He'd run out to meet her and leave as soon as they were done." While Johnny would eventually marry Linda, Joey held a strong grudge against them both, and, though they continued to perform and tour together, the two rarely talked to each other. She didn't come to many shows and if she did he'd hide her in the back she wouldn't come backstage. Johnny knew it was bad and kept Linda totally hidden from that point on. Ramones' road manager Monte Melnick relates: "Joey was devastated. After the album was released, however, Daniele left Joey and became Johnny's girlfriend. He put something into the album, some harmony ideas." ĭuring early stages of the album's development, Joey was dating Linda Daniele. "We changed arrangements slightly, but it was basic stuff, like, "Let's put an end on this song rather than fade it, let's double up on the chorus at the end." Dee Dee recalled that "Graham really produced. "I'd show and he'd say, "You play it," but I had to play very restrictive, nothing fancy at all." He went on to say that there wasn't much work to do with the songs. Gouldman also revealed that there were certain tracks he actually played guitar on. If he suggested a guitar part, it had to sound like it came from Johnny, "or he wouldn't play it," Gouldman said. He changed a lot of the songs: "Here's a nice chord for the bridge, you should be playing a minor chord instead of a major chord," things like that." Gouldman also had ideas for vocal harmonies, guitar overdubs, and melodic basslines. I started feeling that the Ramones were faceless there were no individual identities in the band." Joey went on to say that, while this method had worked well in the beginning of their career, it began to annoy him, since "everything wrote, the band would take credit for." Įven though he expressed dissatisfaction with the album, working with Graham Gouldman, Johnny admitted, "was easy-he was always a gentleman. I'm against the band for doing that." Joey countered by explaining: "By Road to Ruin End of the Century, I was doing the majority of the songwriting. They are trying to go lighter, looking for ways to be more commercial. All I want to do is keep our fans happy and not sell out. It really could have used another two of three punk songs . Johnny thought that this did not result well for the band's sound, saying: "I knew going in that this was not going to be the type of album I wanted. The time period of recording was a high-point in musical style for both Joey and Johnny, though they directed their sound towards different styles of music: Joey's inspiration from pop music became evident in his writing, while Johnny's keenness of hard-rock guitar riffs are apparent in much of his performing on the album. These conflicts and differences became evident in the songwriting as, for the first time on a Ramones album, each song was now credited to individual members rather than multiple members. This tension was partially due to Dee Dee Ramone's drug addiction, as well as Marky Ramone and Joey Ramone developing problems with alcohol, resulting in the frustration of Johnny Ramone. The studio recording process began on March 30, 1981, and initiated several conflicts between band members. Prior to working with Gouldman, the Ramones had recorded demos for the album with audio engineer Ed Stasium, and while the band had intended for Steve Lillywhite to produce the album, this decision was rejected by Sire. With Sire Records management being insistent on allowing a celebrity record producer to work on the album, they hired Graham Gouldman-songwriter and musician for the British band 10cc-to produce the album. The writing process for Pleasant Dreams began in January 1981. The album also met with mixed critical reception. It is the first Ramones album not to feature any cover songs.ĭespite Sire's efforts to broaden the band's appeal by enlisting Gouldman to produce, the album was not commercially successful, peaking at #58 on the Billboard 200 and only charting outside of the US in Sweden. Ultimately, the album incorporated high production values and varying musical styles, straying from traditional punk rock on songs such as "We Want the Airwaves", "She's a Sensation" and "Come On Now". There were also disputes about the overall direction of the album, with Johnny leaning towards hard rock and Joey towards pop punk. The recording process brought about many conflicts between band members, most notably the strife between Joey Ramone and Johnny Ramone, due to Johnny starting a relationship with Joey's girlfriend. While the band members wanted Steve Lillywhite to produce, Sire chose Graham Gouldman in an attempt to gain popularity through a well-known producer. Pleasant Dreams is the sixth studio album by American punk rock band the Ramones, released on July 20, 1981, through Sire Records.
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