ĄAdios Amigos!

AMG Review of ĄAdios Amigos!

Stephen Thomas Erlewine
All Music Guide

The Ramones announced before the release of ĄAdios Amigos! that the record would likely be their last -- unless it sold in massive quantities, that is. While it's hardly their best effort, ĄAdios Amigos! is an admirable way to bow out. The Ramones haven't progressed much since the mid-'80s, yet they have recaptured a bit of the inspiration that fueled their last great album, Too Tough to Die. Even with the extra kick of energy, there are moments on the album that veer too close to self-parody -- even the grungy stomp through Tom Waits' "I Don't Wanna Grow Up," one of the record's best moments, seems forced. Still, the weakest moments of the record outshine the best songs on the stiff and over-produced Brain Drain and Mondo Bizarro. They might not have been on the top of their game, yet the Ramones knew that a record like ĄAdios Amigos! was the right way to call it a day -- it rocks and it rolls, and it's not an embarrassment.