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According to the 1976 Village Voice Pazz & Jop Critics' Poll, the Ramones' album, The Ramones, came in at number 8. Coolfer dissects this oddity ("The Ramones. The pride of Queens. The leaders of America's punk movement. An epochal album that was a rallying cry for artists around the word. The best thing since the ball point pen. Number eight.") and sums up the situation, "It goes to show, not even the clued-in New York music writers were ready for the Ramones, but they were loving good ol' Kate & Anna McGarrigle."
But when looking at the list, the number one album was Stevie Wonder's Songs in the Key of Life, which is a really good album.
Gabba Gabba Eight
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Songs In The Key of Life is an awesome album. It still holds up almost 30 years later. And it went on to be the Album of The Year at the Grammys that year.
Check the Dean's List, which I assume is Christgau's personal list of top albums. Ramones was #8 on that as well, and again topped by the McGarrigle sisters.
Like I said, hingsight is a wonderful luxury for commentators like Coolfer. I guess you had to be there, in 1976, getting swept up in McGarrigle fever, living amidst a swell of acclaim for Graham Parker, and actually believing Bob Segar's Night Moves is a pretty hot little album. Who would have guessed in '76 that the Ramones would get into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on the first ballot?
In 20 years, we'll all feel a little differently about the last Radiohead album, and will probably be a little embarassed about getting so damn hot and bothered by Ryan Adams.
I will not be embarrassed for liking Ryan Adams' "It's Harder Now That It's Over" but Parker Posey will be for dating him.
I figured someone would've made mention of the fact that this is the Voice we're talking about. VV of the mid-70's was just slightly out of the hippie era, and not quite representative of what I would call 'NY rock critics.' Lester Bangs had yet to write for it, Holstrom and McNeil were already printing Punk, better/hipper music writing was in the East Village Other and Soho Weekly News, and NY Rocker was just around the corner.....
As good as "Songs in the Key of Life" is, methinks "Innervisions" is an even better album as it contains two of my all-time favorite songs of Stevie's -- "Don't You Worry 'Bout a Thing" and "He's Misstra Know It All" (not to mentions "Higher Ground", "Living for the City" and "Too High").
"Songs ..." is still way up there, though.
My vote is also for "Innervisions".
Everyone is missing the big picture. Rod Stewart came in 9th...and by only 3 points!!!!!!
I remember seeing the Ramones way back in the 80's, and they were as static as I was.