AVIDIGI

NYC 1978 is a half-official live album by the Ramones. It was recorded at the Palladium in New York City on January 7, 1978, for use on the King Biscuit Flower Hour radio program. The album was originally released by King Biscuit on August 19, 2003 as part of the King Biscuit Flower Hour Archive Series. In 2004 the album was re-released on Sanctuary Records with the title "Live January 7, 1978 at the Palladium, NYC", and with new cover-art.

Originally recorded for a King Biscuit Flower Hour radio show and taken from a decent stereo board mix, this set chronicles The Ramones at their peak before an adoring home audience. The group had just returned from a triumphant European tour during which It's Alive had been recorded at the Rainbow Theatre on New Year's Eve just a week before. It's a blistering 27 song set accomplished in less than an hour, and taken at ultra-high energy even for The Ramones! While the band was hot in Europe, back in the USA they couldn't fill a big venue anywhere but their hometown of NYC. The Palladium was a fabulous downtown venue-a fading glorious theater with great acoustics, and while this board mix features little of the natural acoustic, it clearly contributed to the clarity of the sound-especially the drums, which have a nice crack about them. The overall sound is bright however, and the bottom end is somewhat limited, but still this is a surprisingly good live recording of one of the greatest Rock and Roll bands of all time! Even if they only knew three chords and all the songs sounded the same. Who cares?

This live document from the archives of the King Biscuit Flower Hour dates from January 7, 1978, a week after the Ramones' landmark New Year's Eve gig in London that later became It's Alive. Playing to a rabid hometown crowd packed into the Palladium, Joey, Dee Dee, Johnny, and Tommy run through exactly the same set, with the same attention to brevity over bombast. Joey even uses the same gag to introduce "I Wanna Be Well", switching out "chicken vindaloo" for "dressing room food". The album is also a sonic cousin to It's Alive; its mix is dominated by the slashing treble of Johnny's guitar, and the rhythm section is fuller. NYC 1978's first three songs are a Rock & Roll history lesson, while the stopping and starting bassline of "California Sun" helps the track sizzle with anticipation. Joey's fake British accent is particularly satisfying over the initial crunch of "I Don't Care", and the set ends strong with more furious guitar from Johnny on "Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue" and the anthem "We're a Happy Family". Of course, it's over too quickly. The Ramones' two chords and the truth defined punk rock. Now that the band is officially defunct, another document of its influential sound -- especially one recorded in the heady days of its first three albums -- is like a present gift-wrapped in torn Levis.