Punk Rock music arrived in the mid-1970s as a counterculture, exhausted by the mainstream scene that had become overly polished, full of self-indulgent playing, and filled with many songs that seemed to go nowhere. A yearning for something more simple, raw, and back to the roots of Rock-n-Roll, the anti-establishment attitude spread across an underground movement that felt geunine, and at the forefront of it all were a bunch of guys in tight, torn jeans, leather jackets with long, wild hair from the Forest Hills neighborhood of Queens, New York, going by the Ramones.
Pioneers in Punk Rock, if the Sex Pistols were the top for England, the Ramones were it in New York City. Formed in 1974, the Ramones (initially Joey, Johny, Dee Dee, and Tommy Ramone) were loud, raw, and full of energy, with fast songs featuring catchy choruses and melodic guitars, usually under two minutes. Like a bolt of lightning, these guys struck so rapidly that you usually would not know what hit you. Icons in every sense of the word, they were also famous for playing a little club down in the East Village part of Manhattan known as CBGB.
A historic venue where the Ramones had played over 70 times in their career, other legends who performed at CBGB included Blondie, Talking Heads, Patti Smith, and Television, and so on. A venue that sustained itself for over three decades sadly closed its doors forever in 2006. An ending that came a decade after the Ramones themselves broke up in 1996, slowly but surely, it felt like the authenticity of New York City Punk was vanishing before everyone’s eyes.
Now, thirty years after the end of the Ramones and twenty years after CBGB’s closure, fans can still hold onto the memories with a very special vinyl release of Live at CBGB, 1977 on Friday, November 28, 2025, as part of Rhino’s Black Friday 2025 lineup. Initially released on CD in 2017 as part of the 40th anniversary edition of 1977’s Leaving Home, this will be the first time anyone can own it on vinyl. A concert captured on April 2, 1977 (months after the Ramones released their second album, Leave Home), the Ramones saddled up to play for a sold-out crowd at CBGB. A room full of hot, sweaty urge fans, the night’s performance was fortunately documented, and only thanks to a lone stereo microphone.
Full of grit and dirt, the recording is loud, distorted, and like a wall of noise, but fitting the Ramones like a glove. Unfiltered, uninhibited, and ready to go, the band blazed through a 19 song set that included “I Don’t Wanna Go Down To The Basement,” “Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue,” “Blitzkrieg Bop,” plus those that would be on their later 1977 album Rocket to Russia, such as “Teenage Lobotomy” and “Sheena Is a Punk Rocker.” Matched with classics like “Judy Is A Punk” and “Pinhead,” this was a Ramones set for the ages.
Pressed to high-grade vinyl, you get the live concert on standout translucent red wax, packaged in a jacket featuring a cool image of the band posing with the CBGB sign behind them. Sounding rough and tough, it is a must for Ramone fans to add this standalone vinyl release of Live at CBGB, 1977, to their collection, because Cryptic Rock gives it 5 out of 5 stars.
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