The 80s were a tough time for The Ramones; they not only were struggling to gain notoriety outside of the punk scene, with albums that were, in my opinion solid, but seen by a lot of critics as middling to decent, but they were inundated with band drama. This included the ever revolving drummers seat with 1983's Subterranean Jungle presenting the band's third drummer since their inception.
If you read my review of that album, you'll recall that I wasn't the biggest fan of it; and that is because it felt like the band really wanted to return to their punchier sound that defined their 70s output, but were either too uninspired or too heavily produced to make that happen. However, I can say with absolute certainty that the follow-up, 1984's Too Tough To Die is not only a better return to form than its predecessor, it may very well be the finest album Ramones have ever put together. Yes, that includes Rocket To Russia and even my former personal favorite, End Of The Century; this album is just that good.
The album opens up with the pure punk posturing of "Mama's Boy", but then segways into the downtrodden "I'm Not Afraid Of Life", a track that may just be the most mature song the band had written at this point in their career. Actually, allow me to point out the fact that aside from holding the band's rhythm section down with solid bass-lines the entire time, Dee Dee Ramone was also a fantastic songwriter, and he really proves it on this album, since he not only pens some fine tunes of his own (the aforementioned "I'm Not Afraid Of Life" and the incredible "Howling At The Moon (Sha-La-La)), but he also is a co-writer on darn near every track here.
And let me tell you, this is a fine set of tracks: varied, textured, and not afraid to go from embracing the best melodies the band has ever played to going all-out hardcore punk, once again, all thanks to Dee Dee. Though I can see where someone may find issue with his singing on "Warthog" or "Endless Vacation", really, I can't state enough how much of a MVP Dee Dee turns out to be on this record. And come on, you have to admit that band's like Green Day and Blink 182 had vocalists with just as much whine to their vocals, but with half the balls that Dee Dee has on this album.
I digress; I'll sum this review up by saying that this album is simply (in my opinion) the most varied, catchy and at points, heaviest record I have heard by The Ramones. I understand where some people may not like it as much as Rocket To Russia or even End Of The Century, but you can't deny that this LP is a real comeback for the band, and according to popular opinion, it would be the last shining album in the band's discography... we shall see!
10/10
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