Album Information
Road to Ruin shows a more "classic" pop sound as well as a shift to a more serious personality to the music, a theme that would remain in later albums, most notably the band's fifth album End of the Century (1980). The influence of 1960s girl groups is evident, as well as the influence of The Byrds on tracks including "Don't Come Close" and the cover of "Needles and Pins," originally by Jackie DeShannon and later a hit for The Searchers.
The album also contains the track "I Wanna Be Sedated", one of the band's most famous songs.
Road to Ruin was the Ramones' first album with Marky Ramone on drums, after original drummer Tommy Ramone left due to fatigue from touring. However, Tommy (credited as his birth name, Tommy Erdelyi) stayed to produce Road to Ruin, as well as a brief comeback for 1984's Too Tough to Die.
The album was remastered and released by Rhino Records on June 19, 2001. It also featured bonus tracks, which included alternate versions and demos. Two of the bonus tracks, "Rock 'n' Roll High School (Ed Stasium version)" and "Blitzkrieg Bop/Teenage Lobotomy/California Sun/Pinhead/She’s the One (Live)," are from the soundtrack for Rock 'n' Roll High School.
American hardcore punk band Bad Brains took their name from the album song "Bad Brain".
"I'm Against It" was covered by American heavy metal band Overkill on their album Coverkill.
The original US version of the album was pressed on traditional black vinyl, while the original UK version was pressed on transparent yellow vinyl.
The album was repressed on coloured vinyl in 2008.
The album cover design was done by Punk Magazine artist, John Holmstrom.
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