Acid Eaters

Acid Eaters

The Ramones play the Amboy Dukes! The Ramones play the Troggs! The Ramones play the Stones! Each new chestnut can render veteran fans speechless, and that's the point of <I>Acid Eaters</I>, of course. In addition to offering short, sharp two-minute blasts of nostalgia, these 12 tunes make the case once more for the Ramones as essential rock archetypes: There have been punks before and since, but have any really done it better? <P> It's a shrewd move: The Ramones still sound like the Ramones, even if their new A-list originals are fewer and further between, and the results are certainly more fun than the inferior covers heard from other, bigger bands. But the set list is more conservative than the title suggests. Too many of the songs are staples of classic rock radio, and true fans will wish the Ramones simply covered <I> Nuggets</I>, Lenny Kaye's influential collection of real acid-eating garage bands from the '60s.<i>--Jim DeRogatis</i>