It's not in my top fifty of all time, unlike the Ramones' first four albums. It's from the much-maligned 80's period that spawned Animal Boy before and Brain Drain after. But those three in my opinion are the most underrated, misunderstood Ramones albums. It's just Johnny Ramone's later, more hard rock/metal guitar that the strict '77 punk purists can't handle.

At first glance at the cover you might say, "Whoa! Joey's wearing purple socks!" and then "Dude! Who's the Ramone with the pink Converse? Sure they're still the classic Chuck Taylors, but..." That my friends is none other than Richie Ramone, the "lost Ramone" drummer who was last spotted working at a Florida hotel.

Back to the music. Halfway to Sanity features a couple 50's influenced, traditional-sounding Ramones songs, and 2 or 3 more metalish hard rockers. The remainder of the album treads the line right between those two styles. This is how I would actually describe all Ramones studio albums starting with Too Tough to Die, as the hard rock/"classic" Ramones blend. The only exception would be Acid Eaters, which even as a HUGE Ramones fan, I can honestly say is the only of one their albums you should avoid.

The obvious 50's influence, catchy popsters on this one would be "Go Lil Camaro Go," "A Real Cool Time," and "Bye Bye Baby," all arguably among the Ramones' best. "Bye Bye Baby" is a slow 50's girl group type ballad, so it makes sense that Joey later did a duet of it with Ronnie Spector. Debbie Harry does backing vocals on "Camaro." Blondie fans should note that after Richie left the Ramones (this was his third and last album) Clem Burke filled in, but with disastrous results.

Representing the hard rock side you got mid-tempo anthems like "I Wanna Live" and "Death of Me." If you like later Ramones songs like "Pet Sematary," "I Believe in Miracles" and "Poison Heart" I would definitely put these songs in the same category: classics. Another criminally underrated song is one Richie wrote, "I Know Better Now," it's got a great anti-authoritarian message.

"Garden of Serenity" is another good one, even though I could do without the electronically enhanced-sounding Gregorian monk vocals on the chorus. Sounds like they were trying to be creepy with laughable results. "Weasel Face" is fast and hateful in the vein of "Wart Hog"--I'm surprised Dee Dee didn't sing it. The only one he did sing was "I Lost My Mind," with the snotty, abrasive, and yes, "punk" results we expected from Dee Dee.

"Bop Til You Drop" may be my favorite song on this album. Johnny's chugging guitar on the chorus is 80's metal but then it blasts right back into three chord heaven that reminded me of something off "Rocket to Russia." Dee Dee even mentions the Cretin Hop in his lyrics. Worth getting for this song alone.

So the only songs I didn't think were near genius on Halfway to Sanity were "I'm Not Jesus" and "Worm Man." They're still decent songs though. "Jesus," despite a bad chorus, is probably the fastest Ramones song I've ever heard next to "Endless Vacation." I mean it's like 80's NYHC pace! They were trying to sound like speed metal or something. So it's good as a kind of novelty in a way.

Maybe I just have a soft spot for this album due to the fact that I was a senior in high school when it came out?? After graduation I saw them live for the first time....memories. Long live the memory of Joey and Dee Dee.

Very surprised about how good this album is. Who knew? Every song is a tight, well crafted gem, and it rocks hard, really hard (aside from one nice ballad) from start to finish. Favorite songs are "Death Of Me", "Weasel Face", "I'm Not Jesus", and Dee Dee's fierce "I Lost My Mind", which is an all-time classic. The ballad "Bye Bye Baby" is one of Joey's best as well, a real gem. Drummer Richie Ramone shines on this record, he's great. This may be the best 80's era Ramones album. By far, it's the most underrated Ramones album in their entire catalog. Check it out-it's better than you may remember, or may have heard. Like the liner notes say...PLAY LOUD.

If you ever saw the Zero movie "Misled Youth", you'd know how perfect the song "I Wanna Live" really is. Perfect for the picture, and as for the other songs? Pretty damned good (Garden of Serenity is the next best though..... Chilling). However, for a True Ramones knockout, get one one of the earlier gems like Rocket to Russia or Just Good 'Ol Ramones (They recorded bass in one ear and guitar in the other----- brilliant!!!!!)


Gonzo

Dee Dee Ramone reaches his lyrical peak in "I Wanna Live" and "Garden of Serenity." The album is packed with energy, giving each song a fast-paced feel.
This album is not for those looking to be introduced to punk's forefathers, but certainly a must-have for veteran fans of the Forest Hill's foursome.

...with animal boy being the black sheep. anyways, this was the last Ramones album i had heard and i must say, it completely blew my low expectations out of the water. i shyed away from buying this cd for mainly two reasons....1.)i had heard i wanna live and bop till you drop on ramones mania and didnt care for them at all..and 2.) i didnt wanna spend cash on a bare bones disc and have a remaster expanded cd pop up out of nowhere, but i must say, im glad to have this now as it gets tons of play.

1) I wanna live- i must say, this song doesn't deserve as much praise as it gets. it is near the bottom of the pile of the more popular Ramones tracks. does have a good opening though.

2)bop till you drop-a lot better than i wanna live. its nothing id put on a playlist of their best songs, but its a cool listen.

3)garden of serenity-definately one of if not the best song on this cd. it reminds me of an early experiment that would eventually lead up to pet semetary on the next album. i bet it sounds better than pet semetary live though.

4.)weasel face-reminds me of a bare version of a brain drain track. great song. usually nevers gets skipped by me. also, makes me wonder. is this the song that screeching weasel got their name from?

5.)go lil camaro go-this song has the potential to really stand up to the classic era ramones songs. i dont know why it didnt go down as one of their classic "hits."

6.)i know better now-this is a good song with a nice buildup. i love the vocals especially.

7.) death of me-this is definately reminiscent of a brain drain songanother contender for best song on the album.

8.)i lost my mind-amazing. one last glimpse of dee dee's crazy vocals on a ramones studio album. brain drain would have a slower dee dee vocal performance which is pretty cool too. anyways, this song is usually played a lot by me as well.

9.)real cool time-some lighter music to this album. sounds like it could have been on the forthcoming mondo bizarro album.

10.)im not jesus- fast song! the song is too tough to die and the chorus is brain drain. amazing! go richie!

11.)bye bye baby-this is the lightest song on the album. i sense it sounds similar to maybe a pleasant dreams or end of the century song.

12.) worm man-honestly, this is the only song i never truely listened to on here. it just never drew me in. at least i wanna live could do that.

anyways, the album is great. id place it above albums like sub jungle, end of the century, acid eaters, and animal boy for sure. i think animal boy and halfway to sanity are in dire need of a remaster..whether rhino does it or captain oi does it..or some other company, they need it! if you are a fan of hardcore or metal, start out with this album, too tough to die and brain drain.