Ramones - End of the Century
|
List Price: Our Price: $5.67 You Save: $8.29 (59%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $5.18 (click here) Category: Music CD See more new music releases 
|
|---|
Buy this Music CD at online store in your country
Canadian Music Store
Canadian Music Store
Free Music Notes for End of the Century
Free Music Review: Phil Spector 101.
Hit: 4 Stars
The Ramones were not great musicians by any stretch of the imagination. They were a grade A garage band at best and yet they became pioneers of the growing punk rage of the late 70's. The truth is they hated working with legendary rock producer Phil Spector on their "End Of The Century" album. Phil Spector was a control freak who went as far as to lock the Ramones inside the recording studio until they completed one of the cuts to his satisfaction? Ronnie spector wasn't kidding? So what came out of all this? Quite possibly the best Ramones album ever! Say what you may about old Phil, but he got the best out of Joey, Dee Dee, Marky and Johnny and took them to the next level and made a remarkably listenable album that has withstood the test of time. The cd starts off with the rocking "Do You Remember Rock n Roll Radio?" complete with that Elvis Costello Pump It Up feel. I am assuming that "Baby I Love You" was the tune that the Ramones got locked up into recording that fateful day! The result is an enjoyable take on the Ronnettes/Spector classic complete with Phils wall of sound and orchestra strings making for a nice change of pace midway through the cd. It may be comical to some that a punk band is singing "Baby I Love You", but it is in my mind the best cover of the song ever made. "Rock n Roll High School", "I Can't make It On Time" and "All The Way" all employ the same punk rocking formula that prevails throughout the recording. They all sound similar with different lyrics but are at least played well. Another nice change of pace is the ballad "Danny Says". Thanks to Phil Spector, the boys made a professional recording like never before and that is saying something. For hardcore Ramones fans, this edition of the cd contains six bonus tracks including " I want You Around" and "Please Don't Leave.Free Music Review: At Least They Tried
Hit: 4 Stars
Funny how we re-write musical reality over time. Nowadays it's common knowledge that "The Queen Is Dead" is the best Smith's album, but at the time a lot of us fans thought it was the weakest (and still do). We also believe that the Ramones blundered with this album and attempted to "redeem" themselves with their following two. (Which, perhaps, is true, but whether they needed to--or whether they succeeded--was never a given with fans at the time.)
Here's the deal: as great as the Ramones' first few albums are, it's a formula that can only be milked for so long. They only had three options: to quit, to change, or to suck. (Of course those options weren't mutually exclusive.) They tried to change, and going with Phil Spector wasn't the worst idea. For Christ's sake, it's not the end of the world to try and fail. They got some fresh sounds and fresh songs, so all things considered I think they did OK. No, of course it wasn't a continuation of their legacy, but thank God. Nothing's sadder than bands churning out the same old crap decade after decade, and slugs salivating and waiving their lighters at the first recognition of a 40 year old song's opening chords.
Really, by "Road to Ruin" the signs of same-old-thingness were beginning to sprout, making an attempt at change laudable.
The consensus of American musical lore aside, this is actually a better album than "Pleasant Dreams." Why weren't more people belching in disgust over how "We Want the Airwaves" was just a lame rehashing of "I'm Affected"?
This album is pretty good, and you can't fault the guys for trying. Better to change for the worse than to become an imitation of yourself. End of review.
Free Music Review: This is the one you've all been waiting for
Hit: 4 Stars
This, of course, is the controversial Ramones album that was produced by Phil Spector. Some people love it and some people hate it. Personally, I fall somewhere in the middle. It's a good album, but it's inferior to all the Ramones' previous albums. Spector's "magic touch" certainly gave the Ramones a more "sophisticated" sound, but it's debatable whether or not the Ramones needed to sound more sophisticated. Some songs definitely benefited from Spector's production flourishes, like "Do You Remember Rock 'N' Roll Radio?" and "Danny Says". And some songs probably would have sounded better if Spector had just left them alone, like "I'm Affected" and "All the Way". (Demo versions of all those songs are on the CD, for comparison's sake.) The single most controversial song on the CD is "Baby, I Love You". This cover version of the Ronettes hit is not the least bit punk, which is why many people hate it. It feature Joey singing to the full Spector "Wall of Sound", with nary another Ramone in sight. Ironically, "Baby, I Love You" went on to become the Ramones' biggest hit in the UK. It is actually pretty good, if taken on it's own terms. Which can also be said for the whole album in general. The CD has one unlisted bonus track, which is Joey doing a radio spot for the album.Free Music Review: While not a great "ramones" album it's still a great album
Hit: 4 Stars
So this album is not "hardcore punk rock", so what, that doesn't inhibit it from being a great album. This album seems to try to go back to sixties bubblegum rock while still having that punk rock feel, and did it suceed? Kinda... Songs like "Do you remember rock and roll radio" and "rock and roll highschool" did this perfectly and will always be held up as Ramones classics, but the other songs, while for the most part good, either had the bubblegum feel or the punk feel and not a mix of both thus giving the album a bit of an uneven feel. Chinese Rocks rocks about as hard as any other Ramones songs, while I can't make it on time sounds very poppy and such. Then there is the controversial baby I love you cover, which is deffinetley a weird song is not "bad" per se but it's not particularly good, but this is by far one of the best displays of Joey's vocal talents. Overall this kind of feels like a Joey Ramone album rather than a Ramones album, that's not a bad thing by any means but it does factor into the score. As a Ramones album I give it a three and a half, but as an album I give it a four.Free Music Review: Their first less-than-stellar album
Hit: 4 Stars
It had to happen, unfortunately. No band can sustain perfection forever, and after four phenomenal studio albums, the Ramones finally made a mis-step with "End Of The Century".
Now don't get me wrong. I cherished this album when it came out and I listened to it with devotion, but I knew in my heart of hearts that it was not my beloved Ramones at their best.
The controversial choice of Phil Spector as producer is just that, controversial. Maybe it was hubris, taking the same step that the Beatles had taken a decade earlier. Maybe it was desparation, hoping Spector could come up with a radio-friendly hit.
In any case, I can't say that I'm crazy about Spector's production. It's kind of cool, in that it's so weird and iconoclastic, but I think it just muddied up the Ramones' sound too much.
The iffy production, combined with some hit-and-miss songwriting, result in the first Ramones album that is not essential. There are some fine songs here, and it is the Ramones, but I can't recommend this to anyone but fans.