Ramones

Pleasant Dreams (The New York Mixes)

(Sire Records)

Were this a just world, the Ramones would have been feted by crowned heads. Not even a teenage lobotomy volunteer would dispute that they slouch atop Punk's Peak. This is a 2023 issuance of early mixes for their 1981 LP. Graham Gouldman's effete production sabotaged that original release; Johnny's guitar was domesticated, counterintuitive for a Ramones recording. The LP did boast quality material, but these grittier versions ring superior. 

Completists, be advised that this disc contains two demos that were left off the original LP: "Sleeping Troubles" and "Touring." (The latter was included, in a different version, on 1992's Mondo Bizarro.) And the LP comes in yellow vinyl.

Recommended: "Sitting In my Room," "All's Quiet On the Eastern Front," "She's a Sensation," "7-11," "We Want the Airwaves," "Don't Go," "Come On Now," "You Sound Like You're Sick," "The KKK Took My Baby Away"

Video: "We Want the Airwaves" (live)