amazon-road-to-ruinPersonally, one of the hardest tasks for me to do is to pick my favorite Ramones album. I can cheat and say my favorite is All The Stuff and More Vol 2 because technically it is. I just won’t do that, so to clear myself of future regret, I’m going to review ONE of my favorites. Road to Ruin, I feel offers some of the New York icons best work. RTR was released in September of 1978 and still to this day holds the test of time. From start to finish, RTR offers different types of songs rather the old “1-2-3-4” that The Ramones got famous, or infamous for. The bittersweet “Questioningly” tells the story of a tortured man yearning for a lost love, to someone he knew along time ago. “I Wanna Be Sedated” is still a staple in classic rock stations across the country that listeners can’t help but sing along to. The Sonny Bono “Needles & Pins” also shows up on RTR and the Ramones actually make it better. This is their first album with Marky Ramone taking the throne, replacing drummer Tommy Ramone. Tommy actually stayed on to co-produce the album. RTR was re-released and remastered featuring bonus live tracks and demos in 2001. If you do not have this album, you should get it immediately or start praying for your rock and roll soul. It’s not a great way to introduce yourself to The Ramones but a great way to explore the boundaries that they subliminally broke -NZA

Track Listing:
  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 & 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 (Ed Stasium version)”
  14. “Rock n’ Roll High School (Ed Stasium version)”
  15. “Blitzkreig Bop/Tennage Lobotomy/California Sun/Pinhead/She’s The One (Live)”
  16. “Come Back She Cried AKA I Walk Out(Demo”
  17. “Yea,Yea (Demo)”

PS: Just a side note — Dee Dee wrote “Questioningly” about Joey, Linda, and Johnny. If you don’t know the story see End of the Century