5/31/2023 0 Comments Ramones end of the centuryThe idea of Phil Spector producing the Ramones might seem crazy on the surface but given the band's admitted and oft-displayed love of ‘60s pop, it actually makes a lot of sense. I don’t even want to say the names of the songs, but that was me at my worst.1980's End of the Century found one of the most popular punk bands in America joining forces with one of the most famous producers of all time to create a catchy concoction that rocked hard while still delivering some insidiously memorable hooks. Some of the worst crap I ever wrote went on that album. I was driving home with the band from the record company in New York and they put on something from the End of the Century album, I think it was, “I’m Affected.” I couldn’t believe how awful it sounded! It was horrible! And I didn’t like our version of “Baby, I Love You.” Not at all. ![]() ![]() I don’t think we really recovered till I wrote Too Tough to Die. The next tour we did it was half empty seats. I mean, when he went outta the house it was all a big strategy of how he was armed, and what his security was.Įnd of the Century was our biggest selling album, but it almost ruined our careers because the people who bought the record came and saw us, they came to see “Baby, I Love You,” and as soon as we started playing they left. He rented three studios and paid for them all-had them open sessions that he booked weeks before. Then finally, he gave us a list of three studios, all within 50 miles of each other and said, “Call this one every day at a certain hour and that way you’ll be able to know where we’re going to record.” The album took forever to start because Phil wouldn’t even tell us where we were recording. Finally one night I put him in his place. He always seemed to be competing with me to try and let me know he could be tougher than me, and I wasn’t going for it. I seemed to bring out something bad in him. Phil would always just get real violent around me. Phil said, “No, just give it a chance, there’s something I’m trying to hear.” And he’d sit there dazed-it sounded the same every time John played it-I don’t know what he was listening for. Phil just sat there listening to it in a daze, and finally Johnny said, “Look I can’t do this anymore, I’m going back to New York!”' One time he made John play the guitar chord to the beginning of “Rock ‘n’ Roll High School” over and over again for about six or eight hours. The recording was a nightmare, it couldn’t have been worse. I don’t like people who are in the music business who are bitter and trying too hard to prove something. I couldn’t figure it out because he had this big gold goblet with all these jewels on it and he looked like Dracula drinking blood, so I said “Phil let me have some of that…”Īnd he said, “OK, Dee Dee,” and it was ManischewitzWine. He just held us with these guns, and we had to sit there in the living room and listen to him play “Baby, I Love You” over and over. Then Phil said, “Alright you guys, just try and leave! I’m not letting you leave!” So we just sat there for a couple days. Johnny Ramone took care of it-he told Phil to cut it out or we’re gonna leave. He used to pull guns all the time, and he had two guys with him that were fully armed. We hated his music and we hated each other, but he liked me a lot. And Phil was like totally out of his mind-I hadn’t met anyone crazier than him. We were staying in some flea bag motel in Culver City-with just enough money to buy two damn Tuinals and a beer every day. ![]() ![]() We’d been together four or five years and we were flat broke. Working with Phil Spector was a nightmare. As Dee Dee Ramone told Legs McNeil for VICE, However, the experience turned out to be regrettable on many levels. The punk band hired Phil Spector to produce a pop album. For their fifth album, End of the Century, The Ramones attempted to rectify this discrepancy. They didn’t result in the creation of financial security. The first four Ramones albums resulted in the creation of a diehard fanbase.
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