231. RAMONES (self-titled)

I've been meaning to feature this 1976 debut record by the punk rock pioneers but just hadn't gotten around to it. However, with the recent death of music executive Seymour Stein (who signed The Ramones among many other seminal acts to his Sire Records label) I figured now is as good a time as any.

Although this album was a commercial failure at the time, it was a critical darling and has since garnered so much acclaim that many rock records are measured as having been released "pre-Ramones" or "post-Ramones." The record (and the band) became that influential not just to the punk rock movement but to many others as well. It's interesting to note that the recording process aped what The Beatles had done on their early albums with bass and rhythm guitars separated on the left and right channels, respectively, with drums / vocals taking up the middle. Another thing you'll notice is that this is 14 songs in 29 minutes, pretty much summing up the definition of punk rock - play loud, hard and fast.

For your listening pleasure, the songs I've added to the Daily Records playlist on Apple Music and Spotify are the first 4 tracks:  'Blitzkrieg Bop,' 'Beat on the Brat,' 'Judy is a Punk' and 'I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend' and then track 11, '53rd & 3rd.'