It's 1982 and the Ramones are in a gutter-bound spiral. Following a run of inconsistent albums and deep in the throes of internal tensions, the legendary quartet is about to crash and burn. Enter Richie Ramone. Then a 26-year-old from New Jersey named Richard Reinhardt, he's snapped up by the group to be their new drummer and instantly goes from the obscurity of the underground club scene to membership in the most famous punk-rock band of all time, revitalizing the pioneering outfit with his powerful, precise, and blindingly fast beats – composing classic cuts like the menacing anthem “Somebody Put Something in My Drink” and becoming the only Ramones percussionist to sing lead vocals for the group. With the Ramones, he performs over five hundred shows at venues all around the world and records three storming studio albums – before abruptly quitting the band and going deep underground. To most fans, this crucial figure in the band's history has remained a mystery, his tale untold. Until now. I Know Better Now: My Life Before, During, and After the Ramones is the firsthand, four-on-the-floor account of a life in rock 'n' roll and in one of its most influential acts – straight from the sticks of the man who kept the beat.

伝説的バンド、ラモーンズの救世主として現れたリッチー・ラモーン。本書の真髄は、崩壊の危機にあった彼らを音で再生させた一人の音楽家の矜持にあります。彼の高速なビートがいかにして原始的な衝動を再点火したのか。その筆致からは、リズムを刻む者の視点からしか見えないパンクの真実が、鮮烈な情熱とともに描き出されています。 謎に包まれた脱退の真相や、葛藤を経て自らのアイデンティティを再構築する過程は、一級の人間ドラマとしても秀逸です。栄光の渦中で自らの価値を信じ、決断を下した彼の誠実さは、読者の胸を熱く焦がすでしょう。音楽が人生を救い、人生が音楽を凌駕していく瞬間の輝きが、この一冊には凝縮されています。