With
the Ramones
' original drummer,
Tommy Erdelyi
, producing, the group returns to simple, scathing
punk rock
on
Too Tough to Die
. The group takes the big guitar riffs of
Subterranean Jungle
and makes them shorter and heavier.
The Ramones
' rhythms are back up to jackhammer speed and the songs are down to short, terse statements. The results read like a reaction to
hardcore punk
, but
are more melodic than any
hardcore
band, as well as smarter than most. Apart from the occasional foray into
pop
, such as the surprisingly effective
Dave Stewart
-produced
"Howling at the Moon,"
the album is a sterling set of lethal
punk
, the best
had made since the end of the '70s. It was also the last great record they would ever make. [The 2002 reissue adds more bonus tracks than there are original songs. These new tracks include the unreleased tracks
"Smash You,"
"Out of Here,"
and
"I'm Not an Answer"
; a cover of
the Rolling Stones
'
"Street Fighting Man"
; versions of
"Planet Earth 1988,"
"Danger Zone,"
"Too Tough to Die"
with
Dee Dee
singing; and demos of
"No Go,"
"Mama's Boy,"
"Endless Vacation,"
"Daytime Dilemma,"
"Howling at the Moon."
] ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine