End of the Century
is the fifth
studio album
by the American
punk rock band
The Ramones,
released on
February 4, 1980,
through Sire Records.
The album was
the band's first
to be produced by
Phil Spector,
though he had offered
the band his assistance
earlier in their career.
With Spector
fully producing the album,
it was the first release
that excluded
original member
Tommy Ramone,
who had left the band
in 1978
but had produced
their previous album
Road to Ruin.
Spector used more
advanced standards
of engineering,
such as high-quality
overdubbing
and
echo chambers.
These painstaking methods
caused conflict between
the band
and Spector
since
the Ramones
were accustomed
to a quicker
recording process.
Spector emphasized
the production
value as well,
working with a budget
of around
$200,000,
far exceeding
their earlier
album sessions.
The songs on
End of the Century
were written
primarily to expand
the band's fan base,
straying from the band's
original punk genre
and steering toward a
more pop oriented sound.
The lyrics on the album
deal with various topics,
ranging from
drug addictions
to the band's lifestyle
while touring.
The album also features
a cover of the
Ronettes' song
"Baby, I Love You",
as well as
successors to
the previous
Ramones songs
"Judy Is a Punk"
and
"Havana Affair".
It received generally
positive reviews
from critics,
though many reviewers
were less favorable
than they had been
to the band's
previous releases,
due to Spector's
production quality
and the band's desire
for mainstream success
starting to show
in their music.
Despite this,
the album is the
highest-charting
Ramones album
of all time,
reaching number 44
on the
US Billboard 200 chart,
and number 14
on the
UK Albums Chart.
End of the Century
spawned the singles
"Baby, I Love You"
and
"Do You Remember Rock 'n' Roll Radio?",
both of which
charted in Europe.
Recording and production
In February 1977
after attending a
Ramones concert
in Los Angeles,
music producer
Phil Spector
offered to assist
in making
Rocket to Russia.
The band declined his offer, f
eeling as though
the album would
not be the same without
Tommy Ramone
and
Tony Bongiovi
producing the album.
While the band
refused his initial offer,
their management later
asked Spector
to help with the album
because of their lack of
popularity and sales.
End of the Century
would be the first album
released without
former drummer
and producer Tommy.
Spector had become
amous through
his work with
the Ronettes,
the Righteous Brothers,
Ike and Tina Turner,
the Beatles
and
John Lennon,
among others.
With these releases,
Spector defined what would
become known as the
"Wall of Sound",
which is a dense,
layered,
and reverberant sound
that came across well
on AM radio
and jukeboxes.
These standards are
created through
instruments performing
identical parts
in unison,
using high-quality
overdubbing and
echo chambers
to aid in the
production value.
The producer was
convinced that
the Ramones
had talent with
lyrics and
musical structure,
so he intended to
promote the band
through more
advanced
methods of
sound output.
Recording sessions
for the album began on
May 1, 1979
at Gold Star Studios
in Hollywood, Los Angeles.
Gold Star Studios
had become famous
through its history
with artists like
Eddie Cochran
and
the Beach Boys.
The band stayed at
the Tropicana Motel.
The Ramones had stayed there
during shooting of
Rock 'n' Roll High School.
In between filming,
songs were written
that would
later appear on
End of the Century.
At the Ramones' request,
Ed Stasium
joined the band
in Los Angeles,
serving as
'musical director',
playing additional
guitar parts
and singing
backing vocals,
but not engineering.
During the studio work,
Spector's recording methods
were different
from those
the Ramones
were accustomed to
from their
four previous studio albums.
The band recorded
their earlier compositions
in the shortest time possible
for the lowest
feasible budget,
with a relatively
low production value
. With
End of the Century,
which took nearly
six months to mix,
the band experienced
Spector's infamous
perfectionism,
and a budget of
$200,000
($869,000 in 2024)
to fully record
and produce the album.
This is significant
because the band's
debut album cost
$6,400
($35,486 in 2024)
total,
and their second album
cost
$10,000
($55,447 in 2024).
End of the Century
is the
most expensive album
in the Ramones' career.
Conflict
This method of recording
caused conflicts to arise.
Bassist
Dee Dee Ramone
wrote of
Spector's obsessive techniques:
"Phil would sit in the control room
and would listen through
the headphones
to Marky
hit one note
on the drum,
hour after hour,
after hour,
after hour."
During the recording of
"Rock 'n' Roll High School",
Johnny was forced
by Spector
to repeat his part
hundreds of times
for several hours.
Sire Records owner
Seymour Stein relates:
"To Johnny,
this must have been
like the
Chinese water torture."
"I understood
[Spector's] attitude,"
said Marky.
"He was from The Bronx,
I was from Brooklyn.
We got along very well
and had a nice rapport...
But he had his way of working
that was very slow,
and the Ramones
had their way of working
which was very fast.
So that would sometimes
irk everybody,
and led to animosity
with
Johnny and Dee Dee."
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