''It's Alive'' is the first live album by the American

punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...

band the

Ramones The Ramones were an American punk rock band formed in the New York City neighborhood Forest Hills, Queens in 1974. Known for helping establish the punk movement in the United States and elsewhere, the Ramones are often recognized as one of th ...

, titled after the 1974 horror film of the same name. It was recorded at the

Rainbow Theatre The Rainbow Theatre, originally known as the Finsbury Park Astoria, then the Finsbury Park Paramount Astoria, and then the Finsbury Park Odeon, is a Grade II*-listed building in Finsbury Park, London. The theatre was built in 1930 as an "atmos ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

on December 31, 1977, and released in April 1979 as a 2-LP set. The album draws from the band's first three studio albums: ''

'' (1976), ''

Leave Home ''Leave Home'' is the second studio album by the American punk rock band Ramones. It was released on January 10, 1977, through Sire Records, with the expanded CD being released through Rhino Entertainment on June 19, 2001. The front photo was ...

'' (1977), and ''

Rocket to Russia ''Rocket to Russia'' is the third studio album by the American punk rock band Ramones, and was released on November 4, 1977, through Sire Records. It is the band's last album to feature original drummer Tommy Ramone, who left the band in 1978 ...

'' (1977). Four concerts during the UK tour were recorded, but the New Year's Eve one was chosen because ten rows of seats were thrown at the stage after the concert and it was considered the best of the performances at the venue. : The album and concert is referred to as the band at its live peak. The concert was filmed and later released in truncated form on the 2007 compilation DVD '' It's Alive 1974–1996''. The album was certified gold in Argentina in 1993.

Critical reception

In a 1996 retrospective review,

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and later became a ...

of ''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture publication based in Greenwich Village, New York City, known for being the country's first Alternative newspaper, alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf (publisher), Dan Wolf, ...

'' wrote: "Redundant when it was dropped on the punk-besotted U.K. in 1979, this concert is precious history now—seems so impossibly light and quick it makes you suspect they didn't fully sustain their live pace into their forties after all." Paul Rigby of ''

Record Collector ''Record Collector'' is a British monthly music magazine focussing on rare and collectable records, and the bands who recorded them. It was founded in September 1979 and distributes worldwide. It is promoted as "the world’s leading authority o ...

'' described the album as a "high energy, one-hour blitz" that attests to "how high-octane they really were".

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

critic Mark Deming deemed ''It's Alive'' to be "not only the best Ramones live album," but also "one of the best and most effective live albums in the rock canon, and every bit as essential as ''

'', ''

'', or ''

''." In 2005, ''It's Alive'' was ranked number 279 in '' Rock Hard'' magazine's book ''The 500 Greatest Rock & Metal Albums of All Time''.

Track listing

Release history

''It's Alive'' was first released on CD in the US in 1995. The album was reissued as a 4 CD/2 LP 40th Anniversary Deluxe Edition on September 20, 2019, limited to 8,000 copies. The set includes all four concerts that were recorded during the Ramones' UK tour in December 1977 and is housed in a 12x12 hardcover book, with liner notes written by

Steve Albini Steven Frank Albini (; July 22, 1962 – May 7, 2024) was an American musician and audio engineer. He founded and fronted the influential post-hardcore and noise rock bands Big Black (1981–1987), Rapeman (1987–1989) and Shellac (band), ...

and Ed Stasium.

Personnel

Ramones *

Joey Ramone Jeffrey Ross Hyman (May 19, 1951 – April 15, 2001), known professionally as Joey Ramone, was an American singer, songwriter, and the lead vocalist and founding member of the punk rock band Ramones, with Johnny Ramone and Dee Dee Ramone. His ...

- lead vocals *

Johnny Ramone John William Cummings (October 8, 1948 – September 15, 2004), better known by his stage name Johnny Ramone, was an American musician who was the guitarist and a founding member of the Ramones, a band that helped pioneer the punk movement. ...

- guitar *

Dee Dee Ramone Douglas Glenn Colvin (September 18, 1951 – June 5, 2002), better known by his stage name Dee Dee Ramone, was an American musician. He was the bassist, occasional lead vocalist and a founding member of the punk rock band the Ramones. Throughou ...

- bass, backing vocals *

Tommy Ramone Thomas Erdelyi (born Tamás Erdélyi, ; January 29, 1949 – July 11, 2014), known professionally as Tommy Ramone, was an American musician. He was the drummer for the influential punk rock band the Ramones from its debut in 1974 to 1978, ...

- drums Production * Ed Stasium - engineer *

, Ed Stasium - producers *Basing Street Studios Ltd. - mobile recording facilities *Greb Cobb, Frank Owen, Jo Yu, Ray Doyle - mobile crew *Ramona Janquito, Phil Shrago - studio crew * Monte Melnick - tour manager * Arturo Vega - lighting *Tasco - sound, lighting Album Design-Spencer Drate Art Director-John Gillespie Photography-Various Photographers

Charts

Certifications

References

{{Authority control 1979 live albums Albums produced by Ed Stasium Albums produced by Tommy Ramone Albums recorded at the Rainbow Theatre Ramones live albums Sire Records live albums