The Ramones: What a Difference a Producer Makes

       Regarding the legendary punk band the Ramones, it's a common maxim that over the course of their career they released the same album over and over again. It's a line that usually gets me a good laugh in a crowd of rock and roll fans, but it's not really true.

        Sure, for over twenty years the Ramones generally stuck to their tried and true formula of really fast guitars, offbeat bubblegum lyrics, and sugary pop melodies. It worked for them. Still, given more than a casual listen, the discerning fan should be able to find the differences between their albums. The key is in the production.

        The most famous man to tell the Ramones what to do was 60's wall-of-sound wizard Phil Spector, who produced their album "End of the Century," which was released in January of 1980. Under his direction, the Ramones' sound was honed into a lean, (not-so) mean, pop machine with echoes of sixties girl-groups and beach party movies. It was a great album that contained Ramones standards like "Chinese Rock," "Do You Remember Rock and Roll Radio?," and "Rock and Roll High School." Not bad. Phil Spector had done what many deemed impossible: he'd made the Ramones' sound more accessible. Of course, whether or not "more accessible" was a good thing will be forever hotly debated among the Ramones faithful.

        Another well-known producer to get a crack at the Ramones was Graham Gouldman. As early as the mid-60's, Gouldman's presence in the British rock and roll scene was formidable. He wrote songs for the Hollies (Remember "Bus Stop"?) and the Yardbirds ("For Your Love"), while at the same time recording and producing his own projects. In the 70's, he found himself in the band 10cc, which resulted in two hit tunes: "I'm Not in Love" and "The Things We Do For Love." Finally, with a boatload of credibility in the music business backing him up, he was hired in the early 80's to helm the Ramones album "Pleasant Dreams" and the results were spectacular.

        "Pleasant Dreams" kicks off with the song "We Want the Airwaves" and a Ramones anomaly: a lead guitar. Guitarist Johnny Ramone famously hated playing lead guitar parts in Ramones songs. Somehow Gouldman coaxed something other than chords out of Johnny and it worked. The song manages to extend the Ramones' accessibility begun by Spector, while still remaining within spitting distance of their signature sound.

        The production on the rest of the album reaffirms what was accomplished on "We Want the Airwaves." The sound is cleaner and tighter than it had ever been or would ever be again, and the songwriting is definitely above par for them.

        Somehow, I came into possession of "Pleasant Dreams" in 1982 when I was living in El Paso. Honestly, I knew next to nothing about the Ramones when I first heard this album, but after one spin on the turntable I wanted to know everything about them. It was just impossible to ignore infectious tunes like "She's a Sensation," "Don't Go," and "You Didn't Mean Anything to Me." These songs practically begged to be played loud and often.

        I finally got a chance to see the Ramones in October of 1992 at the Greek Theatre in Berkeley, California. It was a cool show, but unfortunately it was kind of ruined for me by some people who were supposed to meet me there but ended up blowing me off. I spent the better half of the show watching the entrance carefully to make sure I didn't miss them. Eventually, I gave up and watched the rest of the show. As far as I can recall, the only song they played from "Pleasant Dreams" was "The KKK Took My Baby Away."

        Almost thirty years after first hearing it, I still listen to "Pleasant Dreams" on a regular basis. It's definitely my favorite Ramones album, and even Jessica, who's not a big Ramones fan, will admit that she likes the song "She's a Sensation." Do yourself a big favor and check it out!

        Peace!