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Too Tough to Die
Too Tough to Die is the eighth studio album by the American punk rock band Ramones. It was released on October 1, 1984, and is the first Ramones record to feature Richie Ramone on drums. With ex-member Tommy Ramone producing (credited as T. Erdelyi), the recording process was similar to that of the band's 1976 self-titled debut album. Likewise, the record's style—both lyrically and compositionally—saw the band returning to their roots. The photograph on the album cover, which features silhouettes of the band members, resulted from a "lucky accident" after photographer George DuBose's camera malfunctioned.
The album's overall style leaned toward that of punk rock and heavy metal music, rather than pop music which had been a focus of several of the band's previous albums. Too Tough to Die borrows upon elements such as guitar riffs from 1983's Subterranean Jungle. For the second time, after "Time Bomb" on Subterranean Jungle, bassist Dee Dee Ramone performs lead vocals on the album and receives vocal credits for two tracks. The album also contains the band's only instrumental piece, "Durango 95".
Critics appreciated the band's return to earlier methods of writing, recording, and production, noting they had strayed from the pop music genre. Despite critical acclaim, Too Tough to Die performed poorly in album sales. At this point in their career, the album was the band's lowest peaking record on the Billboard 200.
The recording of Too Tough to Die began in the summer of 1984 at the Mediasound Studios in New York City. The album's recording process used similar techniques which were used to record their 1976 eponymous album, with Rolling Stone's Kurt Loder describing it as "virtually live in the studio". The album marked the debut of new drummer Richie Ramone, who replaced Marky Ramone after he was fired for excessive drinking. The album's songs were written mainly by bassist Dee Dee Ramone and guitarist Johnny Ramone, while lead singer Joey Ramone did not participate in the process as much as usual because he "wasn't feeling well" prior to recording. Joey did, however, write the songs "No Go" and "Daytime Dilemma (Dangers of Love)" after receiving help with the guitar part for the latter song by Daniel Rey. Johnny Ramone recalled:
As we got ready to make Too Tough To Die, we were focused in the same direction, and it made a difference. We knew we needed to get back to the kind of harder material we'd become known for. The pop stuff hadn't really worked, and we knew we were much better off doing what we did best.
Previous Ramones records featured celebrity record producers in an attempt to gain some sort of popularity. Since this method did not yield the results which they were expecting, Sire Records contacted the producers of 1978's Road to Ruin: Ed Stasium and ex-band member Tommy Ramone. Too Tough to Die has less production value than previous recordings by the Ramones. Because critics often disapproved of the sound quality on End of the Century and Pleasant Dreams, the band leaned towards a harsher sound.
Too Tough to Die was also the first of three studio albums that were licensed from Sire Records to the independent record label Beggars Banquet Records for release in the UK. The deal saw the group's work promoted better and resulted placings on the UK album and singles charts. The group had not charted in the UK since 1980's End of the Century.
The cover photo for the album was taken by photographer George DuBose in a tunnel in Central Park, New York City, near the Central Park Zoo. In the photo, the band members are standing side-by-side underneath an underpass arch, with their dark silhouettes illuminated in the background with blue lighting and dry ice fog. Johnny wanted the artwork to conceptually refer to the film A Clockwork Orange, released in 1971. DuBose relates: "Johnny wanted a picture that would evoke memories of the gang in A Clockwork Orange." DuBose also stated that the band did not need their faces on the cover because they had grown significantly in popularity; however, he originally intended to include their faces. The photograph on the album cover was a "lucky accident" after DuBose's flashes failed to fire and he unintentionally shot the band members in silhouette.
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Too Tough to Die
Too Tough to Die is the eighth studio album by the American punk rock band Ramones. It was released on October 1, 1984, and is the first Ramones record to feature Richie Ramone on drums. With ex-member Tommy Ramone producing (credited as T. Erdelyi), the recording process was similar to that of the band's 1976 self-titled debut album. Likewise, the record's style—both lyrically and compositionally—saw the band returning to their roots. The photograph on the album cover, which features silhouettes of the band members, resulted from a "lucky accident" after photographer George DuBose's camera malfunctioned.
The album's overall style leaned toward that of punk rock and heavy metal music, rather than pop music which had been a focus of several of the band's previous albums. Too Tough to Die borrows upon elements such as guitar riffs from 1983's Subterranean Jungle. For the second time, after "Time Bomb" on Subterranean Jungle, bassist Dee Dee Ramone performs lead vocals on the album and receives vocal credits for two tracks. The album also contains the band's only instrumental piece, "Durango 95".
Critics appreciated the band's return to earlier methods of writing, recording, and production, noting they had strayed from the pop music genre. Despite critical acclaim, Too Tough to Die performed poorly in album sales. At this point in their career, the album was the band's lowest peaking record on the Billboard 200.
The recording of Too Tough to Die began in the summer of 1984 at the Mediasound Studios in New York City. The album's recording process used similar techniques which were used to record their 1976 eponymous album, with Rolling Stone's Kurt Loder describing it as "virtually live in the studio". The album marked the debut of new drummer Richie Ramone, who replaced Marky Ramone after he was fired for excessive drinking. The album's songs were written mainly by bassist Dee Dee Ramone and guitarist Johnny Ramone, while lead singer Joey Ramone did not participate in the process as much as usual because he "wasn't feeling well" prior to recording. Joey did, however, write the songs "No Go" and "Daytime Dilemma (Dangers of Love)" after receiving help with the guitar part for the latter song by Daniel Rey. Johnny Ramone recalled:
As we got ready to make Too Tough To Die, we were focused in the same direction, and it made a difference. We knew we needed to get back to the kind of harder material we'd become known for. The pop stuff hadn't really worked, and we knew we were much better off doing what we did best.
Previous Ramones records featured celebrity record producers in an attempt to gain some sort of popularity. Since this method did not yield the results which they were expecting, Sire Records contacted the producers of 1978's Road to Ruin: Ed Stasium and ex-band member Tommy Ramone. Too Tough to Die has less production value than previous recordings by the Ramones. Because critics often disapproved of the sound quality on End of the Century and Pleasant Dreams, the band leaned towards a harsher sound.
Too Tough to Die was also the first of three studio albums that were licensed from Sire Records to the independent record label Beggars Banquet Records for release in the UK. The deal saw the group's work promoted better and resulted placings on the UK album and singles charts. The group had not charted in the UK since 1980's End of the Century.
The cover photo for the album was taken by photographer George DuBose in a tunnel in Central Park, New York City, near the Central Park Zoo. In the photo, the band members are standing side-by-side underneath an underpass arch, with their dark silhouettes illuminated in the background with blue lighting and dry ice fog. Johnny wanted the artwork to conceptually refer to the film A Clockwork Orange, released in 1971. DuBose relates: "Johnny wanted a picture that would evoke memories of the gang in A Clockwork Orange." DuBose also stated that the band did not need their faces on the cover because they had grown significantly in popularity; however, he originally intended to include their faces. The photograph on the album cover was a "lucky accident" after DuBose's flashes failed to fire and he unintentionally shot the band members in silhouette.