Normally I might be a little cynical about these re-issue CDs. I bought every Ramones record on vinyl when I was in high school. Then I later bought them on CD, and it wasn't all that long ago. Now they expect me to buy them AGAIN? Is this just a record lable/conglomerate trying to squeeze more money out of a band that never really achieved "financial success" for them? I don't know. What I do know is that these new re-releases are worth every damn penny I paid for them. Each booklet is packed to the gills with great photos and informative retrospectives on what was going on with the band around the time the album was recorded. Best of all, they include outtakes, demo versions, B sides etc. Casual fans should think twice before buying, but if you consider yourself a "Ramones fan" then you really need these re-issues.

Speicifically about Subterranean Jungle:

I think this is one of the Ramones' most underrated records. Their first three albums (Ramones, Leave Home, and Rocket to Russia) are clearly the most classic examples of the Ramones' sound. The fourth album, 1978's Road to Ruin, was the first time the Ramones went completely out of character, with the songs Needles & Pins and Questioningly. Not bad songs necessarily, but both were obvious attempts to soften their approach in order to get on the radio. The next album, 1980's End of the Century, was a full blown attempt at selling out. They hired Phil Spector who watered down the Ramones sound with an army of session musicians and bombastic over-production. Yet, there are still some excellent songs on the album. They then followed up with Pleasant Dreams in 1981, produced by Graham Gould of 10cc. Again, the songs are great, but they're totally castrated due to the very anemic production. Then in 1983, they recorded Subterranean Jungle.

Most fans seem to lump this album in with End of the Century and Pleasant Dreams, weak albums with producers who had no business producing the Ramones. Off the top of my head, I don't even remember who produced Subterranean Jungle. It does have an odd sound that's hard to describe. The snare drum sounds synthetic. The guitar has a weird timbre to it that I've never heard before or since. But the main issue is that the production isn't weak per se. The raw agression had returned after being totally absent on two entire albums. The Ramones actually sounded PUNK again. Most fans regard their next album, Too Tough To Die, as their "comeback" album. Granted, TTTD is indeed a stronger effort than Subterranean Jungle, but that doesn't mean Subterranean Jungle wasn't a strong effort in and of itself. To me, this was their comeback, their return to what they do best: grind out loud powerchords in the form of very catchy riffs.

The early '80s were a tough period for the Ramones. After seeing punk dissovle into New Wave, they tried to keep up with the trend without totally compromising their original punk sound. But after witnessing their lush experiment with 1980's "End of the Century" go wrong, the Ramones had a hard time finding their place. The following year's "Pleasant Dreams," and "Subterranean Jungle" didn't capture the attention the Ramones hoped that they would garner. This is a shame.

"Subterranean Jungle" -- in a word -- rocks. I would place it in the same CD juke-box rack with popular hard rock acts such as Green Day, Blink 182, Rancid, and Sum41, and it would not sound out-of-place. The guitar sound on "Jungle" is supreme -- tastefully layered and aggressive, and Dee Dee's bass nearly stands out as much as it did on "Ramones," providing a head-bopping, buzzy beat. The production does go over-the-top with the drums; the snare is so taut, you almost begin to believe that Marky is playing with brushes. Producers Glen Kolotkin and Ritchie Cordell tried to capture their late '60s bubblegum heyday, with the drum signatures, chimes, and Joey's croon. It works, but doesn't quite fit into the genre for which the Ramones are known.

That having been said, this is still a great album from song to song. "Time Bomb" hits a low point with questionable lyrical content (but then, "Jungle" is a brooding album), and "I Need Your Love" is a sleeper. The best of the album can be heard between the two '60s covers, "Little Bit O'Soul" and "Time Has Come Today." Even after that sequence, there are still gems like "My-My Kind of a Girl" and "Everytime I Eat Vegetables, It Makes Me Think of You," which shows that the Ramones could still joke light-heartedly about thorazine and shock treatment. Even the cover of the foursome on a heavily-graffitied subway train deftly defines the combination of humor and darkness that makes "Jungle" what it is.

This is a very good album, containing some of the most undervalued, straight-up rock the Ramones have ever recorded. The fans got it wrong.

After six years and seven albums, you'd be a little stressed out, too. The Ramones had just seen their latest bid for a mass audience take the gaspipe, and still weren't in a very good place as far as relationships were concerned. Based on their success with pop-punk priestess Joan Jett, the band studioed up with producers Ritchie Cordell and Glen Kolotkin, but there was just too much strain.

Cordell and Kolotkin tired to mold the Ramones' punk into bubblegum metal and the match just doesn't work. Slowed down tempos and a sludgey mix lose whatever charm the few interesting songs have, and the choice of covers doesn't seem to fit (although "Little Bit Of Soul" comes closest). The strong points to "Jungle" are Joey's latest Phil Spectoresque concoction, "My My Kind Of A Girl" and Dee Dee's sudden quantum leap as a songwriter. The psychedelic "Highest Trails Above" and the quintessential Ramones view of "Outsider" made it clear that Dee Dee was better than songs about glue sniffing and basket cases.

It is still one of those basket case songs that remains the highlight of "Subterranean Jungle." Johnny and Dee Dee managed to graft over their broken friendship and write the fierce "Psycho Therapy" together. With Joey's fiery delivery and the wailing sirens that open the song, it is this album's contribution to the library of Ramones' classics. It was also the point where Dee Dee and Johnny became friends again and started creatively cooking for "Too Tough To Die."

The bonus tracks show what this album might have been had the production been more in tune with the band. The cover of "Indian Giver" alone could have upped the original album's quality. Same goes for "Unhappy Girl." It's nice that this release of "Jungle" digs those out, but this is still the first Ramones album where the quality slipped off.

This has always been one of those Ramones albums that nobody pays much attention to, but I've always thought it's a gold mine. Some of their best songs are here: "In My Room," "Outsider," and the unreleased "Unhappy Girl" are among my all-time favorite Ramones songs. It seems like people sneer at anything of theirs that came after their late-'70s classics. Oh well. It's their loss. Skip the cover of "Time Has Come Today" and you've got an entire album of short, catchy but muscular power-pop tunes with the trademark Ramones chainsaw guitar and Joey's New Yawk vocals. This is great stuff, people.

Subterranean Jungle is a step towards the early punk rock that the Ramones mastered. On this album the Ramones sounded more main stream. With covers of "Little Bit O soul" which is one of their best covers, and "I Need Your Love" and "Time Has Come Today" are especially too many covers for one album. The original material like "Psycho Therapy" and "Somebody Like Me" are excellent Ramones songs. Subterranean Jungle is a good attempt for the Ramones, but borders on self parody.