The 10 best albums of the Ramones
The Ramones were not lucky. The four musicians from Queens played a crucial role in the development of punk rock (and actually most popular music from the past 40 years). But they never had something like a hit single. And played up to their last shows in clubs. They finally became cool in the early 2000s. Exactly at the time when Joey Ramone, Dee Dee and Johnny died within a few years. Tommy’s death meant that not a single original member of the group is alive. However, their legacy continues to grow.
10. “Pleasant Dreams”
The Ramones were quite discouraged when they were working on work in early 1981 Pleasant Dreams started. Johnny wanted the group to continue to publish raw cunts songs. Joey hoped that they would turn to pop. The fact that Johnny dated one of Joey’s ex-girlfriends did not help. Just as little as Markry’s growing alcohol problem. The first single, “We Want the Airwaves”, was a clear declaration of intent. But she pushed on deaf ears. She continued to ignore the radio. Even when they delivered brilliant work like “The Kkk Took My Baby Away”.
9. “Animal Boy”
In 1986 it was clear that the Ramones would probably never have a hit. They had produced nine albums in ten years. But they were like a bunch of newcomers who had to get off on the club tours. Nevertheless, they continued.
The highlights of Animal Boy Coming when you tear Ronald Reagan to visit the Bitburg cemetery in West Germany in “My Brain is hanging upside down (Bonzo goes to Bitburg)”. And honor the late Sid Vicious in “Love Kills”. The first song brought Republicans Johnny Ramone to life. And caused another gap between him and Joey.
8. “Subterranean Jungle”
After not attracting attention with their trendy works in the early 1980s, the Ramones returned with the album Subterranean Jungle from 1983 back to their punk roots. The highlight of the plate is the frenetic “Psycho Therapy”, which was written by Dee Dee and Johnny.
“I wanted to do a hardcore song to show the hardcore people that we can play just as quickly or faster than everyone else,” Johnny told Rolling Stone. ‘No one Play faster than we do. ‘ This was a challenge for bands like Black Flag and Circle Jerks. But the rest of the album is packed with cover versions. Like “Time Has Come Today” by the Chambers Brothers and “Little Bit O ‘Soul” by Music Explosion.
7. “Brain drain”
After a series of rather insignificant albums, the Ramones found the album Brain drain from 1989 briefly back to old form. The “Pet Cemetery” leadsinge was a small hit. She reached fourth place on the modern rock charts. But the opener “I Believe in Miracles” was considered one of the most powerful songs in the band and covered by Pearl Jam and many others. This could have helped the group to make a real comeback. But not long after the album was released, Dee Dee left the band to pursue an unsuccessful rap career. This brought the group into a very difficult situation in the 1990s.
6. “End of the Century”
As a pop music fanatic of the 1960s, Joey Ramone was unable to dismiss the opportunity to record an album with Phil Spector in the Gold Star Studios. The place where the legendary producer created songs such as “Be My Baby” and “You’ve Lost that Loving feeling”. Unfortunately, Spector in 1979 was a paranoid, shooting. Who made the band record the same tiny pieces for hours. And growing around with a firearm when Johnny became the dispute.
It was a time of madness for everyone involved. But somehow a fairly outstanding album was created. “Do You Remember Rock and Roll Radio”, “Chinese Rock” and “Rock N ‘Rock Hill School” can compete with everything in the Ramones catalog.
5. “Leave Home”
Unimpressed by the fact that her debut album did not get beyond 111 of the Billboard 200, the Ramones returned to the studio to record another record in the exact same style. This time, however, they had a slightly larger budget. And a little more time, so that “Leave Home” In the end it sounded significantly better than the first record. Almost every song here is an absolute classic. Including “Gimme Gimme Shock Treatment”, “Pinhead” and “You’re Gonna Kill that Girl”. Unfortunately, this album cut off even worse than the first and reached 148th place.
4. “It’s Alive”
The Ramones were at the absolute highlight of their skills when they played a New Year’s Eve show in the Rainbow Theater in London in 1977. The tape ran when they played 28 songs in no time. The result is “It’s Alive”the definitive document of a Ramones concert. Until their big farewell in 1996, they mostly adhered to exactly this show and sprinkled a few new songs. But they never sounded so vital again. Especially after Tommy got out the following year. There are many Ramones live albums, but this is the only thing you really need.
3. “Road to ruin”
“”Road to ruin “ was the fourth Ramones album within two years. On this album, you decided to optimize your recipe for success in a attempt to land a hit in a attempt to fail. There are real guitar solos, ballads and even a little acoustic guitar. The calculation didn’t really work. The album did not even make it into the top 100. But if there was justice in the world, “I Wanna Be Sedated” would have been one of the biggest songs in 1978. Instead, Andy Gibb landed two massive hits with “(Love IS) Thicker Than Water” and “Shadow Dancing”.
2. “The Ramones”
To understand how revolutionary the first Ramones album was, let’s take a look at the country’s top songs in the month of its publication. “Disco Lady” by Johnnie Taylor was number one. Followed by “Let Your Love Flow” by the Bellamy Brothers, “Right Back Where Where Started from” by Maxine Nightingale and “Boogie Fever” by the Sylvers. Four boys from Queens came into this musical emptiness. With leather jackets, a bad setting and two -minute songs about glue sniffing, male prostitution and arbitrary acts of violence.
The album was recorded in a studio in the Radio City Music Hall for just $ 7,000 within a few days. “The sound engineers couldn’t understand what we were doing”, Tommy Ramone told David Browne shortly before his death from the rolling stone. “I am sure he thought he would only take a song again and again.”
The record caused a sensation and received great reviews. But it was not very successful. However, the label believed in the band and continued to have them recorded. Ultimately, it was all that really counted.
1. “Rocket to Russia”
When the Ramones started working in the summer of 1977 Rocket to Russia started, the band had become a well -oiled machine. They had been on tour continuously for three years. They produced amazing new songs at a frenzied pace. The wild escapades of the sex pistols had forced the American media to deal with the punk movement. There was hope that this would finally be the album that would mean the big breakthrough for the Ramones. The leadsingle “Sheena is a punk rocker” actually made it into hot 100 and reached 81st place. For most bands, this is a modest success. But it was a great success for the Ramones.
Sire gave the group their largest budget so far. There was no reason why songs like “Rockaway Beach” and “We’re A Happy Family” could not have been too radiohits. For whatever reason, that didn’t happen. The plate landed in 49th place. This was a heavy blow to the band. Not long afterwards Tommy Ramone got out of the tour and the endless fights behind the stage. Fortunately, he lived long enough to see that his last album with the Ramones was recognized as one of the best albums in the 1970s.