Joey Ramone - "Don't Worry About Me" - Sanctuary Records. I was worried about Joey Ramone since the first time I met him, twenty years ago. When he died last year I was still horribly shocked and surprised. For fans of The Ramones, he seemed to be sort of sickly-immortal, vampire-like. Enough of that. This is a positively great album. Better than some Ramones albums. I think that when a Front-Man goes solo, a lot of us hope the solo work will be on a par with the band’s. It worked for Sting. I think it works for Natalie Merchant. Eric Clapton, Peter Gabriel and Paul McCartney pulled it off. I love the Stones, but I don’t think Mick should play without Keith and Charlie. On that note, on to our good friend Jeffery Hyman. For all intents and purposes this might as well be a Ramones album. Marky plays on more than half of the tracks; and it shows; but Frank Funaro?s drums on the rest of the album work beautifully. The most important thing is that Joey sounds as good as ever. Joey always appeared ageless, and his voice truly was. Unless you have a decent alternative college station nearby, you’ve probably only heard the “What a Wonderful World” cover. Even that grows on you in leaps and bounds. The album is the kind that bears immediate re-playing. I hate gushing, and luckily I don’t do it often, but I really can’t get enough of this disc. Joey manages to sing about sitting in a hospital bed, essentially waiting to die, without sounding morbid or depressed. Maybe that was always one of the greatest things about The Ramones; the KKK, Lobotomies, dysfunctional families, the end of the world. No topic was ever taboo, and whatever it was, Joey’s voice always made it sound good. - Steve Ment