end of the century (1980) – the ramones: sire records, SRK-6077

By 1980 the Ramones had already released four albums; replaced their original drummer, Tommy (who also co-produced the first three albums) with the new guy, Marky; had established themselves as the emeritus band of punk; and had starred in their own movie.

All in all I'd reckon that's not a bad resume for a bunch of delinquents from the alleyways of Queens.

As a result, their label gave the boys the freedom to go ahead and pretty much do whatever the hell it was they wanted to do when it came to their fifth album.  Oh sure, being the figureheads of American punk was fine, but it seemed that the Ramones wanted to record an album that would broaden their appeal to an audience beyond the regular assortment of pinheads and teenage lobotomies that made up their core.  And they reasoned that the way for them to achieve this goal was to change their sound to add mass appeal by making it more accessible and radio friendly.

In other words, the Ramones needed to pop their punk.

Now, the first four Ramones albums were all recorded with a very low budget (almost non-existent - their debut album was recorded for less than $6,500), in a very short time, with very little actual producing by engineers.  The records were really little more than the boys strapping on, plugging in, and belting out - which fit with their minimalist, three chord guitar-bass-drum style quite nicely. But for their fifth album, the Ramones opened the label's checkbook and reached out to certified batshit insane rock music legend Phil Spector, creator of the “Wall of Sound” and producer for the likes of the Ronettes, Ike & Tina Turner, and John Lennon.  Surely, if anyone could make the Ramones suitable for consumption by the squares it would be Spector.

The result of a truckload of money and about nine months of studio time was not only the breakthrough End of the Century album, but tales of lunacy that would become the stuff of legend.

Side 1: Do You Remember Rock n Roll Radio? I’m Affected Danny Says Chinese Rock Return of Jackie And Judy Let’s Go
Side 2: Baby I Love You I Can’t Make It On Time This Ain’t Havana Rock n Roll High School All The Way High Risk Insurance

 
Spector’s presence is obvious even before one can remove the wrapping from the jacket, because on the back, at the very top, in very large, bold printing it states “A PHIL SPECTOR PRODUCTION: Produced by Phil Spector”.  The redundancy, I suppose, was intended to ensure absolutely no ambiguity regarding the identity of the producer responsible for producing the production.

If the prominent declaration on the back cover wasn’t enough, easing the needle into the groove obliterated any remaining doubts about whether this was a Ramones or a Spector effort.  From the presence of instruments like organs and saxaphones to the over-produced nature of the dubbing and mixing needed to get his “Wall” sound, Spector’s greasy fingerprints are all over this album.  But even though one can clearly hear his impact in songs like Rock N Roll High School and Do You Remember Rock N Roll Radio? his unseemly intrusion is never more obvious than in the (one has to assume) forced inclusion of the very out-of-place cover of the Ronettes’ Baby I Love You, which features a sweeping orchestral score yet is devoid of any actual participation by the Ramones, other than Joey’s singing.

To fully understand the extent to which Spector manipulated the songs, one only need to grab the CD and compare the vinyl version to the demos.  In every instance the demo (often only with acoustic guitar) is superior by having the raw honesty and phenotypic expression of Ramone DNA.

To their credit, all four of the Ramones have gone on record in their displeasure with the album, with Joey saying it was the worst stuff he ever did, and Johnny admitting that it was “… watered down Ramones”.

Yet even at their worst, the Ramones were still really good.  Sure, Do You Remember Rock N Roll Radio? and Rock N Roll High School are more pop than punk, and yes, to one degree or another the other songs are scrubbed clean of their  Ramoney grubbiness, but songs like Chinese Rock still pack a punch, and even with Spector’s interference, Danny Says is one of the best things the band has ever done.

In the end, the Ramones got what they wanted out of the album, as it was by far their most successful release to that time, peaking at #44 in the US charts.  But as always, when one makes a deal with the Devil (or in this case, the Devil’s super-freakazoid assistant), one has to pay, and for End of the Century that price was the Ramones’ identity.

Up next: LA’s local “pub” band