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Christmas Spirit...In My House
Home > Complete List of "q-r" Artists > Joey Ramone > Item 4
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Christmas Spirit...In My House
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by Joey Ramone
Sales Rank: 636079
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$7.20
At Amazon
on 9-12-2008.
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2002 Christmas EP for the late punk legend has five tracks, 'Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)', 'Merry Christmas (I Don't Want To Fight Tonight)', 'Spirit In My House', 'Don't Worry About Me', & 'What A Wonderful World'. Sanctuary.
Joey Ramone's solo career was all too brief. A few years after disbanding The Ramones in 1996, Joey worked on material that became the album Don't Worry About Me. The CD was released in 2002, one year after Ramone's passing from lymphoma. Later that year, Sanctuary Records, the home of Ramone's solo material, released the five-song holiday release Christmas Spirit...In My House. Only two of the five songs have a direct connection to the holiday, and they lead off the EP. The first was the only new track on the CD. It's a remake of the Darlene Love holiday classic, Christmas (Baby Please Come Home). On this track, Joey is joined by Ronnie Spector (of Ronettes fame) on harmony vocals. It sounds very much like the Phil Spector Wall Of Sound (of which Ronnie Spector was a part), except that the strings and horns have been replaced by electric guitars and Ramone's sad, but edgy, vocals. The punk in Joey was in full force, and shows a deft mix of punk and soul. Next is a reworking of The Ramones' song, Merry Christmas (I Don't Want To Fight Tonight). It was a punk rocker with The Ramones, but Joey Ramone turns the song into a blues ballad. This is a radical departure from the music that defined his career. It's certainly an interesting take on the song, and Ramone packs the vocals with emotion. It's also good that this song is an exception, for Ramone didn't have a voice for the blues. He had found his voice in his band, and it was one that served him well throughout his musical career. The Joey Ramone version of this song originally appeared as a 2001 Sanctuary single. The final three tracks came from his solo album. To say any of these tracks is a Yule song is a stretch, especially "Don't Worry About Me and Spirit In My House. Don't Worry About Me tells the tale of a failed relationship, while the spirit in Spirit In My House is, according to the lyrics, a demon. These songs, as well as What A Wonderful World, were a part of a solid solo outing from Ramone. These songs don't even have the hopeful tone associated with Christmas, or with the other tracks on this disc. What A Wonderful World, however, has been included on Christmas albums by other artists. Ramone takes the song made famous by Louis Armstrong and makes it his own. His punk persona was at its best as he stopped to take a look at the good around him. He may have been a punk, but he was a punk with room for optimism. Among those who contributed their musical skills were the album's producer, Daniel Rey, on guitar and Marky Ramone on drums. Christmas Spirit...In My House contains five good songs. Given the theme, Rey could have easily removed two of the selections, including the song that helps to give the EP its title. Their connection to Christmas is, at best, dubious. They certainly don't add any positive touch of Christmas spirit. Also, fans of The Ramones are probably more eager for the compilation of Christmas material than the Don't Worry About Me tracks. Nevertheless, Joey Ramone left us with a celebration of the holidays nobody else could have given. The spirit in his music remained strong to the very end. This review was originally published on Epinions.com.
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Christmas Spirit...In My House
Available from Amazon
Price: $7.20
Updated on 9-12-2008.
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