THE RAMONES SONGS 1978 PLUS

The single from the album was The Who classic, “Substitute” featuring backing vocals by none other than Pete Townsend (who apparently showed up late for the session, just long enough for Johnny to say, “Fuck it, I’m going home.” Which in true punk rock fashion he did). Made up entirely of covers from the ’60s, they range from Creedence (“Have You Ever Seen the Rain?”) to Jan and Dean (“Surf City”). If cover songs are what you dig, then this is for you. It opens with a fun cover of Tom Waits’ “I Don’t Want to Grow Up” (a minor hit for them which they got to perform on Late Night with David Letterman) and ends with Dee Dee’s guest-vocal cameo on” Born to Die in Berlin.” Joey’s two songs on this album are among the best he wrote- “Life’s a Gas” and the weird and beautiful “She Talks to Rainbows.” 7. Their final album is thoroughly enjoyable from start to finish. “Graham Gouldman? Who’s Graham Gouldman? He’s in 10cc- he shouldn’t be producing a Ramones record- it’s ridiculous.” Check out the demos instead.

Pleasant Dreams (1981)Įvery song on this album is terrific, so why isn’t it higher up on this list? I’m gonna go with Johnny Ramone, who blamed the producer.

THE RAMONES SONGS 1978 PLUS

My favorite thing about this album (aside from how great a song “Poison Heart” is) is that the Ramones purchased it, plus two other songs from Dee Dee, in exchange for bailing him out of jail. Hmm…Is this really The Ramones or just an incredible simulation? 10. He also said Spector never let him play his pinball machine. Until the day he died, Dee Dee claimed that he didn’t play a single note on this one. Yeah, it SOUNDS great, but what Phil Spector record doesn’t sound great? Maybe that’s the problem: too much polish, not enough soul. End of the Century (1980)ĭespite containing the good-time fun of “Rock ‘n Roll High School,” this album just hangs there for me. Related: “Punk Rock Docs Worth Watching” 11. This was technically Dee Dee’s last album with the band but he goes out in style with “Don’t Bust My Chops” and “Ignorance is Bliss.”

This record deserves its own documentary and everyone involved deserves a big hug. Showing up even when life seemingly sucks. This album was 13 years later, ’cause they kept going even after most people said, “Who cares?” Life’s crazy, and so was everyone in this band (“A lot of mental illness,” to quote Johnny). At one point, they believed they were gonna be The Beatles or The Bay City Rollers and guess what? – it didn’t happen. Does it make you “bop til you drop”? No, but that’s OK. But is it the best Ramones record? Maybe. Their debut project changed the face of popular music with classics including “Blitzkrieg Bop,” “Judy is a Punk” and “Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue.” Its influence can be heard and felt in every rock and roll record made since its release 43 years ago. Around that same time, it was preserved by The National Recording Registry as ” culturally, historically and aesthetically significant”. Thirty-eight years later, it finally went Gold (500,000 units sold) making it the only one of their 14 studio albums to do so. And it was a flop, selling only around 6,000 copies in its first year. It was done over one week for just $6,400. Johnny, Joey, Dee Dee, and Tommy Ramone, the darlings of The Lower East Side, were now recording artists. In April 1976, Sire Records released the debut album by a new band called The Ramones.

The ramones songs 1978