The Vinyl of the Day is ‘Leave Home’ by The Ramones, 1977. Their second studio album, it followed their debut ‘Ramones’ by actually cranking up the tempo (if you can believe it!) and throwing even more guitar distortion, helped along by a bigger budget and more professional recording values. SLIGHTLY less primitive musically than the Ramones’ debut, ‘Leave Home’ is somehow more melodic, poppier, and heavier than its predecessor. “Glad to See You Go” name-drops “the passion” of Charles Manson, while the terrific “Commando” (“First rule is the laws of Germany / Second rule is be nice to mommy”) brings to mind a funnier MC5. But “Oh, Oh, I Love Her So” is pure classic pop–metallic bubblegum and their first foray into the Beach Boys-inspired harmonies that would be used to greater effect on ‘Rocket To Russia’. The “bruddahs” even do a sped-up version of “California Sun” to drive the point home, and of course it was “Pinhead” that gave birth to the “Gabba! Gabba! Hey!” rallying cry. Also, the ‘repackaged’ version is improved immensely by the inclusion of the fun, fast rocking single ‘Sheena Is A Punk Rocker’ — added to hopefully boost sales of the album, as it actually was selling much less than their debut. Some people say that the songs here show ‘musical progression’ from their first album, but come on - it’s The Ramones! It’s 2 minutes of three chord high-speed headbanging per song. I remember when CDs first came out, and I made fun of friends who bought Ramones CDs for the ‘improved audio quality’!! ???
Ramones LPs have been called audio comic books, and to a large extent that’s true. Part of the Ramones’ charm is how they seemed like renegades from an underground comic —a degenerate answer to the Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers, celebrating all the glories that hid in a dark alley. On the debut, they still seemed nasty, but there is a slight shift in tone on Leave Home that pushes the band toward caricature. Some of that comes from the album’s comparative lightness: the group may still be huffing fumes, but they’re not mugging you on a street corner; the inherent scuzz and sleaze no longer feels quite so dangerous. They churn out bubblegum garage and ragged love songs, camouflaging their pop fizziness with brawn.
The albums after ‘Road to Ruin’ seemed to reflect the band’s growing efforts for mainstream success, and I can't blame them for wanting that. And to a large extent they did popularize punk and introduce it to new audiences, and even more importantly they influenced innumerable garage bands with the realization that YOU DIDN’T HAVE TO HAVE LOADS OF TALENT to start a band and play!! And personally I think that’s their greatest legacy.
AllMusic Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Of course the Ramones’ second album, Leave Home, is simply more of the same – 14 songs, including one oldie (“California Sun”), delivered at breakneck speed and concluding in under a half-hour. The Ramones have gotten slightly poppier, occasionally delivering songs like “I Remember You” that are cloaked neither in irony nor seedy rock & roll chic. Still, the biggest impressions are made by the cuts that strongly recall the debut, whether it’s the ersatz Beach Boys of “Sheena Is a Punk Rocker,” the singalong of “Pinhead,” or the warped anthems “Gimme Gimme Shock Treatment” and “Commando.” Song for song, it’s slightly weaker than its predecessor, but the handful of mediocre cuts speed by so fast that you don’t really notice its weaknesses until after it’s all over.