Road to Ruin [Expanded] [Remaster]

Rating

Album: Road to Ruin [Expanded] [Remaster]
#	Song Title		Time
1)	I Just Want to Have Something to Do	More Info...	0:02
2)	I Wanted Everything	More Info...	0:03
3)	Don't Come Close	More Info...	0:02
4)	I Don't Want You	More Info...	0:02
5)	Needles & Pins	More Info...	0:02
6)	I'm Against It	More Info...	0:02
7)	I Wanna Be Sedated	More Info...	0:02
8)	Go Mental	More Info...	0:02
9)	Questioningly	More Info...	0:03
10)	She's the One	More Info...	0:02
11)	Bad Brain	More Info...	0:02
12)	It's a Long Way Back	More Info...	0:02
13)	I Want You Around	More Info...	0:03
14)	Rock 'N' Roll High School	More Info...	0:02
15)	Blitzkrieg Bop/Teenage Lobotomy/California Sun/Pinhead/She's The One	More Info...	0:11
16)	Come Back, She Cried A.K.A. I Walk Out	More Info...	0:02
17)	Yea, Yea	More Info...	0:02

Album: Road to Ruin [Expanded] [Remaster]
#	Song Title		Time
1)	I Just Want to Have Something to Do	More Info...	0:02
2)	I Wanted Everything	More Info...	0:03
3)	Don't Come Close	More Info...	0:02
4)	I Don't Want You	More Info...	0:02
5)	Needles & Pins	More Info...	0:02
6)	I'm Against It	More Info...	0:02
7)	I Wanna Be Sedated	More Info...	0:02
8)	Go Mental	More Info...	0:02
9)	Questioningly	More Info...	0:03
10)	She's the One	More Info...	0:02
11)	Bad Brain	More Info...	0:02
12)	It's a Long Way Back	More Info...	0:02
13)	I Want You Around	More Info...	0:03
14)	Rock 'N' Roll High School	More Info...	0:02
15)	Blitzkrieg Bop/Teenage Lobotomy/California Sun/Pinhead/She's The One	More Info...	0:11
16)	Come Back, She Cried A.K.A. I Walk Out	More Info...	0:02
17)	Yea, Yea	More Info...	0:02

Tracks

1. I Just Want To Have Something To Do

2. I Wanted Everything

3. Don't Come Close

4. I Don't Want You

5. Needles And Pins

6. I'm Against It

7. I Wanna Be Sedated

8. Go Mental

9. Questioningly

10. She's The One

11. Bad Brain

12. It's A Long Way Back

13. I Want You Around

14. Rock 'n' Roll High School

15. Blitzkrieg Bop/ Teenage Lobotomy/ California Sun/ Pinhead

16. Come Back, She Cried A.K.A. I Walk Out

17. Yea, Yea

Performer Notes

The Ramones: Joey Ramone (vocals); Johnny Ramone (guitar); Dee Dee Ramone (bass, background vocals); Marky Ramone (drums).
Producers: T. Erdelyi, Ed Stasium.
Reissue producers: Bill Inglot, Gary Stewart.
Engineers: T. Erdelyi, Ed Stasium.
Principally recorded at Media Sound, New York, New York. Includes liner notes by Legs McNeil and Arturo Vega.
Digitally remastered by Dan Hersch and Bill Inglot (Digiprep Studios).
Personnel: Joey Ramone (vocals); Johnny Ramone (guitar); Marky Ramone (drums).
Audio Remasterers: Daniel Hersch; Bill Inglot.
Photographers: Danny Fields ; Bob Gruen; Robert Matheu.
The last installment of the Ramones' breathtaking run of four albums in two years, the underrated ROAD TO RUIN shows that the group's follow-up, the Phil Spector-produced END OF THE CENTURY, was not as huge a change of direction as it's often made out to be. Compared to the fairly primitive RAMONES and LEAVE HOME, ROCKET TO RUSSIA had sounded almost slick, and ROAD TO RUIN goes it one better. Tom Erdelyi remains as co-producer, but his new partner Ed Stasium reveals a gift for balancing hard-candy gloss, bubble-gum hooks and noisy punk passion; similarly, Erdelyi's replacement on the drums, former glam-rocker Marc Bell, adds both power and finesse.
The high points--particularly the uncharacteristically emotional love song "Questioningly" and the immortal rocker "I Wanna Be Sedated"--are excellent, and ROAD TO RUIN is a fitting conclusion to the Ramones' first and best era. The bonus tracks on the 2001 Rhino reissue include two early, Stasium-produced versions of "I Want You Around" and "Rock and Roll High School," along with the raucous 11-minute live medley that's the climax of the film of the same name, and a pair of previously unreleased demos.

Professional Reviews

Q (8/01, pp.156-7) - 4 stars out of 5 - "...Amongst their best work....A consistently satisfying record....the album's hooks are irresistible..."

NME (Magazine) (6/23/01, p.41) - 10 out of 10 - "...The most toweringly aggressive, misleadingly primitive, perfectly phrased musical statement ever made....The demos and alternate versions included demonstrate how finely honed every gangly gesture was from the very beginning..."