Mondo Bizarro

Latter-day Ramones albums are often looked down upon in comparison to their first three or four releases, which wrote the manual on punk rock. But The Ramones had put together such a foolproof formula that even when they weren't operating at full power—in this case, without original bassist and chief songwriter Dee Dee Ramone—they were still capable of highlights that other bands dreamt about. Dee Dee contributed from the bench, and his “Poison Heart” (cowritten with veteran producer Daniel Rey) is as great as anything the band ever cut. (Ed Stasium produced this set.) The cover of The Doors' “Take It As It Comes” led to the group’s decision to release an album of ‘60s covers (Acid Eaters). Joey Ramone handled much of the writing, and while “Censors**t” dealt with politicians’ wives who demanded warning labels on albums (now standard procedure), songs like “Cabbies on Crack” and “Heidi Is a Headcase” reach back to The Ramones' core silliness, which made them an ampful of fresh guitar in the first place.