Rocket to Russia (Queers album)

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Rocket to Russia
Tribute album by The Queers
Released	1994 October 22, 1998 2001 (reissue)
Recorded	1994 at Flat Iron - Chicago, IL
Genre	Pop-Punk, Punk Rock
Label	Selfless Records SFLS-28-1 Clearview Records CRVW-28 Liberation Records L-37838
Producer	Ben Weasel
Professional reviews
All Music Guide link
The Queers chronology
Love Songs for the Retarded (1994) Rocket to Russia (1994) Shout At The Queers (1995)

Rocket to Russia is a Ramones cover album by pop-punk band The Queers.^[1] This one of a series of full-length Ramones cover albums (which also included Ramones by Screeching Weasel, Leave Home by The Vindictives, Road to Ruin by The Mr. T Experience) released by Selfless Records in the mid-1990s.^[2]

Queers vocalist and guitarist, Joe King, has repeatedly stated that the Ramones are one of the biggest influences on the band.^[2][3][4][5] He wanted the Queers to sound "in between the Ramones and the Beach Boys."^[6] However, he was not thrilled about recording a Ramones album, stating that "they're usually perfect to begin with."^[7] At the time, the band did not have anything released except Love Songs for the Retarded and making the album helped them get by financially.^[8]

This album has been praised for faithfully reproducing the sound of the original Rocket to Russia. It was called "an impressive feat of mimicry" and "a nice tribute to the [Queers'] obvious heroes."^[2] However, this quality is also the album's weak point because it is redundant.^[2]

Joe King has regretted making this album and expressed outrage at Clearview Records for unpaid royalties from reissues.^[8] In 2006, the band would have similar troubles with Lookout! Records and rescind their master rights from the label.

[edit] Track listing

1. "Cretin Hop"
2. "Rockaway Beach"
3. "Here Today, Gone Tomorrow"
4. "Locket Love"
5. "I Don't Care"
6. "Sheena Is a Punk Rocker"
7. "We're a Happy Family"
8. "Teenage Lobotomy"
9. "Do You Wanna Dance?"
10. "I Wanna Be Well"
11. "I Can't Give You Anything"
12. "Ramona"
13. "Surfin' Bird"
14. "Why Is It Always This Way?"
15. "Blabbermouth" (Liberation Records reissue only)^[1]

[edit] Personnel

• Joe King - Guitar, Vocals
• B-Face - Bass, Vocals
• Jay - Drums
• Ben Weasel - Vocals on "Surfin Bird"^[1]

[edit] Notes

v • d • e Ramones Joey Ramone • Johnny Ramone • Dee Dee Ramone • Tommy Ramone • Marky Ramone C. J. Ramone • Richie Ramone • Elvis Ramone Studio albums Ramones (1976) • Leave Home (1977) • Rocket to Russia (1977) • Road to Ruin (1978) • End of the Century (1980) • Pleasant Dreams (1981) • Subterranean Jungle (1983) • Too Tough to Die (1984) • Animal Boy (1986) • Halfway to Sanity (1987) • Brain Drain (1989) • Mondo Bizarro (1992) • Acid Eaters (1993) • ¡Adios Amigos! (1995) Live albums It's Alive (1979) • Loco Live (1991) • Greatest Hits Live (1996) • We're Outta Here! (1997) • You Don't Come Close (2001) • NYC 1978 (2003) Compilations Ramones Mania (1988) • All The Stuff (And More!) Volume 1 (1990) • All The Stuff (And More!) Volume 2 (1990) • Hey Ho! Let's Go: The Anthology (1999) • Ramones Mania Vol. 2 (2000) • Masters of Rock: Ramones (2001) • Best of the Chrysalis Years (2002) • Loud, Fast Ramones: Their Toughest Hits (2002) • The Chrysalis Years (2002) • The Best of The Ramones (2004) • Weird Tales of the Ramones (2005) • Greatest Hits (2006) Tribute albums Gabba Gabba Hey: A Tribute to the Ramones (1991) • Ramones (1992) • Rocket to Russia (1994) • Rocket to Ramonia (1996) • Road to Ruin (1998) • Leave Home (1998) • Blitzkrieg Over You (1998) • File Under Ramones (1999) • The Song Ramones The Same (2002) • We're a Happy Family - A Tribute to Ramones (2003) Films Rock 'n' Roll High School (1979) • Lifestyles of the Ramones (1990) • We're Outta Here (1997) • Ramones - Around the World (1998) • End of the Century: The Story of the Ramones (2003) • Ramones: Raw (2004) • It's Alive 1974-1996 (2007)