Apeman Hop: The Ramones’ ‘Animal Boy’ Turns 40
Looking back at one of their most underrated albums
To a certain extent — and certainly to the great surprise of all those that identified them with the punk movement they helped initiate early on — Animal Boy, the ninth album by the Ramones, redefined an insurgent sound.
Released on May 19, 1986, it was decidedly different in other aspects as well. For one thing, it found lead singer Joey Ramone playing a less significant role in the band’s offering overall, due to the fact that he had less to do with the writing the material and singing the songs. Opting to relinquish some of those responsibilities due internal conflicts, he ceded some of his usual duties to the other Ramones, particularly bassist Dee Dee Ramone, who took on some of the singing and songwriting, and recently recruited drummer Richie Ramone, who debuted on 1984’s Too Tough to Die and stepped up to the plate by taking on those chores as well here.
Happily, those shifts in the set-up didn’t significantly impact the group’s overall efforts. Animal Boy would ultimately yield four singles that charted on the English album charts. It also gained them added notoriety courtesy of a music video that accompanied “Something To Believe In,” a subversive parody of the various benefit concerts that were grabbing headlines at the time — “Live Aid” and “Hands Across America” in particular.
VIDEO: The Ramones “Something To Believe In”
Mostly though, Animal Boy leaned towards a tighter, more deliberate sound, one free of the sloppy signature style and cartoonish approach adapted at their inception. Their delivery became more in keeping with the sound shared by ‘80s album rock radio, even to the extent of adding synthesizers to the mix and a darker, more deliberate energy and expression. Indeed, for the most part, their crude, rudimentary vibe seems to have mostly disappeared.
That was also magnified by the fact that the songs embraced some decidedly serious sentiments that were far more mindful of real life than than their off-handed signature songs such as “I Wanna Be Sedated.” While the tenacious track titled “Someone Put Something In My Drink” might have conjured up a similar scenario, it was actually an observation about the after effects of digesting unknown content. Notably too, it was written by Richie as part of his desire to show his strength as a fully engaged member of the band.
Still, the most telling offering as far as a shift in the sentiments were concerned was the biting “My Brain Is Upside Down (Bonzo Goes To Bitburg),” an unabashed repudiation of then-President Ronald Reagan’s decision to take part in a military ceremony in Bitburg, West Germany. It was the first time the Ramones had taken a political stance of any kind. Joey later defended the messaging in an interview with East Coast Rocker while offering an extended diatribe denouncing Reagan’s reasoning for the visit.
“What Reagan did was fucked up,” he insisted. “Everybody told him not to go… and he went anyway. How can you fuckin’ forgive the Holocaust? How can you say, ‘Oh well, it’s okay now? That’s crazy!’”
AUDIO: The Ramones “My Brain Is Hanging Upside Down (Bonzo Goes To Bitburg)”
Nevertheless, the song stirred some opposing views within the group, especially from Johnny, an unabashed fan of Ronald Reagan. Joey, on the other hand, saw the song as a callout to punks who wore swastikas while attending Ramones shows, and as proof that they themselves weren’t prone to prejudice.
Other album entries were of a more personal nature. The contentious “Mental Hell” in particular, one of only three entries that Joey had a hand in writing, was conceived as the result of the conflict that was raging within the band, as well as his frayed relationship with Angela, his girlfriend at the time.
“Part of it came from breaking up with Angela,” Joey told one writer. “The other part of it was that I had really had it with the band.”
Likewise, his third and final contribution to the album, the powerful and pulsating “Hair Of the Dog,” resulted from another reality check of sorts, in this case, the scourge of alcoholism that nearly always disabled its victims.
“She Belongs To Me” came across as a more refined mid tempo rocker, while “Something To Believe In,” a surprisingly sturdy endeavor, offered further evidence that the group had embraced at least some degree of musical maturity.
To be sure, several songs stayed true to their reckless reputation. “Crummy Stuff” was seen as a confessionary tale, one that dealt with their efforts to carve out a chaotic niche that failed to meet most observers’ expectations. “Eat That Rat” and “Freak Of Nature” were, quite literally, a couple of blasts from the past, a pair of frenzied and furious ramshackle rockers that were within less than two minutes long. Likewise, “Apeman Hop,” “Love Kills” and the title track were, in a sense, a combustible combination of “Blitzkrieg Bop” and “Cretin Hop” as far as sheer anarchistic expression.
While some critics were quick note that the group seemed only intent on altering their approach, others applauded their desire to progress. As a result, the record reaped some decidedly mixed reviews. Even the band members themselves admitted to having less than enthusiastic feelings, even to the extent of only including a handful of the songs in the setlist they performed while ostensively promoting it on tour.
Nowadays, Animal Boy comes across much stronger record in retrospect. It helps justify the fact that the Ramones managed to pit the present against their past by allowing this Animal room to roam.
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