It’s all very well starting a revolution, but then what? In 1978, this exact question was tormenting the Ramones. After three previous albums that would later be considered essential in the history of rock’n’roll (at the time, however, sales remained modest), the “punk rock godfathers” from Queensland were hungry for recognition and greenbacks. What’s more, England was on the attack with bands like the Sex Pistols and The Clash… Without revolutionizing the Tablets of Stone from their previous records (traditional rock’n’roll ranging from surf music to girl group styles, with stupidity as their philosophy, teen carelessness as their belief and guitars as their weapons of mass destruction), the Ramones injected some significant changes into Road To Ruin.
We hear guitar solos and even ballads such as the cover of Needles And Pins that was popularised by Jackie DeShannon and the Searchers. But it is when they remain true to their beliefs that they’re most convincing, as proved by the hit I Wanna Be Sedated that would later be covered by artists as diverse as Offspring, Mötley Crüe, Juliana Hatfield, the Go-Go's and even Bruce Springsteen! When the album was released in September 1978, a few fans complained that the Ramones had changed, when in reality all that the group had done was put a few drops of water in their wine… Forty years later, the album returns in all its glory. This Deluxe edition offers the original remastered version as well as a new stereo mix called Road Revisited Mix by Ed Stasium, free of the commercial varnish of the time. Hardcore fans will also be able to enjoy around twenty bonus tracks, most of which are new: rough mixes, alternate takes, outtakes and rarities. Also on the menu is a live performance recorded at the Palladium in New York on December 31st 1979, mixed by Stasium and broadcasted at the time on WNEW-FM. © Marc Zisman/Qobuz