The Ramones Discography: Part 5 : End Of The Century

Let's just get this out of the way; End Of The Century is not a punk album. In fact, this Phil Spector produced album is far more influenced by 60s pop music and straight up rock and roll music. It is also the first album in the band's discography to be a real point of contention for the band's fanbase, with some calling it the band's best and others still referring to it as the point where the Ramones lost the plot entirely. My opinion: End Of The Century is a fantastic album, rivaled at this point in the band's career only by Rocket To Russia.

And it has a lot to do with the production. While there are a few moments here and there where Phil Spector's "Wall of sound" only manage to suffocate the songs, (the opening section of "I'm Affected" come do mind) for the most part, Spector's added touches, like string sections and reverb are used with amazing results. My favorite moments where this shines through are on the opener, a track that sees the band reflecting on how rock used to be, and the Ronnettes cover "Baby, I Love You" which may be my favorite song on the entire album. Sure, it is a cover, but Joey and the band sell it so well, they really do make it their own, and the aforementioned string sections really give it a unique character in the band's discography.

Also, bringing it back to the opener, this album really loves the concept of it being the end of something. The opener mentions how it is no longer the 70's (the album was released in early 1980). but other tracks such as "The Return Of Jackie And Judy" and "This Ain't Havana " are both sequel songs to their debut album counterparts, and the former is one of the band's catchiest songs, making it a worthy sequel indeed.

And really, there isn't a single weak track here, save for some conflicting production moments. Which doesn't surprise me, since one look into this album's recording history will reveal just how hellish it was for the band working with Spector, a known perfectionist. However, the result is truly something that can rival, or even surpass the band's early material. Sure, punk tracks a scarce on this album, but this album marks a point where the band stepped away from the same old riffs (for the most part) and did something truly unique for their music.

I thought about this a fair bit, and I'm confident in saying that End Of The Century is thus far, my favorite Ramones LP, and you should really give it a listen if you haven't yet.

9.7/10