Following are reviews of four recent rock, punk-rock and rockabilly recordings.
THE RAMONES; "Greatest Hits Live" (Radioactive). * 1/2
Why was this even necessary?
The Ramones already released "Loco Live," a decent, but unspectacular live set, of their three-chord punk tunes, a few years back. Now they've released "Greatest Hits Live," which features 10 songs also on "Loco Live" - likely trying to capitalize on the group's Lollapalooza appearances this summer.
They needn't have bothered, though. As stated before, much of the material is already on the other live album, and those that aren't (drawn largely from either "Mondo Bizarro" or last year's "Adios Amigos!") sound better in their studio versions.
Frankly, aside from the Ramones' covers of the "Spider- man" cartoon theme song and Motorhead's tribute to the band "R.A.M.O.N.E.S.," there isn't much worthwhile to this album. If anything, it would be an embarrassing way to end such a stellar career.
THE REVEREND HORTON HEAT; "It's Martini Time" (Interscope). * * *
His sermons may be a tad too saucy (OK, way too saucy) to be taken seriously, but the gospel according to the Rev. Horton Heat is enjoyable enough.
Mixing punk, heavy-metal and country-western into his unique brand of rockabilly, the Reverend (whose real name is James Heath) has stripped away the overproduction that marred 1994's "Liquor in the Front." Instead, "It's Martini Time" is raw, undiluted Horton Heat at his best.
Under the slaphappy rhythms of drummer Scott Churilla and standup bass player Jimbo Wallace, "Slow" bucks uncontrollably back and forth like a wild bronco, while the Reverend's sterling rockabilly guitar work paces "Big Red Rocket."
But "It's Martini Time" isn't always so easy to categorize. The swinging title track manages to touch on cocktail jazz and "Spell on Me" is a spooky piece of blues that pays tribute to Screamin' Jay Hawkins.
JAWBOX; "Jawbox" (TAG/Atlantic). * * *
Where Jawbox's last record, 1994's "For Your Own Special Sweetheart," was in your face and aggressive, the band's long-awaited followup is more melodic, even restrained at times.
That's not to say that producer John Agnello (Dinosaur Jr., Screaming Trees) has muted the Washington, D.C., quartet's trademark slashing hard-core. If anything, he's helped give them a better balance between their disparate sides.
"Mirrorful" and "Excandes- cent" are almost poppy in their simplicity and feature some of songwriter/guitarist J. Robbins' best singing ever. Elsewhere, Robbins' and guitarist Bill Barbot's call-and-response vocal bits enliven the pulsating "His Only Trade," while "Desert Sea" indulges the band's ability to thrash.
Not everything on "Jawbox" is as memorable as those songs - the unlisted cover version of Tori Amos' "Cornflake Girl" is a serious misstep - but at least the band is willing to experiment.
RED FIVE; "Flash" (Interscope). * * 1/2.
Here's a refreshing change: a punk-inspired band with female singers that doesn't want to be either L7 or Babes in Toyland.
L.A.'s Red Five actually takes some of its cues from early Throwing Muses, with Betti Carmellini and Jenni McElrath's vocals recalling the magic Kristin Hersh and Tanya Donnelly use to make with that band.
Of course, Carmellin and McElrath haven't exactly made anything as good as Throwing Muses' "The Real Ramona." What they have made with their debut full-length, though, is a decent pop album with some very bright spots.
"Space," "Gasoline" and "Your Creation," all of which clock in under three minutes, are memorable blasts of pop-punk. In fact, the band only shoots itself in the foot when it strays over three minutes (like the droning "Low" or the almost pretentious "Making Waves on the Future Ocean."
RATINGS: four stars (* * * * ), excellent; three stars (* * * ), good; two stars (* * ), fair; one star (* ), poor, with 1/2 representing a higher, intermediate grade.