Description
Label review.
2017 album.
Our Overview.
CJ Ramone (Christopher Joseph Ward) is the American musician best known as the bassists for working as the bassist, backing and occasional lead vocalist of the Ramones; who for generations of punk aficionados still remain one of the most important rock ’n’ roll bands of all time (ourselves included). Chris got to join his heroes on the frontline and spend seven years as CJ Ramone (all Ramones members adopted the band name as their own, helping forge the image of a gang), touring the world and playing the songs that he’d grown up worshipping to armies of equally fanatical devotees.
In much of the documentary and archival material that was assembled following the Ramones’ split, the band’s core members – Joey (vocals) and Johnny (guitar/songwriting) – attested that CJ’s arrival revived the band’s spirits after a period of unease, his (relatively) youthful enthusiasm rejuvenating the ranks like a breath of fresh air.
The Ramones eventually split in 1996, and now sadly all four original Ramones members have passed away, leaving only CJ and later-era drummers Marky Ramone and Richie Ramone alive to carry the flame. CJ was a veteran of three Australian tours with the Ramones – 1989, 1991 and 1994 – and now he’s returning under his own steam, still showcasing the inimitable, anthemic punk for which “the bruddahs” were renowned to a whole new, but equally ravenous, generation of fans and CJ and his band mix Ramones classics with original material. Most importantly, as one of the last men standing CJ recognises the need to keep forging onwards to keep this incredible music alive, and allow people to remember the band for its music rather than just the controversy that dogged them after the fact.
CJ explains ”There’s obvious Ramones comparisons, but you have to keep in mind that I was a fan for all my teenage years, all the way up until my twenties, when I got into the band and then played with them for seven years – they’re probably my biggest musical influence. It’s not something that I could deny – not that I’d try. For me to make a record that doesn’t sound like the Ramones I would have to actually sit down and do that – and I did experiment with that years back when I had a band called Los Gusanos, I got together with some friends from different backgrounds and started doing records and stuff and it sounded nothing like the Ramones – nothing at all like the Ramones." On this album CJ and his band mix Ramones classics with original material.
‘American Beauty’ is the third solo album recorded with Steve Soto (Adolescents), Dan Root (Adolescents), and Pete Sosa (Street Dogs). and he says “American Beauty is the record I’ve been working towards since I started putting out records as CJ Ramone. My songwriting has definitely grown up some, but the raw energy is still there. Steve Soto, Dan Root, and Pete Sosa helped me drive every track home in a way that only veterans of the business can do, with engineer/co-producer Paul Miner throwing gas on the fire every step of the way. I don’t think I could have made this record any better.”