Mondo Bizarro
| Mondo Bizarro | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by the Ramones | ||||
| Released | September 1, 1992 | |||
| Recorded | February 1992 | |||
| Studio | The Magic Shop (New York, New York) | |||
| Genre | Punk rock | |||
| Length | 37:25 | |||
| Label | RadioactiveUS ChrysalisUK | |||
| Producer | Ed Stasium | |||
| Ramones chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from Mondo Bizarro | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    [1] |
| Entertainment Weekly | B−[2] |
| Q | [3] |
| Robert Christgau | A−[4] |
| Rolling Stone | [5] |
Mondo Bizarro (a misspelled version of "Mondo Bizzarro", meaning "Weird World" in Italian) is the twelfth studio album by the American punk band the Ramones, released in 1992. It is the first to feature their new bassist, C.J. Ramone, who replaced departed member Dee Dee Ramone. The album was re-released in the UK by the record label Captain Oi! on August 10, 2004, with a bonus track, "Spider-Man".
Background
Mondo Bizarro was the group’s first studio album in three years, having left Sire Records for a new contract with Radioactive Records. The original "Mondo Bizarro" was the title of a 1966 film sequel to "Mondo Cane". Two singles from the album were released; "Poison Heart" was released in June 1992, and Strength to Endure was released that October.
Although Dee Dee Ramone had left the band, he provided the songs "Poison Heart", "Main Man", and "Strength To Endure", as payment for bailing him out of jail due to his long drug addiction.
When Johnny Ramone was interviewed about the album for the End of the Century documentary, he states, "I don't like it. I don't like it at all." This contradicts a statement from a 1992 interview in an Argentine newspaper, quote: "Generally I always find two or three songs that I hate. From Mondo Bizarro, I really like almost all the songs and I am very satisfied with the result."[6] Again, this album, along with "Brain Drain" (1989) was graded by Johnny in his autobiography, "Commando" (2012) that ended up being at "C" as "The songs are the weak spots on the album. [...] C.J. was in the band, but his writing wasn't up to par yet. [...] I didn't like the lyrics on "Censorshit." It was stupid. I liked the song, though. Joey wrote this song about Vice President Al Gore's wife, Tipper Gore, then he went on and voted for Bill Clinton."
The album was certified gold in Brazil in 2001.[7]
Composition
The song "Censorshit" was written by Joey Ramone about how rock and rap albums were being censored by the Parents Music Resource Center, a group of Washington wives out to put warning labels on records, a practice which has become standard. It has a reference to Ozzy Osbourne and Frank Zappa. Quote: "Ask Ozzy, Zappa, or Me. We'll show you what it's like to be free." The song is addressed to Tipper Gore, wife of former Tennessee Senator and Vice President Al Gore.
"Take It as It Comes" is a cover song, originally recorded by The Doors in 1967. "Spider-Man," while having never appeared on the original release but later as a bonus track on the CD version, is a cover of the theme song from the original Spider-Man animated series. It was originally released as an unlisted Bonus track on the original release of ¡Adios Amigos! (later editions omitted it) and then a completely different version was available on the Saturday Morning compilation in 1995.
"Heidi is a Headcase" was written by Joey Ramone and Daniel Rey. According to an interview on the podcast "Ramones of the Day," CJ Ramone stated the song is about a girl named Heidi who both Joey and CJ dated for a period of time.[8]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Censorshit" | Joey Ramone | 3:13 |
| 2. | "The Job That Ate My Brain" | Marky Ramone, Garrett James Uhlenbrock | 2:17 |
| 3. | "Poison Heart" | Dee Dee Ramone, Daniel Rey | 4:04 |
| 4. | "Anxiety" | Marky Ramone, Garrett James Uhlenbrock | 2:04 |
| 5. | "Strength to Endure" | Dee Dee Ramone, Daniel Rey | 2:59 |
| 6. | "It's Gonna Be Alright" | Joey Ramone, Andy Shernoff | 3:20 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7. | "Take It as It Comes" | Jim Morrison, John Densmore, Robby Krieger, Ray Manzarek | 2:07 |
| 8. | "Main Man" | Dee Dee Ramone, Daniel Rey | 3:29 |
| 9. | "Tomorrow She Goes Away" | Joey Ramone, Daniel Rey | 2:41 |
| 10. | "I Won't Let It Happen" | Joey Ramone, Andy Shernoff | 2:22 |
| 11. | "Cabbies on Crack" | Joey Ramone | 3:01 |
| 12. | "Heidi Is a Headcase" | Joey Ramone, Daniel Rey | 2:57 |
| 13. | "Touring" | Joey Ramone | 2:51 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 14. | "Spider-Man" | Bob Harris, Paul Francis Webster | 1:56 |
Personnel
Ramones
- Joey Ramone – lead vocals (tracks 1-4, 6-7, 9-14)
- Johnny Ramone – guitar
- C. J. Ramone – bass, backing vocals, lead vocals (tracks 5, 8)
- Marky Ramone – drums
Additional musicians
- Vernon Reid – guitar solo (track 11)
- Joe McGinty – keyboards (track 7)
- Flo & Eddie – backing vocals (tracks 3, 13)
Additional personnel
- Bryce Goggin – assistant engineer
- Joe Warda – assistant engineer
- Gary Kurfirst – executive producer
- Greg Calbi – mastering
- Ed Stasium – mixing, producer
- Paul Hamingson – engineer
- Eugene Nastasi – assistant engineer
- Garris Shipon – assistant engineer
- George DuBose – art direction, photography, design
Charts
Album
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1992 | The Billboard 200 | 190[9] |
Singles
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | "Poison Heart" | Modern Rock Tracks | 6[10] |
References
- ^ Mondo Bizarro at AllMusic
- ^ "Mondo Bizarro - EW.com". Retrieved 1 October 2016.
- ^ "Ramones - Mondo Bizarro CD Album". Retrieved 1 October 2016.
- ^ "Robert Christgau: CG: ramones". Retrieved 1 October 2016.
- ^ "Mondo Bizarro". Retrieved 1 October 2016.
- ^ Ramone, Johnny.Interview Archived 2006-10-14 at the Wayback Machine. In Spanish.
- ^ "Brazilian album certifications – Ramones" (in Portuguese). Associação Brasileira dos Produtores de Discos. Retrieved April 20, 2014.
- ^ Ramone, CJ (28 September 2016). "Ramones of the Day Podcast". Ramones of the Day. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
- ^ "Billboard album chart history-The Ramones". Retrieved March 2, 2009.
- ^ "Billboard single chart history-The Ramones". Retrieved March 2, 2009.