LPCDreissues: Looking forward to the past

• Label: Maniacs Records
• Edition: First vinyl reissue

Originally released in 1994, I Hate Freaks Like You marked Dee Dee Ramone’s decisive return to hard, direct punk rock following the stylistic experiments of his earlier solo work. Recorded under the name Dee Dee Ramone I.C.L.C., the album combines the speed and economy associated with the Ramones with a rougher, more aggressive early-1990s production.

The group featured Dee Dee Ramone on guitar and lead vocals, Johnny Carco on bass and vocals, and Dutch drummer Danny Arnold Lommen. Recorded at Klank Studios in Tegelen, Netherlands, the sessions capture the trio with a stripped-down and forceful sound built around distorted guitars, rapid rhythms and Dee Dee’s unmistakable songwriting.

“I’m Making Monsters for My Friends” opens the album with a catchy chorus and the darkly humorous outsider perspective that characterised much of Dee Dee’s work. “Don’t Look in My Window,” “Chinese Bitch” and “I Hate It” maintain the record’s fast, abrasive momentum, while “Runaway,” “Trust Me” and “I’m Seeing Strawberry’s Again” introduce more melodic and atmospheric passages.

The album also includes a new recording of “All’s Quiet on the Eastern Front,” originally heard on the Ramones’ Pleasant Dreams. “I’m Making Monsters for My Friends” and “It’s Not for Me to Know” would later be re-recorded by the Ramones for their final studio album, ¡Adios Amigos!, demonstrating the strength of the material Dee Dee was producing during this period.

German punk and new-wave icon Nina Hagen contributes vocals to the closing tracks “Lass Mich in Ruhe” and a second version of “I’m Making Monsters for My Friends.” Her theatrical delivery provides a suitably unpredictable conclusion to an album filled with raw energy, humour and uncompromising punk attitude.

Track listing:

Side A
A1. I’m Making Monsters for My Friends – 2:37
A2. Don’t Look in My Window – 2:34
A3. Chinese Bitch – 1:44
A4. It’s Not for Me to Know – 2:58
A5. Runaway – 3:39
A6. All’s Quiet on the Eastern Front – 2:14
A7. I Hate It – 1:48

Side B
B1. Life Is Like a Little Smart Alleck – 2:31
B2. I Hate Creeps Like You – 1:43
B3. Trust Me – 4:23
B4. Curse on Me – 2:52
B5. I’m Seeing Strawberry’s Again – 3:58
B6. Lass Mich in Ruhe – 2:26
B7. I’m Making Monsters for My Friends – 2:37