New Home

So I have been on a bit of a Ramones kick over the last few months. I've had the CD's for years, but had always heard bad things about the represses through Rhino so I stayed away. More recently I've been trying to grab earlier presses of their records to combat this problem. I'm not saying I'm after 1st US presses or anything like that, but if you crack open the sleeve and it smells a bit fusty then it's good enough for me. A guy who I could more than bet on having a fusty smelling Ramones LP or two is Alan at Different Kitchen, so on my last trip to see him I grabbed this from his 'for sale' pile. 

I'm pretty sure this is a UK press, and I know it's super old. The only other information I can pull from Discogs is that it is the version of Leave Home that has the track Babysitter as opposed to Carbona Not Glue. I believe much the same as the other UK presses, this surfaced in 1977, and Alan definitely had a couple of copies of this LP. 

The only strange thing about the information on Discogs is that it states that 'Babysitter' is not on the sleeve or insert, however they appear on both with this copy. So either this isn't a UK press (although the labels state 'Made In England') or this is a version yet unlisted on Discogs. 

Best band logo ever right? Along with Misfits, Black Flag, Minor Threat, I've always been obsessed with these logos from old iconic punk bands. Although there isn't much of a connecting style artistically, there was definitely something in the water back then. 

Not quite the Roberta Bayley portrait we all know and love, but this photo is pretty great too. 

The other side of the insert (which has these odd angled edges at the top) contains all the lyrics (bar California Sun which was originally by The Rivieras). Yup, that's the lyrics to 13 songs. All of 'em. Also, this record manages to crack through 14 perfect songs in under half an hour, only like Ramones can. I've bought another few records from this band since then, so this may be the first of a few posts. I've kinda slacked on buying around this time like I do every year in preparation for RSD, and for all the moaning everyone does about that day, there are a few records I'm really enthusiastic for. 

As a parting note about this record. It's coming up for being 40 years old, and from what I can gather my copy is also coming up for 40 years old too. It still plays a dream with very little surface noise and definitely no pops or skipping. Both a testament to how sturdy this format can be when made well, and a hats off to Alan for looking after his wax so well!

Cheers