Basement Beat. Brad Marino

Brad Marino has found his way to these pages over the past few years with his own brand of powerpop rock. Today he returns with an album full of covers from one band only: The Ramones. With all four original members proverbially pushing up the daisies, it is left to others to carry the torch. Being a Ramone obviously was not a healthy way of living, so Brad Marino is entering a dangerous musical alley.

When The Ramones were still around later in its career, the band was often spoken about in a derogatory way. Comic book figures was the one most heard. Although this may have been a little the case by the end of its career, it all crosses out the enormous impact the band had in the 1970s when they entered the New York City scene and soon after the whole world.

With the leather jackets, picketing line boards and ultra short aggressive songs, the band set a new standard for everyone who followed, right up to this day. What The Beatles were to everyone else, The Ramones were for punk. There's no realer thing than what The Ramones played on its first albums.

Being into Pink Floyd mostly around 1975-1979, you can imagine what my response to The Ramones was at the time. Thanks to the second big punk wave, with Green Day and The Offspring up front, I got back to The Ramones anyway and today I own about half of its albums.

Enter Brad Marino in 2022. He recreates the music of The Ramones in a loving and dedicated way. Being a far better singer than Joey ever was, the singing on Basement Beat is simply better. Musically Marino follows the short bursts of energy and accented chord changes to create a melody or solo by purely playing chords melodies, perfectly. The tightness, the drive, the energy, it is all here.

Brad Marino is Joey, Johnny and Dee Dee. A drummer with a fantastic name Beau-Beau Basement is doubling as Tommy. All together it is a powerhouse of punk music.

So, you may ask, why should I want to buy Basement Beat if I already have all The Ramones albums? Exactly for that reason. Besides that, Marino avoids all the "big hits" and pulls other songs from obscurity.  Because of his voice and obvious fun in playing these songs, Brad Marino adds his own flavour to the The Ramones oeuvre. If you're a fan, this is the real thing also. But ....

 

And now for the real story. Those who've paid attention will have noticed there is not a single cover song on Basement Beat. All songs are Brad Marino originals, in the style of The Ramones. During the pandemic he has been writing a lot and every once in a while put himself to write a song in The Ramones style. While not forgetting who he is himself. You can find him in the little details on the album. The warning: NO UPSTROKES WERE USED IN THE MAKING OF THIS RECORD! certainly rings true. Can we call this Ramonesque?, to use a word from the bio. I would say spot on. If this had been a cover album, everyone would have believed it.

Wout de Natris

You can listen to and buy Basement Beat here:

https://rumbarrecords.bandcamp.com/album/basement-beat