Due to my bad habit of refusing a good offer even if it messes up my chronological look back at the Ramones, I skipped It's Alive and Road to Ruin and headed straight to End of the Century! Three Ramones CDs for less than $20 was too good to let go, but I will return soon to the skipped albums (all in due time!).
End of the Century is the anomaly in the Ramones catalog, as it's a huge departure from the Ramones's previous albums nor does it fully compare to the next albums after it. The album is the combination of the boy's blazing style with Phil Spector's "Wall of Sound", creating the only legit Ramones pop album. (The group always had pop sensibilities and influences but they always played it on their terms. This album is definitely not on their terms.)
Comparing it to the rest of the Ramones catalog, this album is sweeter than anything before it. From the nostalgic "Do You Remember Rock 'n' Roll Radio", to the saccharine "Baby, I Love You", Phil's "Wall of Sound" makes this mostly chord ripping, balls to wall group sound like cute professional pop stars aiming for your sweet jugular. That is not to say that there's no Ramones-style tracks, as "Chinese Rocks" makes its band debut on this album, but it sticks out like a sore thumb compared to "I Can't Make it On Time" or "Danny Says". "Rock 'n' Roll High School" gets a "Wall of Sound" redux as Spector makes his own version, but it's really unnecessary with the version found on the soundtrack to the movie with the same name.
If there's any one member of the group that benefited from Spector's production, it's Joey. The man sings his heart out in every track with the highlight being "Baby, I Love You", a cover of the Ronettes's hit song. His vocals are so dominant on EotC that he carries most of the weight on this album. The rest of the band is still there, but they're just the session musicians compared to the star. Joey's dominance wouldn't continue as his stinging style would be altered in later years and his contributions would lessen, therefore this is definitely Joey at his peak.
As all Ramones albums before it, it's the songwriting that carries each one and this one is mixed. The boys know how to lay each catchy hook down as usual, but there is a slight drop on this album due to rehashing older songs from Ramones and just pure laziness. "The Return of Jakie and Judy" is the sequel to the song "Judy is A Punk", and yes it does sound very similar to the original, except Spector added his touch to it. "This Ain't Havana" brings back "Havana Affair" with a few differences, but the "Havana-Banana" rhyme returns and it's just a drag. As I mentioned earlier, this album is mostly filled with love songs, so the usual Ramones topics barely show up and it's a shame because it would have been interesting to hear Spectorized songs with lyrics similar to "Beat on the Brat" or "Teenage Lobotomy". Now that I think of it, the writing is not the best part of this album. Where did the dark humor go? (Yes, this album starts the inevitable death of the band's dark humor...)
This album has longer songs than albums before it, and yes, there are tracks with strings and horns coming out of your speakers. It really is the Joey and Phil show, and it's a musically fun turnout despite the multiple levels of non-Ramones quality in it. The boys would never do experiment like this with an okay outcome again as this does mark the the beginning of a strange, stagnant era of Ramones history - Pop-Ramones.
One last note: This album shouldn't be considered a first purchase for anyone not familiar with the Ramones, as it does not represent a typical album and style at all.
Next: Pop-Ramones continue their radio playing in the Subterranean Jungle!
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