Subterranean Jungle
| Subterranean Jungle | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by the Ramones | ||||
| Released | February 23, 1983 | |||
| Recorded | December 1982 | |||
| Studio | Kingdom Sound, Syosset, Long Island | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 33:21 | |||
| Label | Sire | |||
| Producer |
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| Ramones chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Subterranean Jungle | ||||
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Subterranean Jungle is the seventh studio album by the American punk rock band the Ramones, released by Sire Records on February 23, 1983. The album appealed to a hardcore punk rock style rather than featuring several pop oriented pieces; this is because guitarist Johnny Ramone received more leeway in steering the overall genre with his hard rock-influenced riffs. The recording sessions saw disputes between band members, mainly because many of them were dealing with alcohol addiction, or, in bassist Dee Dee Ramone's case, other drugs.
The album begins with two cover songs, and features a third on Side 2. Lyrics circle various themes, while the structuring of the songs shifted towards hard rock, psychedelic rock. The album was deemed by critics to be an attempt to retreat to the band's roots and received mostly positive reviews. Subterranean Jungle was not very successful commercially, peaking at number 83 on the US Billboard 200 and failing to chart internationally. The singles released from the album did not chart either. This is the last album by the band to feature Marky Ramone on drums until the 1989 album Brain Drain.
Conception[edit]
Unlike previous albums, Subterranean Jungle shifted the band's sound output focus towards getting back to their punk rock roots, rather than trying to expand fan-base by releasing more pop-oriented songs. This change is due to guitarist Johnny Ramone obtaining more priority over the style choice. Johnny felt as though the band needed to "be focused and stop worrying about getting played [on the radio] and just make a good record."[1] Since lead singer Joey Ramone was not given as much stylistic freedom, the album lacks the sense of pop-influence which previous releases had contained and instead was shaped mostly by Johnny's hard rock background.[1]
Johnny obtained more control over the musical style because the band members experienced conflict amongst themselves, specifically rooted in each member—excluding Johnny—facing issues with addiction. Both Joey and drummer Marky Ramone were dealing with alcoholism, while bassist Dee Dee Ramone was severely addicted to cocaine and was undergoing psychotherapeutic treatment. Since the Ramones' previous two releases had producers which proved disappointing to the members, they were skeptical of the upcoming producer; this would be Ritchie Cordell, with whom they also had issues.[3][4] Marky relates: "I hated the production, I hated the producer."[5]
The artwork for Subterranean Jungle features an image of the band inside a subway car. The photograph was taken by George DuBose at the subway station on 57th Street and Sixth Avenue in Manhattan. This cover concept was designed by Dubose, who suggested that since the B Sixth Avenue Express train stopped at the empty station for about 20 minutes.[6] In the photograph, Marky is featured peering out the subway window—Marky was positioned this way after Johnny asked DuBose to do so because "they were kicking him out of the band, but he didn't know it yet."[7] Marky recalled that he "liked that shot, but [he] knew something was up."[7]
The internal conflicts during recording sessions would cause band members to fire Marky during the album's recording, consequently substituting him with drummer Billy Rogers on "Time has Come Today."[5] Johnny recounts, "We were having trouble with Mark because his drinking problem was really bad. So we did "Time Has Come Today" with a different drummer, Billy Rogers, from Walter Lure's band."[8] "Time Has Come Today" became the Ramones' only song to involve three drummers: Marky Ramone on the album credits, Billy Rogers on recording and Richie Ramone on the music video.
Compositions and lyrics[edit]
The album opens with two cover songs; the first, "Little Bit O' Soul", was originally written by John Carter and Ken Lewis and the second, "I Need Your Love", was first performed by Bobby Dee Waxman. Subterranean Jungle is the first Ramones' release to begin with a song not written by the band—this track list structure was criticized by author Everett True, who said that it was "disorientating."[3] Johnny also thought that the fact that the album featured three covers was a bad idea, saying, "we shouldn't have, but I was happy with the guitar sound on it."[8] The album's third track, "Outsider", was written by Dee Dee and, in 2002, it was covered by Green Day on Shenanigans.[9] "What'd Ya Do?" was track number four, and was described by music journalist Chuck Eddy as "crudely metallic."[10] Eddy also deemed the next track, "Highest Trails Above", as "AOR-mystic."[10] "Somebody Like Me" was called a "full-on rock anthem" by Everett True, who went on to say that the lyrics contained "no-nonsense lines."[11]
Side B of the album begins with "Psycho Therapy", which was written by both Johnny and Dee Dee; the song has since grown into one of the Ramones' most popular songs. Dee Dee recalled: "I knew we needed a real 'Ramones song' for the album, and I knew [Johnny] was depressed about how things were going. He needed that song to get excited about the band again,"[2] while Johnny stated, “I wanted to do a hardcore song to show the hardcore people that we can play as fast or faster than they can. Nobody plays faster than us.”[13] The next track is another cover song, "Time Has Come Today", which was originally recorded by the soul music group The Chambers Brothers. The Ramones' version of the song featured a psychedelic rock influence, and was said by Eddy to have more of a "garage" feel to it, as compared to the original.[10] "My-My Kind of a Girl" was directed specifically toward the band's female fandom. The lyrics were written by Joey about meeting a girl on 8th Street in Manhattan and wanting to spend his life with her.[5] In Vanity Fair, the song was regarded as a "lingering affection for Phil Spector's pop grandeur."[14] Dee Dee's "Time Bomb", which was track number eleven, was said by True to be "more ridiculous than frightening."[5] The album concludes with "Everytime I Eat Vegetables It Makes Me Think of You", which was said by author Todd Anderson to be a "sing along."[15]
Release and reception[edit]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    [16] |
| Robert Christgau | A−[17] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [18] |
Subterranean Jungle was released by Sire Records in February 1983.[19] In a contemporary review for The Village Voice, music journalist Robert Christgau wrote that despite containing two inferior pieces ("Highest Trails Above" and "I Need Your Love"), the album is "more worthy of an audience than anything they've done in the '80s."[17] Stereo Review magazine strongly recommended it to "headbangers of all ages" as "a textbook Ramones album" whose unintellectual lyrics about mental illness and drug abuse "can actually be refreshing."[20] The album peaked at number 83 in on the Billboard 200 in the US, but failed to chart elsewhere.[21] Neither of the album's singles—"Psycho Therapy" and "Time Has Come Today"—charted.[22]
In a retrospective review for AllMusic, author Stephen Thomas Erlewine called Subterranean Jungle the band's "most enjoyable record since Rocket to Russia," and said that the producers "steered the Ramones back toward the '60s pop infatuation that provided the foundation for their early records."[16] He ended his review by stating that it may not be defined as the "strictest sense" of punk rock; however, he strongly suggested that the band had not sounded so "alive" since their earlier days.[16] Douglas Wolk, writing in The Rolling Stone Album Guide (2004), was less enthusiastic and called it an "attempt at radio-friendly production," with a series of cover songs that "almost recasts the group as an oldies act."[18] In a 2004 interview for New York magazine, Johnny Ramone graded the album a "B" and said that he was pleased with its guitar sound, despite the three cover songs, while remarking "I was watching the Brewers-Cardinals World Series when we were recording it."[23]
Track listing[edit]
The following track listing can be verified through the Subterranean Jungle expanded edition liner notes.[24]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Little Bit O' Soul" | Kenneth Hawker, John Shakespeare | 2:43 |
| 2. | "I Need Your Love" | Bobby Dee Waxman | 3:03 |
| 3. | "Outsider" | Dee Dee Ramone | 2:10 |
| 4. | "What'd Ya Do?" | Joey Ramone | 2:24 |
| 5. | "Highest Trails Above" | Dee Dee Ramone | 2:09 |
| 6. | "Somebody Like Me" | Dee Dee Ramone | 2:34 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7. | "Psycho Therapy" | Dee Dee Ramone, Johnny Ramone | 2:35 |
| 8. | "Time Has Come Today" (The Chambers Brothers cover) | Willie Chambers, Joseph Chambers | 4:25 |
| 9. | "My-My Kind of a Girl" | Joey Ramone | 3:31 |
| 10. | "In the Park" | Dee Dee Ramone | 2:34 |
| 11. | "Time Bomb" | Dee Dee Ramone | 2:09 |
| 12. | "Everytime I Eat Vegetables It Makes Me Think of You" | Joey Ramone | 3:04 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 13. | "Indian Giver" (Original Mix) | Bobby Bloom, Ritchie Cordell, Bo Gentry | 2:45 |
| 14. | "New Girl in Town" | Ramones | 3:33 |
| 15. | "No One to Blame" (Demo) | Ramones | 2:24 |
| 16. | "Roots of Hatred" (Demo) | Ramones | 3:36 |
| 17. | "Bumming Along" (Demo) | Ramones | 2:20 |
| 18. | "Unhappy Girl" (Demo) | Ramones | 2:20 |
| 19. | "My-My Kind of Girl" (Acoustic Demo) | Joey Ramone | 3:10 |
Personnel[edit]
The following credits are adapted from AllMusic.[16]
Ramones
- Joey Ramone – lead vocals (tracks 1-10, 12)
- Johnny Ramone – guitar
- Dee Dee Ramone – bass guitar, backing vocals, lead vocals (track 11), co-lead vocals (track 3)
- Marky Ramone – drums (tracks 1-7, 9-12)
Additional musicians
- Walter Lure – additional guitar
- Billy Rogers – drums (track 8)
Production
- Ritchie Cordell – production
- Glen Kolotkin – production
- Ron Cote – engineering
- George DuBose – photography
- Tony Wright – cover art
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