Rhino Records is going to re-release remastered versions of the Ramones first four albums, along with rare and previously unreleased songs. "Ramones" (1976), "Leave Home" (1976), "Rocket To Russia" (1977), and "Road To Ruin" (1978), will be released on June 19. Rhino Records, by the way, is a member of the Warner Music Group, that has the reissue and archival masters access to the Warner Bros., Reprise, and Elektra catalogs. Click READ MORE to see a basic rundown of the added stuff to each album, there's lots of extras. Is this cashing in on Joey's death? Maybe… but the Clash's entire catalogue was just remastered as well, and they havent been in the news. Personally I'm interested to see how these are going to turn out… Source: Launch.Com
The newly packaged 1976 debut album features eight bonus tracks, including the single version of "Blitzkrieg Bop" and demo versions of "I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend," "Judy Is A Punk," "I Can't Be," and "I Don't Wanna Be Learned/I Don't Wanna Be Tamed." Also included are previously unreleased demos of "I Don't Care," "Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue," and "You Should Never Have Opened That Door."
Sophomore effort Leave Home (1976) is enhanced with "Babysitter," previously available only as a single, and the original version of "Carbona Not Glue." Also included is the Ramones' debut Los Angeles concert on August 12, 1976. The performance features 16 songs performed live at the famed Roxy Theater.
Rocket To Russia (1977) includes alternate versions of "Do You Wanna Dance?" and "Surfin' Bird." Bonus tracks include an early version of "Needles And Pins," a demo of "Slug," single versions of "Sheena Is A Punk Rocker" and "I Don't Care," and the U.K.-only b-side, "It's A Long Way Back To Germany."
Bonus tracks on Road To Ruin (1978) include stripped-down, Ed Stasium-produced versions of "Rock & Roll High School" and "I Want You Around," as well as a live medley of "Blitzkrieg Bop/Teenage Lobotomy/California Sun/Pinhead/She's The One." Rare demos of "Yea, Yea" and "Come Back, She Cried (a.k.a. I Walk Out)" are also featured.