The Ramones offered such a stripped-down and essential vision of rock 'n' roll, conveyed with such concise, electrified precision, that one could make a pretty airtight argument for them being the greatest ever rock band, should one be so inclined. At least that is the case with their early incarnation.
By 1978, four years after their inception, The Ramones had conquered the New York City punk scene, putting out four albums of wall-to-wall greatness along the way. Their debut album Ramones, Leave Home, Rocket to Russia, and Road to Ruin contain the songs that revolutionized music and made legends out of four weirdos from Queens. By now it is fair to imagine just about everybody has heard at least a few of them, if unknowingly during a commercial or sporting event. At the time though, due in large part to genre bias, they never achieved the type of chart-topping success of which they knew they were capable, and frankly, deserved. So they didn't stop there. Their pursuit of stardom became a bizarre journey, in which things got a little murky.
The amicable departure of drummer and de-facto bandleader Tommy Ramone in 1978 opened up a power struggle between singer Joey Ramone and guitarist Johnny Ramone. Through a series of personal conflicts (mostly Johnny being a complete asshole), it eventually erupted into an all-out hatred wherein they refused to even speak to each other for the last ten years as a band, and for the rest of either of their lives. Meanwhile a revolving door ensued at drummer, and remaining original member Dee Dee Ramone was getting increasingly sick of the bullshit (and things are definitely off when he is the reasonable one).
Combine this tumultuous existence with the fact that many bands who they had influenced--particularly in the newer punk scenes in California and later Seattle--surpassed them with more engaging (and successful) music, and The Ramones seemed like a band that just kind of kept hanging around. Nonetheless, they continued relentless touring and put out a steady stream of new albums. Each one was a little bit different, but always contained at least one flat-out great song to add to their legacy.
End of the Century (1980)
The first big move The Ramones made to open the decade was enlisting the help of mega-star record producer and bonafide sociopath Phil Spector. Gone were the days of Johnny's rapid-fire, one-take, in-and-out approach to recording. Attaining Spector's iconic "wall of sound" demanded months of long hours in the studio and occasionally being held hostage at his house.
The new sound is immediately apparent on album-opener Do You Remember Rock 'n' Roll Radio? A self-aware (and self-congratulatory) announcement of their intended-emergence into the pop world, Joey is at the peak of his bubblegum vocal delivery here, bolstered by a frontal onslaught of organ and horns and handclaps. Danny Says is a somber, reflective take on their doo-woppy goofiness. It's a sound they'd experimented with at points on Road to Ruin, but brought to an airy buoyancy under Spector's watch. The Return of Jackie and Judy is the most direct update to the bands sound, literally a re-working of their debut-album classic Judy is a Punk, complete with Clash-like siren guitars and an elongated chorus that is allowed now to settle into its hook. End of the Century is certainly a departure, but works better than it is often given credit for. If you can allow that, it's arguably worthy of grouping with the first four albums as the band's peak.
Pleasant Dreams (1981)
Graham Gouldman is brought in as producer after the Spector debacle, changing the band's sound in the opposite direction. This time all the 60's influence is stripped from the sound, aiming for a more stark and gloomy approach. It just doesn't quite work with The Ramones songs though, who at this point were following Joey's lead towards a pop-oriented sound. The lack of a cohesive approach seems to only highlight what makes them different from a band like The Stooges or even the Misfits and emphasize what is missing--namely all the fun. The KKK Took My Baby Away is a moment that shines through, equally for the immediate hooks and Joey's absurdist humor. The song actually predates the band, written by a teenage Joey about his then-girlfriend's parents' disapproval of their interracial relationship. She's a Sensation and Don't Go are also very solid offerings, but something about the production just leaves the band sounding bored (and not in a cool way). Joey in particular seems to be taking a too-calculated approach in chasing a pop hit. This is an interesting album though, someday I'll take a deeper dive.
Subterranean Jungle (1983)
Johnny takes back the reins and steers the band back to the hard-edged direction of their roots. He nails it with side-two opener Psycho Therapy. A straight-forward rocker with spitfire lyrics about mental illness (a well-established touchstone of the band), Johnny wrote the song on a mission to show the rising hardcore bands that "nobody plays faster than us." Elsewhere on the album are some of Dee Dee's best songs, including Outsider and Highest Trails Above. Overall a general return to spirit, this album gives listeners reason to be excited again, and the band as well (except for second drummer Marky, who's alcoholism had become a problem. Johnny placed him waaaay off to the side on the cover and then booted from the band after recording).
Too Tough to Die (1984)
Johnny spent several weeks in the hospital with a fractured skull and brain bleed suffered in a one-sided fight, a near-death incident that Joey unironically laughed at. Upon his return original drummer Tommy also returned as producer, and the band put out their loudest, fastest, most true-to-form record since the 70s. Mama's Boy is a strong opener with self-throwback buzzsaw guitars and Joey sounding truly impassioned for the first time in a while. Dee Dee takes lead vocals on Wart Hog, a weird song that sounds like a different band and teeters towards parody, but it's cool to hear him sing lead. Howling at the Moon (Sha-la-la) is another song that was a pop hit in a different universe. It bogs itself down a little bit, but is acceptable as a natural-feeling pop attempt on an album that otherwise sees the band doing what they do best.
Animal Boy (1986)
After their return to form The Ramones promptly fell back into forgettable territory. Bonzo Goes to Bitburg is the lone highlight here, a Spectoresque piss-taking of then-president Reagan placing flowers in a German graveyard where several former Nazis were buried. It is a rare venture into political territory for the band, but is held up by their signature brand of absurd goofball humor, a massive sound, and a killer chorus. Probably my favorite 80s Ramones song.
Halfway to Sanity (1987)
Things get difficult here. There's not really anything here that has the band hitting a stride like they did on Too Tough to Die, nor are there any album-saving standouts like Bonzo Goes to Bitburg. There are some decent songs, but none worth highlighting. Stylistically it is all over the place, sounding often unassured and mostly just boring. This is the last album with third(?) drummer Richie Ramone and would be the last time Dee Dee played bass on record (he remained involved as a songwriter).
Brain Drain (1989)
And here we have Pet Sematary. As a massive Ramones fan, none other than Stephen King commissioned the band to write a song to serve as the score to the mediocre movie being made from his book. Dee Dee was sent the script to use as a reference, which he almost certainly didn't read, but nonetheless cranked out a fittingly gloomy song with a great chorus. It is an extremely divisive song among fans, due to its sell-out baggage. Taken for what it is though, I think it stands up. The dark sound works here and Joey's campy croon fits well. It comes close elsewhere on the album, but too often sounds like the band just going through the motions.
Mondo Bizarro (1992)
During the early 90s the Ramones finally found the massive arena-crowds they spent much of their career hoping for (at least Joey did) -- it turned out they were huge in South America. Perhaps this, along with the addition of fresh bassist C.J. Ramone, is what led to the surprisingly refreshing sound on Mondo Bizarro. Censorshit is a snarky rumination by Joey on the music industry, without the pretense of other times he had done so. The Job That Ate My Brain is a really great pop-punk song, a slice-of-life that values absurdism over angst and reasserts them over rising acolytes like Screeching Weasel and Green Day. Poison Heart is another Dee Dee classic, a rare moment where mid-tempo gloom works for them.
Adios Amigos! (1995)
By this time Joey knew that he was dying of cancer, but he kept it a secret from the band. I Don't Want to Grow Up is a well-executed Tom Waits cover that made it to #30 on the Billboard pop charts. The Ramones would disband a year after the album's release and subsequent tour.
Honorable Mention:
Joey Ramone - What a Wonderful World
Recorded weeks before his death from lymphoma and released posthumously, Joey's cover of the Louis Armstrong classic is an apt send-off. Cranked-up in tempo and crooned over driving guitars, it's hard to not smile at this one. It feels like a down-to-earth moment where a guy at the end of a crazy life--one that took him from a relentlessly bullied loner kid to cultural revolutionary and icon of cool over an often-rocky thirty-year career--allows himself to set back and appreciate it all.
Johnny would later express regret for never speaking to him on his death bed. He would himself die of cancer three years later.
Not-So-Honorable Mention:
Dee Dee King - Mash Potato Time
Good old Dee Dee deserves praise for stepping out from under Johnny's thumb to finally try his own thing. Unfortunately that thing was a rap album, and...yikes.
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