Ramones - Rock 'n' Roll High School (1980)

I've loved the Ramones from the first time that I heard them on the John Peel show way back in 1976, and still have their first three vinyl albums in my collection, as well as the fourth on CD, picked up much later when I wanted to rekindle the relationship. I skipped the live album and then moved on to 'End Of The Century', and that was roughly when the love affair ended. I was prepared to give it a try, but having Phil Spector as the producer was something that I'd have to get past in order to enjoy the record. However, one listen to 'Baby, I Love You', with its syrupy strings and too-laid-back Joey vocal, was enough to put me off, and I never really gave it much credence after that. Stories abound of the tense working conditions between the band and the producer, as the Ramones weren’t used to the pop perfectionism of a producer like Spector, and he was a notorious taskmaster when it came to his artists, often requiring take after take of a song to make sure it was perfect. Prior to him coming on board, the band had only worked with their friend Ed Stasium, or their former drummer/manager Tommy Ramone, and they could knock out an album in a couple of weeks. Spector reputedly made Johnny play the same chord on 'Rock 'n' Roll High School' for hours on end, and then spent 12 solid hours sitting there and listening to the same chord over and over again. He also allegedly pulled a gun on the band in the studio, and after a week of dealing with Spector's antics, Johnny decided to go back to New York, effectively ending the Ramones, or at least the sessions for 'End of the Century'. 
The album eventually limped out in 1980, but is never talked about with the reverence that their early work commands. When it was re-issued in a deluxe edition in 2002 it included some bonus tracks, in the form of demos of some of the songs from the finished record. These were obviously much more in the style of their earlier performances, being more raw and ramshackled, and so I decided to use them to put together an album with as little Spector on it as I could. Where we have demos of the songs I've used those, and I've replaced 'Rock 'n' Roll High School' and 'I Want You Around' with the 'Rock 'n' Roll High School' film soundtrack versions, while 'Baby, I Love You' has gone completely, to be replaced by the out-take 'Please Don't Leave'. For the other songs I've had to stick with the original album versions, but with a bit of low-end bass taken off, and in the context of this reimagining of the record they fit in pretty well. If, like me, you felt the band were on the verge of selling out with 'End Of The Century' then see if this changes your mind.

Track listing

01 Do You Remember Rock 'n' Roll Radio (demo)
02 I'm Affected (demo)
03 Danny Says (demo)
04 Chinese Rock (album version)
05 The Return Of Jack And Judy (album version)
06 Let's Go (album version)
07 I Want You Around (soundtrack version)
08 I Can't Make It On Time (album version)
09 This Ain't Havana (album version)
10 Rock 'n' Roll High School (soundtrack version)
11 All The Way (demo)
12 Please Don't Leave (demo)
13 High Risk Insurance (album version)