Joey Ramone - Don't Worry About Me (2002) [DualDisc '2004] RESTORED

Shortly before his untimely death in April of 2001, punk rock icon Joey Ramone finished what would be his very first (and ultimately last) solo album, Don't Worry About Me, which was issued almost exactly one year later. It's understandable that some will automatically assume that it sounds like a new Ramones album would in the early 21st century, but Don't Worry About Me comes off both reflective and even mature at times.


Don't Worry About Me could be heralded as the best record made by The Ramones since the 70s and probably will, except that it's actually the long awaited solo effort by the band's legendary singer, Joey Ramone. After The Ramones hung up their jackets in 1996, Joey Ramone continued to work diligently writing and recording songs. Producer, guitarist and long-time friend Daniel Rey worked alongside Joey on this recording. Joe recruited world-class bassist Andy Shernoff (The Dictators) and split the drumming between Frank Funaro (Cracker and Del Lords) and special guest Marky Ramone.

Joey Ramone had a voice to launch a revolution, and that's what he did back in 1974 with his leather-wearing "brothers" and their three-chord blasts of punk sputum that glorified pre-Beatles rock filtered through their New York brand of irony. But Ramone was so much more than a nasal Queens kid who worshipped Brian Wilson and sniffed glue. While he may have lamented, "I Don't Want To Go Down To The Basement", or proclaimed that "Sheena Is a Punk Rocker", Ramone actually listened to much sterner stuff than the Ramones songbook would lead you to believe, worshipping at the altar of some darker gods than Phil Spector and Paul McCartney. On his first and only solo album, "Don't Worry About Me", the listener can witness Ramone's incredible range of talent and taste, as he runs the gamut from garage rock to goth to hard rock and back, stretching far beyond the three minutes per song he restricted himself to in the Ramones. Resurrecting Louis Armstrong's sappy "What a Wonderful World", Ramone – who died of lymphoma in 2001 at the age of 49 – revved it up to Buddy Holly speed, tied a rockabilly string tie on it, and made it reek with a sincerity that Satchmo missed with his torpid delivery. Ramone lingered in the way-back machine a little longer, matching Iggy Pop sneer for sneer in his almost-perfect rendition of the Stooges' classic "1969", making the song his own, before moving on to showcase his own prodigious songwriting talents. "Mr. Punchy" is a silly rave-up that would have felt right at home on the Who's Sell Out (complete with comic asides supplied by Brit chanteuse Helen Love and the Damned's Captain Sensible), while "Like a Drug I Never Took" has a dangerous edge and a playful seditiousness that Ramone rarely displayed in his work with his band. "Venting" occupies the same defiant territory that the MC5 and the Doors felt comfortable in, but the standout track is unequivocally "I Got Knocked Down (But I'll Get Up)". You can hear the steely resolve in his voice as he intones: "See me in a hospital bed / See me in a hospital / I, I want life / I want life / I want my life", showing everyone that Joey Ramone never had any intention of leaving us. At least not that soon.

~ Jaan Uhelszki, amazon

CD Side:

01. What A Wonderful World
02. Stop Thinking About It
03. Mr. Punchy
04. Maria Bartiromo
05. Spirit In My House
06. Venting (It's a Different World Today)
07. Like A Drug I Never Did Before
08. Searching For Something
09. I Got Knocked Down (But I'll Get Up)
10. 1969
11. Don't Worry About Me



DVD Side:

• Entire Album in 5.1 Surround Sound -
- Dolby Digital 5.1 448 Kbps (24bit/48kHz) | MLP 5.1 (24bit/96kHz)
• "What A Wonderful World" Music Video [NTSC]
• Artists biographical information
• Lyrics
• Joey Ramone Tribute by Andy Shernoff
• Producer's Notes on recording of the Album
• ROM Content, computer extras

Produced by Daniel Rey
Engineered by Jon Marshall Smith & Daniel Rey
Recorded at Magic Shop, Water Music, Loho & Baby Monster Studios, NYC

• Joey Ramone - lead vocals on all tracks
• Daniel Rey - guitars, backing vocals on all tracks
• Andy Shernoff - bass, backing vocals on all tracks
• Joey McGinty - keyboards on 1, 5, 9, 11
• Frank Funaro - drums on 2, 5, 9, 11
• Marky Ramone - drums on 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8

Additional Musicians: Jerry Only (bass on 10), Dr. Chud (drums on 10), Mickey Lee (guitar, back. vocals on 11), Al Maddy (guitar, bass & back. vocals on 8), Veronica Kofman, Helen Love, Captain Sensible (backing vocals on 3).

Original CD Release Date: February 19, 2002
Original DVD-Audio Release Date: November 19, 2002
DualDisc Release Date: November 2, 2004
Format: DualDisc, Watermarks protection - NO.
Label: Silverline
Catalog No.: SILDD-284562-2