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User:CrowzRSA/Sandbox/Sandbox 2/Sandbox 3/Subterranean Jungle

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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]

I guess I felt a little sort-changed before. I was just writin' a lotta diverse stuff and maybe I felt I was gonna get restricted, I dunno [sic]. Now that we've done it and we've been playing around for about a month, though, we're unanimous. 'Cause it has that real edge again, it has a real powerful sound—somethin' we lost a little on the last two albums. I love those albums you know, but this one sort of restates a Ramones vision. And it's because the production is really there at last. I think the vocals are the best I've ever done too.

— Joey Ramone[1][2]

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. These internal conflicts would cause band members to fire Marky during the album's recording process, consequently substituting him with drummer Billy Rogers on "Time has Come Today."[3] Since the Ramones' previous two releases had producers which proved dissapointing to the members, they were skeptical of the upcoming producer; this would be Ritchie Cordell, with whom they also had issues with.[4][5] Marky relates: "I hated the production, I hated the producer."[3]

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 preformed 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."[4] Johnny also thought that the fact that the album comprised of three covers was a bad idea, saying, "we shouldn't have, but I was happy with the guitar sound on it."[6] The album's third track, "Outsider," was written by Dee Dee and would later be covered by rock band Green Day on their 2002 album Shenanigans.[7] "What'd Ya Do?" was track number four, and was described by music journalist Chuck Eddy as "crudely metallic."[8] Eddy also deemed the next track, "Highest Trails Above," as "AOR-mystic.[8] "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."[9]

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 most popular Ramones' song. 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] 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.[8] "My-My Kind of a Girl" was directed specifically toward the band's female fan-base. The lyrics were written by Joey about meeting a girl on 8th Street in Manhattan and wanting to spend his life with her.[3] In Vanity Fair, the song was regarded as a "lingering affection for Phil Spec- tor's pop grandeur."[10] Dee Dee's "Time Bomb," which was track number eleven, was said by True to be "more ridiculous than frightening."[3] 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."[11]

Reception edit

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [12]
Robert ChristgauA−[13]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide     [14]

Subterranean Jungle received mixed reviews by critics. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic called it 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."[12] 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.[12] Music critic Robert Christgau gave the album a positive review, inferring that despite containing two inferior pieces ("In the Park" and "Time Has Come Today"), the album is "more worthy of an audience than anything they've done in the '80s."[13] The Rolling Stone Album Guide called the album an "attempt at radio-friendly production," and said that the album's three cover songs "almost recasts the group as an oldies act."[14] The peaked at number 83 in the US, but failed to chart elsewhere.[15] Neither of the album's singles—"Psycho Therapy" and "Time Has Come Today"— charted.[16]

  1. ^ a b c Bowe 2010, p. 66.
  2. ^ a b Bowe 2010, p. 67.
  3. ^ a b c d True 2005, p. 180.
  4. ^ a b True 2005, p. 177.
  5. ^ Porter 2004, p. 104.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference ramone was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Myers 2006, p. 189.
  8. ^ a b c Eddy 2011, p. 34.
  9. ^ True 2005, p. 179.
  10. ^ Vanity Fair. 46. Condé Nast: 34. 1983. {{cite journal}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  11. ^ Anderson 2006, ch. 5.
  12. ^ a b c Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Subterranean Jungle – | ". AllMusic. Retrieved 2014-03-08.
  13. ^ a b Christgau, Robert. "Consumer Guide Reviews". RobertChristgau.com. Retrieved Feb 9, 2014.
  14. ^ a b "Rolling Stone: Album Guide | Rolling Stone Music". Rolling Stone. Jann Wenner. Retrieved 2014-03-08.
  15. ^ "The Ramones US albums chart history". allmusic.com. Retrieved 2010-12-23.
  16. ^ McNeil, Legs; Holmstrom, John (August 1986). "We're A Happy Family". Spin. 2 (5): 78.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
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