The first clip on this two-DVD set shows a group of four lanky longhaired gents from New York. They muddle their way through a few songs, unsure on occasion of where the songs start and whether the small audience is even paying attention. By the end, only two of those original four remain and the audience and their confidence and abilities have grown one hundred fold.

Such was the progression of the Ramones and it is a rare opportunity that we fans have been given to see that progression as it happened. Starting with that rough filmed footage of the band playing at their beloved CBGBs in 1974 - a full two years before they would release their first self-titled album - the DVDs take the viewer on a chronological journey through a series of sweaty, dank rock clubs, to shiny TV studios and bigger and bigger theaters and stadiums around the world.

The band lost and gained members and maybe lost some stature along the way, but they never shined as bright as they did onstage as every moment of these discs proves. The most exciting footage is found on the first of these two discs, all of which features the original line up of the group - Joey, Johnny, Dee Dee and Tommy. The sound quality varies greatly as does the clarity of the footage (several segments from their 1977 tour look like they were filmed on an early prototype of the video recorder), but it does nothing to diminish the raw energy of the band and the wicked visions spun out in songs like "Carbona Not Glue" and "53rd and 3rd".

The second disc is both fascinating in its look at a band whose songwriting talents started to wane in their later years, as well as the price a band sometimes ends up paying when they become more successful. Amidst various clips of the band in concert - including their surreal set from the US Festival - are appearances on a variety of television programs from around the world. The best - especially the vicious set they performed on Germany's Musikladen program - allow the band to do what they do best, which is play live. The others, such as their Top of the Pops appearances and a curious guest slot on the long-since-forgotten Sha Na Na variety show, force the band to uncomfortably mimic their songs.

This set, along with the documentary End of the Century, will hopefully go a long way towards cementing the legacy of this late, lamented band, a legacy that is constantly threatened simply by their ubiquitous logo seen on t-shirt after t-shirt. For all the Ramones did for punk and rock music, they certainly deserve better than that.