| Product Code: | 8122 7932756 |
| Artist: | Ramones |
| Origin: | EU |
| Label: | Rhino Records (2018) |
| Format: | LP |
| Availability: | In Stock |
| Condition: |
Cover: M
Record: M
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| Genre: | Punk , Rock , Rock & Roll N |
Sealed brand new 180 gram remastered album.
Ramones is the debut studio album by American punk rock band the Ramones, released on April 23, 1976 by Sire Records. After Hit Parader editor Lisa Robinson saw the band at a gig in New York City, she wrote about them in an article and contacted Danny Fields, insisting he be their manager. Fields agreed and convinced Craig Leon to produce Ramones, and the band recorded a demo for prospective record labels. Leon persuaded Sire president Seymour Stein to listen to the band perform, and he later offered the band a recording contract. The Ramones began recording in January 1976, needing only seven days and $6,400 to record the album. They used similar sound-output techniques to those of the Beatles, and used advanced production methods by Leon.
The album cover, photographed by Punk magazine's Roberta Bayley, features the four members leaning against a brick wall in New York City. The record company paid only $125 for the front photo, which has since become one of the most imitated album covers of all time. The back cover depicts an eagle belt buckle along with the album's liner notes. After its release, Ramones was promoted with two singles which failed to chart. The Ramones also began touring to help sell records; these tour dates were mostly based in the United States, though two were booked in Britain.
Violence, drug use, relationship issues, humor, and Nazism were prominent in the album's lyrics. The album opens with "Blitzkrieg Bop", which is among the band's most recognized songs. Most of the album's tracks are uptempo, with many songs measuring at well over 160 beats per minute. The songs are also rather short; at two-and-a-half minutes, "I Don't Wanna Go Down to the Basement" is the album's longest track. Ramones contains a cover of the Chris Montez song "Let's Dance".
Ramones peaked at No. 111 on the US Billboard 200 and was unsuccessful commercially; initially it received mixed reviews from the few critics who wrote about it. However, many later deemed it a highly influential record, and it has since received many accolades, such as the top spot on Spin magazine's list of the "50 Most Essential Punk Records". Ramones went on to inspire many bands like the Sex Pistols, the Buzzcocks, and the Clash, among others. Aside from sparking the punk-rock scene in both the US and UK, it has had a significant impact on other genres of rock music, such as grunge and heavy metal. The album was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America in 2014.[1]
The Ramones began playing gigs in mid-1974, with their first show at Performance Studios in New York City.[2] The band, performing in a style similar to the one used on their debut album, typically performed at clubs in downtown Manhattan, specifically CBGB and Max's Kansas City.[3] In early 1975, Lisa Robinson, an editor of Hit Parader and Rock Scene, saw the fledgling Ramones performing at CBGB and subsequently wrote about the band in several magazine issues. The group's vocalist Joey Ramone related that "Lisa came down to see us, she was blown away by us. She said that we changed her life, She started writing about us in Rock Scene, and then Lenny Kaye would write about us and we started getting more press like The Village Voice. Word was getting out, and people starting coming down."[4] Convinced that the band needed a recording contract, Robinson contacted Danny Fields, former manager of the Stooges, and argued that he needed to manage the band. Fields agreed because the band "had everything [he] ever liked,"[4] and became the manager in November 1975.[5]
On September 19, 1975, the Ramones recorded a demo at 914 Sound Studios, which was produced by Marty Thau. Featuring the songs "Judy Is a Punk" and "I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend," the band used the demo to showcase their style to prospective labels.[6][7] Producer Craig Leon, who had seen the Ramones perform in the summer of 1975, brought the demo to the attention of Sire Records' president Seymour Stein.[5][8][9] After being persuaded by Craig Leon and his ex-wife Linda Stein, the Ramones auditioned at Sire and were offered a contract, although the label had previously signed only European progressive rock bands.[6][10] Drummer Tommy Ramone recalled: "Craig Leon is the one who got us signed, single handed. He brought down the vice president and all these people—he's the only hip one in the company. He risked his career to get us on the label."[5][11] The label offered to release "You're Gonna Kill That Girl" as a single, but the band declined, insisting on recording an entire album. Sire accepted their request and agreed to release a studio album instead.[8][12]
In January 1976 the band took a break from their live performances to prepare for recording at Plaza Sound studio.[13] Sessions began in early February 1976 and were completed within a week for $6,400;[14][15] the instruments took three days and the vocal parts were recorded in four days.[16] In 2004, Leon admitted that they recorded Ramones quickly due to budget restrictions, but also that it was all the time they needed.[17]
"Doing an album in a week and bringing it in for $6,400 was unheard of, especially since it was an album that really changed the world. It kicked off punk rock and started the whole thing—as well as us."
The band applied microphone-placement techniques similar to those which many orchestras used.[19] The recording process was a deliberate exaggeration of the techniques used by the Beatles in the early 1960s, with a four-track representation of the devices. The guitars can be heard separately on the stereo channels—electric bass on the left channel, rhythm guitar on the right—drums and vocals are mixed in the middle of the stereo mix.[20] The mixing of the production also used more modern techniques such as overdubbing, a technique used by studios to add a supplementary recorded sound to material. The band also used a technique known as doubling, where the vocal line used is sung twice.[17]
Recording for the album was expanded by Mickey Leigh (Joey's brother) and Leon with percussion effects, which went unmentioned in the liner notes to the album's release.[13] Author Nicholas Rombes said that the production's quality sounded like "the ultimate do-it-yourself, amateur, reckless ethic that is associated with punk," but concluded that they approached the recording process with a "high degree of preparedness and professionalism."[21]
Initially, the Ramones wanted an album cover similar to Meet the Beatles! (1964), and subsequently had pictures taken in that style by Danny Fields but Sire was dissatisfied with the results. The art direction was by Toni Wadler and, according to cartoonist John Holmstrom, the "Meet The Beatles" cover idea came out "horribly."[23] Wadler later chose a photo by Roberta Bayley, a photographer for Punk magazine for the cover.The black and white photograph on the front of the album was originally in an issue of Punk.
The cover photo features (from left to right) Johnny, Tommy, Joey and Dee Dee Ramone, staring at the camera with blank faces. They are all wearing ripped/faded blue jeans and leather jackets, standing upright against the brick wall of a private community garden called Albert's Garden, located in the Bowery neighborhood of New York City between Bowery Street and Second Street.[22][23] The stance of the group members in the photograph would influence their future cover designs as well, with the majority of their succeeding albums using a picture of the band on the front cover.[22] Music historian Legs McNeil states that "Tommy [is] standing on his tip-toes and Joey [is] hunched over a bit."[23] The back cover art, which depicts a belt buckle with a bald eagle and the band's logo, was designed by Arturo Vega.[22] Liner notes on the back cover fail to acknowledge backing vocalists and additional instrument players. Leigh, who performed backing vocals on several tracks, asked guitarist Johnny why he was not mentioned on the record's credits. Johnny replied: "We didn't want people to get confused with who's in the band or who's not. It's our first album, you know, and we didn't want people to get confused."[23]
The artwork became one of the most imitated album covers in music. The image of a band in front of a brick wall dressed in ripped jeans and leather jackets was copied by Alvin and the Chipmunks in Chipmunk Punk.[23] Ramones's artwork was ranked number 58 on Rolling Stone's 1991 list of 100 Greatest Album Covers.[24]
There were two singles released from the album: "Blitzkrieg Bop" and "I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend." The first was released in February 1976, originally as a 7" split single with "Havana Affair" as its B-side.[25] The release, along with the Ramones 2001 Expanded Edition, featured "Blitzkrieg Bop" remixed as a single version,[26][27] although it maintains a time of two minutes and twelve seconds.[28] On January 6, 2004, Rhino Entertainment re-released "Blitzkrieg Bop" as a CD single, using "Sheena Is a Punk Rocker" as its B-side.[29] "I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend" was released in February 1976 as a 7" single. It included "California Sun" and "I Don't Wanna Walk Around with You" as B-sides.[25][30] "I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend" was also released in the UK, giving the band a presence in the European marketplace.[31] Even though the song saw some success in the UK and Europe, it failed to chart in the top 50.[32]
In 1974 the band played 30 performances, nearly all at the New York-based club CBGB. All but one of the band's 1975 gigs were booked for New York City, with Waterbury, Connecticut as the exception. After the album's recording, the Ramones headlined for very few shows, usually opening for an identified cover band which played Aerosmith and Boston. When they opened at Brockton, Massachusetts, the audience appeared extremely uninterested in the Ramones so Johnny swore off playing as an introduction for other bands.[33] Following this, Fields booked several headlining shows around the Tri-state area, and they began playing frequently at gigs like CBGB and Max's Kansas City. After performing with Blondie in New Jersey, they continued their tour to Boston, Massachusetts for three shows.[34]
"Traveling was difficult. Most of the time, it was just Danny Fields, me, and the members of the band. We'd get two rooms in the hotel, three of us in each. They couldn't afford any more help at that point, so the band had to pitch in unloading the equipment. I'd play the drums during sound checks, while Tommy went out to the board and mixed the sound—and instructed the soundman not to fuck with the settings. We would enlist aid of any fan willing to help us load out at the end of the night."
— Mickey Leigh[34]
At the time, Joey's brother Leigh was road manager, stage manager, chauffeur, and head of security. Vega, who contributed to the album's packaging, helped out with the road crew as much as possible. Tommy's friend Monte Melnick occasionally helped with the audio output, but this was typically done by Leigh.[34]
Following their debut album's release, the band performed at over 60 concerts for its promotion.[35] While most of the gigs were booked in North America, two dates—July 4 and 5—were in London's Roundhouse venue and Dingwalls, respectively. Linda Stein pushed to make these events happen, setting up the band performances in the UK during the United States Bicentennial. Fields relates: "On the two hundredth anniversary of our freedom, we were bringing Great Britain a gift that was forever going to disrupt their sensibilities."[36] The band sold out for their first London performance, with an audience of roughly 3,000.[37] Leigh described the Dingwalls gig as very similar to performances at CBGB.[38] Likewise, these venues would go on to be headlined by other punk bands like the Clash and Sex Pistols.[35][39] The band performed over 100 concerts the following year.[35]
The songs on Ramones addressed several lyrical themes including violence, male prostitution, drug use, and Nazism. While the moods displayed in the album were often dark,[40] Johnny said that when writing the lyrics they were not "trying to be offensive."[41] Many songs from the album have backing vocals from different guests. Leigh sang backing vocals on "Judy Is a Punk," "I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend," and in the bridge of "Blitzkrieg Bop." Tommy sang backing vocals on "I Don't Wanna Walk Around With You," "Judy Is a Punk," and during the bridge of "Chainsaw."[42] The album's engineer, Rob Freeman, sang backing vocals for the final refrain of "I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend." The album's length is 29 minutes and four seconds and it contains 14 tracks.[15]
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 "Blitzkrieg Bop" was written by Tommy, and later reviewed by Dee Dee. Joey said that the song "was sort of a call to arms ... for everyone to start their own bands."[43]
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"Blitzkrieg Bop," the album's opening track, was written by Tommy, and originally named "Animal Hop."[44] Once Dee Dee reviewed the lyrics, the band changed the wording, the name, and partially the theme.[45] According to Tommy, the song's original concept was about "kids going to a show and having a good time," but the theme became more Nazi-related after its revise.[45] The piece begins with an instrumental interval which lasts about 20 seconds. At the 20th second, the guitar and bass cease, marking Joey's first line, "Hey ho, let's go!" The bass and guitar gradually rebuild and become "full–force" once all the instruments play together in ensemble.[43] The piece resolves by repeating what is played from 0:22–0:33.[43] Stephen Thomas Erlewine from AllMusic described "Blitzkrieg Bop" as a "three-chord assault."[46][47]
"When I lived in Birchwood Towers in Forest Hills with my mom and brother. It was a middle-class neighborhood, with a lot of rich, snotty women who had horrible spoiled brat kids. There was a playground with women sitting around and a kid screaming, a spoiled, horrible kid just running around rampant with no discipline whatsoever. The kind of kid you just want to kill. You know, 'beat on the brat with a baseball bat' just came out. I just wanted to kill him."
"Beat on the Brat" was said by Joey to have origins relating to the upper class of New York City. Dee Dee, however, explained that the song was about how Joey saw a mother "going after a kid with a bat in his [apartment building's] lobby and wrote a song about it."[48] "Judy Is a Punk"—written around the same time as "Beat on the Brat"—was written by Joey after he walked by Thorny Croft, an apartment building "where all the kids in the neighborhood hung out on the rooftop and drank."[49] The song's lyrics are fictional and refer to two juvenile offenders in Berlin and San Francisco and their possible deaths at the conclusion of the song.[49] "Judy Is a Punk" is the original album's shortest track at 1:39.[50]
"I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend," the slowest song on the album, was solely written by Tommy, and pays homage to love songs by pop music acts of the 1960s. The song used a 12-string guitar, glockenspiel, and tubular bells in its composition,[51] and was said by author Scott Schinder to be an "unexpected romantic streak."[52] The next song, "Chain Saw," opens with the sound of a running circular saw and was influenced by the 1974 horror film The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. At nearly 180 beats per minute, "Chain Saw" had the fastest tempo among the album's songs, and according to Rombes, is the most "home-made" sounding.[53]
"Now I Want to Sniff Some Glue" contains four lines of minimalist lyrics which depict youthful boredom and inhaling solvent vapors found in glue. On the question of the authenticity of the text, Dee Dee said in an interview: "I hope no one thinks we really sniff glue. I stopped when I was eight [years old]."[54] Dee Dee also explained that its concept came from adolescent trauma.[54] After several songs by the Ramones whose titles began with "I Don't Want to ... ," Tommy said that "Now I Want to Sniff Some Glue" is the first positive piece on the album.[49] The song served as an inspiration for one of the first punk
