On this day in 1978, arguably the best, most potent slab of raucous Ramones-ian bubblegum rock hit retail shelves with a cartoon-like POW!
Whereas the band's three previous albums had suffered to varying degrees from a drum sound uncannily resembling that of a cardboard box, a severely limited sonic palette, and choice of tempos that gave the songs a redundant familiarity, Road To Ruin gave listeners an almost three-dimensional musical glimpse into the mind of New York's "brothers" Ramone thanks to the arrival of producer/engineer Ed Stasium, who had the studio skills to make Tommy Ramone's vision for the band a reality.
Of course, the album's not-so-secret weapon was new drummer Marky Ramone, whose days as a proto-metal drummer in the seminal band Dust more than prepared him for anything the Ramones could throw at him. His ability to keep up with the band's juggernaut eighth-note down strokes was pivotal to making Ruin truly take flight.
While "I Wanna Be Sedated" has since become the band's signature song, showing up in dozens of movies and TV spots in recent years, the fact that the song was not a hit at the time of the album's release shows just how brutally the cards were stacked against the Ramones at the time.
But let's forget all that for the moment and merely revel in the greatness of the Ramones at the absolute height of their career.
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the punk stops here