Ramones

Essential Albums

  • Road to Ruin
    Road to Ruin
    Road to Ruin

    In terms of music, lyrics and overall attitude, the first three Ramones albums were barely distinguishable from one another. But on 1978’s Road to Ruin, the group’s fourth record, the differences are more obvious: There are acoustic guitars, ballads and even a few guitar solos (which had largely been stigmatised as extraneous by punk rockers). And while the band had always kept things under three minutes, Road to Ruin has songs that go long—relatively speaking: “I Wanted Everything” clocks in at 3:18, and “Questioningly” goes on for 3:21 (or about as long as an ELP keyboard solo). Throughout Road to Ruin, the Ramones sound almost like a normal late-1970s rock band. One reason for that change was the departure of Tommy Ramone, the band’s original drummer, and a key architect of the band’s sound. He stayed on as a producer under his birth surname, T. Erdelyi, but was replaced on the kit by Marky Ramone, formerly of Richard Hell and the Voidoids. Marky was a more experienced drummer, adding more dynamics to the band’s rhythm section—including fills, and a cymbal sound he likened to broken glass—while perpetuating the band’s relentless, rapid eighth-note beat. Everything the Ramones sang about—whether it was eating chicken vindaloo, being bored or engaging in crazy antics—was true to life, an approach that holds strong on Road to Ruin. The tenderness in Joey Ramone’s voice never undercuts the sneering negativity in some of the album’s darker songs, including “I Don’t Want You” and the rampaging “I’m Against It”. Tommy Ramone once referred to his bandmates as “dangerous people”, and the punk rock outbursts on Road to Ruin modulate reckless thoughts and impulses into perfect, short songs. Still, the band does slow down for a moment, with the teary Dee Dee Ramone ballad “Questioningly” featuring twangy guitar from album co-producer Ed Stasium. (Guitarist Johnny Ramone didn’t like the song, and likened it to the Eagles—perhaps the biggest insult at his disposal). Because the Ramones got little radio airplay, the band toured frequently, in order to remain solvent. This was tough on Joey, who endured several health issues, including obsessive-compulsive disorder (which made things tough on his bandmates, too). While he was inhaling steam to soothe a sore throat, Joey burned himself, which inspired Road to Ruin’s classic “I Wanna Be Sedated” (“Put me in a wheelchair, get me to the show/Hurry, hurry, hurry, before I go loco”). The song even includes a guitar solo—kind of—from Johnny, who plays the same note over and over. If it’s the right note, you don’t need more than one.

  • Ramones
    Ramones
    Ramones

    Sure, there were plenty of antecedents to their music, including The Stooges, a Detroit band of hooligans whom the Ramones loved. But it was the four misfits from Queens, New York, who formalised the sound of punk rock, right down to song lengths and onstage attire. Even all these years later, punk exists in its original, unevolved form, played by thousands of bands worldwide, because there’s no simpler or more democratic way to express strong feelings—especially negative ones. The Sex Pistols are often credited as the fathers of punk, but their debut album came out a few weeks before the third Ramones album. Johnny Ramone played a $50 Mosrite guitar on this earth-shaking album, which was recorded for only $6,500—an amount Fleetwood Mac might have routinely spent on a catered lunch. The Ramones were minimalists who created an entire world out of just a few chords and one or two ideas. They played like they were in a hurry: a typical set in 1976 included 20 songs, which the band sped through in less than 40 minutes. They didn’t write songs about girls because, Johnny later said, they didn’t really have any. Instead, in the manner of Pop Art painters like Andy Warhol and Richard Hamilton, they made art out of the commonplace events in their lives. The songs on Ramones are dark and antisocial, but usually with a knowing sense of humour. “Beat on the Brat” is about kids who behave badly, “Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue” is about getting high, and “53rd & 3rd”, an autobiographical song by Dee Dee Ramone, the band’s most prolific songwriter, is about working as a male prostitute. “I’m tryin’ to turn a trick,” Joey Ramone sings in his charming British-by-way-of-Queens accent. One of the band’s most prominent influences was B movies; there’s even a Texas Chainsaw Massacre reference in “Chain Saw”. The debut album also shows off a little of the band’s romantic streak, via a cover of “Let’s Dance”, a 1962 hit for Chris Montez, and “I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend”, written by drummer and co-producer Tommy Ramone. It’s the album’s slowest song—calling it a ballad would be an exaggeration—and, while not quite Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, it incorporates some different sounds via 12-string guitar, glockenspiel and tubular bells. One thing that distinguishes the Ramones from the punk bands that followed them is their genuine love of (and occasional facility with) melody. They admired lots of 1960s groups, from the Beach Boys to the Shirelles, and they thought every song on their debut album was a potential hit single, even though they sounded nothing like the biggest rock bands of 1976—most notably Queen, the Eagles and Boston. The Ramones thought they were about to become the most popular band in the world. They didn’t, but instead they became something better than that: one of the most influential bands in the world.

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About Ramones

It’s not hyperbolic to say that punk’s initial wave began with Ramones. Clad in black leather jackets and blue jeans, the New York band threw out snotty slogans (“Gabba gabba hey!”) while putting a tougher, faster spin on melodic ’60s garage rock and the airtight arrangements of girl-group pop. Formed in 1974, the faux-fraternal quartet—lead singer Joey Ramone, bassist Dee Dee Ramone, guitarist Johnny Ramone and drummer Tommy Ramone, all adopting a common last name—honed a ferocious live show as one of the house bands at the gritty New York City club CBGB. This led to a deal with Sire Records and a 1976 self-titled LP full of punk pogos (“Blitzkrieg Bop”) and gender-flipped ’50s rock homages (“I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend”). Although Ramones sometimes drew on their own lives for inspiration—“I Wanna Be Sedated” was inspired by road ennui—they found a groove writing songs about teenage outcasts and adolescent angst; “We’re a Happy Family” describes a turbulent home life, while other tunes star vivid rebels named Sheena, Suzy and Judy. As the years progressed, Ramones embraced a broader sonic palette (the metallic “Psycho Therapy”, a surf-rockin’ “California Sun”) and deeper lyrics: 1980’s “Do You Remember Rock ’N’ Roll Radio?” name-checked early musical icons Alan Freed and Jerry Lee Lewis yet resisted the urge toward misty-eyed nostalgia, while 1981’s “The KKK Took My Baby Away” touched on racism’s pernicious undercurrents. Ramones continued touring and recording steadily into the ’90s but broke up after taking a victory lap on the 1996 Lollapalooza tour. Although the band never reunited—all four original Ramones have since died—their legacy is secure. Not only can their world-famous Arturo Vega-designed logo be seen on T-shirts worn by grandmothers and toddlers alike, but their short, sharp songs and intimidating look remain a modern punk blueprint.

ORIGIN
Queens, NY, United States
FORMED
Januar 1974
GENRE
Punk

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