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| Tribute albums are essentially novelties that wear off after a few listens - Pan For Punks is no exception. Tracy Thornton brings his steelpan prowess to the forefront in this 14-song tribute to The Ramones and the novelty wears thin rather quickly. It doesn't seem like too many people actually ponder the question: "What if CBGB's was located on one of the Caribbean islands?" Regardless, it gets answered anyway. All of the classics are represented here (the original versions of 12 of the 14 songs can be found on Ramones Mania) and this is part of the reason it wears thin so quickly. Once you hear "Blitzkreig Bop", the predictable opening track, you know exactly what the rest of the songs are going to sound like. The original tempos are only changed up a couple of times (most notably on "Pinhead") and that, along with the song selection, kills any chance of unpredictability. He could have throw in "Ramona", or even “Poison Heart", just to shake things up. There are also sparse vocals, mainly on the "big" choruses, that give it an off kinda feel. Thornton is an excellent musician and it is rather unique to hear The Ramones standards played on a steelpan drum, but you're not going to spin this disc more than once or twice, especially if you have the originals in your possession. Also, this CD takes the award for "most wasteful use of plastic ever" as it comes packaged with a separate DVD containing a (yes, single) video of "Blitzkrieg Bop" that clocks in at one minute and 46 seconds. It's not even a performance, either, which could have possibly given some insight as to how the steelpan drum is actually used. All in all, this tribute album, like most, is good for a couple of listens, but nothing more. |
