Album Details

• Artist: Teenage Head
• Album: Teenage Head With Marky Ramone
• Label: Sonic Unyon
• Year of Release: 2008
• ME Rating:
• Reviewed by: patchen on 2008-07-24

Yet another underappreciated punk legend from Hamilton, Teenage Head have kept true to their roots, playing old school 1976 hardcore that is fast, snotty and slightly bluesy. Here, their first studio release in god knows how many years, features, as the title says, a little help on drums from Marky Ramone. Given the fact that he is the only living Ramone, this must have been therapeutic for him. His drumming, and all the playing on "Teenage Head With Marky Ramone" is furious and sharp. More than nostalgia for its own sake, Teenage Head have cut a slab of tunes that rock and legitimate in their own right; even without the legend, this would be a hot record.

Produced by Daniel Rey, the record features re-recordings of songs picked from the band's eight releases, but with an emphasis on their 1979 debut.

Again, rather than sound like pathetic grasps at youthful glory, the new versions show some of the initial spark of early punk. Guitarist Gord Lewis, bassist Steve Marshall, and especially, vocalist Frankie Venom rip through and give new life to Head's classics like "Let's Shake," "Some Kinda Fun" and "Teenage Drinkin Party." Of the dozen tracks here, a full half are from their first record, with highlights being "Ain't Got No Sense" and the classic "Little Boxes." All tunes are delivered with urgency and well, venom, as well as the sense of liberated fun that was early punk. The boys in Teenage Head remember what it was like to hear punk for the first time, and to suddenly feel as if they could have the world by the balls if only they'd get up off their asses and do something. They did, and they still haven't forgotten, and "Teenage Head With Marky Ramone," with a little help from another master, is another reminder for anyone trying to keep from nodding off into conformity.

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