I dug up my cassettes from the late 80’s early 90’s this past weekend and remember finding this gem, Halfway to Sanity by the Ramones. I got this tape the summer before I moved to Sioux Falls (1991), it was originally released in 1987. I remember it as being one my favorite Ramones albums. Great stuff.
Another review by Tim Brough, author and music buff,
The Ramones continued their ride on auto-pilot with “Halfway To Sanity.” While a touch better than “Animal Boy,” it still lacked the punch of the classics. There was (well, in the days of sides one and two), a great first half but a forgettable flip side. I remember playing the [stuff] outta side one, but aside from “I’m Not Jesus” and “Real Cool Time,” really getting disinterested in side two.
The first half, though, would be a 5 star EP. Dee Dee once again wrote a pair of stunning, life affirming songs with “I Wanna Live” and “Garden Of Serenity,” “Bop Til You Drop” follows in the tradition of countless Ramones dance songs, and Debbie Harry adds a sixties girl group fever to “Go Lil’ Camaro.” “Weasel Face” has spunk ala “Animal Boy” and “I Know Better Now” kicked the LP side to a close.
Perhaps had they recorded this in the CD age, a different sequencing might have made it a more consistent sounding disc. But as a document of the Ramones late 80’s recordings, it only rates about 3 1/2 stars.