wanna Be A Good Boy”
  23. “Suzy Is A Headbanger”
  24. “Let’s Dance”
  25. “Oh Oh I Love Her So”
  26. “Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue”
  27. “We’re A Happy Family”

CD 3: Victoria Hall, Stoke-On-Trent, Staffordshire, December 29, 1977 (previously unreleased)

  1. “Rockaway Beach”
  2. “Teenage Lobotomy”
  3. “Blitzkrieg Bop”
  4. “I Wanna Be Well”
  5. “Glad To See You Go”
  6. “Gimme Gimme Shock Treatment”
  7. “You’re Gonna Kill That Girl”
  8. “I Don’t Care”
  9. “Sheena Is A Punk Rocker”
  10. “I Can’t Give You Anything”
  11. “Commando”
  12. “Here Today, Gone Tomorrow”
  13. “Surfin’ Bird”
  14. “Cretin Hop”
  15. “Listen To My Heart”
  16. “California Sun”
  17. “I Don’t Wanna Walk Around With You”
  18. “Pinhead”
  19. “Do You Wanna Dance”
  20. “Chainsaw”
  21. “Today Your Love, Tomorrow The World”
  22. “I Wanna Be A Good Boy”
  23. “Suzy Is A Headbanger”
  24. “Let’s Dance”
  25. “Oh Oh I Love Her So”
  26. “Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue”
  27. “We’re A Happy Family”

CD 4: Friars, Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, December 30, 1977 (previously unreleased)

  1. “Rockaway Beach”
  2. “Teenage Lobotomy”
  3. “Blitzkrieg Bop”
  4. “I Wanna Be Well”
  5. “Glad To See You Go”
  6. “Gimme Gimme Shock Treatment”
  7. “You’re Gonna Kill That Girl”
  8. “I Don’t Care”
  9. “Sheena Is A Punk Rocker”
  10. “Havana Affair”
  11. “Commando”
  12. “Here Today, Gone Tomorrow”
  13. “Surfin’ Bird”
  14. “Cretin Hop”
  15. “Listen To My Heart”
  16. “California Sun”
  17. “I Don’t Wanna Walk Around With You”
  18. “Pinhead”
  19. “Do You Wanna Dance”
  20. “Chainsaw”
  21. “Today Your Love, Tomorrow The World”
  22. “I Wanna Be A Good Boy”
  23. “Suzy Is A Headbanger”
  24. “Let’s Dance”
  25. “Oh Oh I Love Her So”
  26. “Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue”
  27. “We’re A Happy Family”
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Joe Marchese
Joe Marchese

JOE MARCHESE (Editor) joined The Second Disc shortly after its launch in early 2010, and has since penned daily news and reviews about classic music of all genres. In 2015, Joe formed the Second Disc Records label. Celebrating the great songwriters, producers and artists who created the sound of American popular song and beyond, Second Disc Records, in conjunction with labels including Real Gone Music and Cherry Red Records, has released newly-curated collections produced and annotated by Joe from iconic artists such as Dionne Warwick, Diana Ross and The Supremes, Smokey Robinson and The Miracles, The Spinners, Johnny Mathis, Bobby Darin, Meat Loaf, Laura Nyro, Melissa Manchester, Liza Minnelli, Darlene Love, Al Stewart, Michael Nesmith, and many others.

Joe has written liner notes, produced, or contributed to over 200 reissues from a diverse array of artists, among them America, JD Souther, Nat "King" Cole, Paul Williams, Lesley Gore, Dusty Springfield, BJ Thomas, The 5th Dimension, Burt Bacharach, The Mamas and the Papas, Carpenters, Perry Como, Rod McKuen, Doris Day, Jackie DeShannon, Petula Clark, Robert Goulet, and Andy Williams.

Over the past two decades, Joe has also worked in a variety of capacities on and off Broadway as well as at some of the premier theatres in the U.S., including Lincoln Center Theater, George Street Playhouse, Paper Mill Playhouse, Long Wharf Theatre, and the York Theatre Company. He has felt privileged to work on productions alongside artists such as the late Jack Klugman, Eli Wallach, Arthur Laurents, Betty Comden and Adolph Green. In 2009, Joe began contributing theatre and music reviews to the print publication The Sondheim Review, and in 2012, he joined the staff of The Digital Bits as a regular contributor writing about film and television on DVD and Blu-ray.

Joe currently resides in the suburbs of New York City.

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2 thoughts on “Let’s Dance: Ramones’ “It’s Alive” Expanded for 40th Anniversary”

  1. Brian Stettin

    Thanks for the info. Any word on whether there will be a single-disc version, as there was with each of the four prior Ramones 40th Anniversary releases? I would welcome that, given the virtually-identical setlists of the other shows included in the box, and Ed Stasium’s own admission that those other shows were “nothing special,” and were thought of by the band and crew as mere “run-throughs” for the New Year’s Eve live album recording. (https://pleasekillme.com/ramones-its-alive-by-ed-stasium/)

    Reply
    1. Avatar photo
      Joe Marchese

      It doesn’t appear that a standalone CD release has been announced yet, but we’ll keep an eye out in case that changes. Thanks, Brian.

      Reply

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