The Ramones: Joey Ramone (vocals); Johnny Ramone (guitar); Dee Dee Ramone (bass); Tommy Ramone (drums). Recorded live at the Rainbow Theatre, London, England on December 31, 1977. This is the Holy Grail of live concert recordings. Long unavailable in the U.S., IT'S ALIVE captures the Ramones in peak form, having the time of their lives before an appreciative British audience. From Joey's slow drawl "Weeeeeeellllll, it's great to be back here in...") to Dee Dee's "1-2-3-4," this disc pummels the listener into submission with the complete live Ramones experience to the point where you can practically feel the sweat. All the classics from the first three albums are executed with an enthusiasm the Ramones rarely mustered years down the line. The live version of "Blitzkrieg Bop" will send shivers down even the hardiest Coney Island strongman's spine, and "We're a Happy Family," "Teenage Lobotomy," and "Today Your Love, Tomorrow the World" express what it is to be young and dumb better than a thousand John Hughes films ever could. IT'S ALIVE is the next best thing to actually seeing the Ramones live and, as that's not likely to happen, this set will go a long way towards satisfying your Ramones fix.

• Format: Vinyl
• Released: 11/05/2013