Maps of Music

Brain Drain (1989)

Where the lyrics of Brain Drain take you, and where it was really made.

Dee Dee Ramone wrote in his autobiography that he did not even end up playing on this album, yet it was his last record with the band.

Key places

Sorcerer Sound, a recording location (1989)

Recording site Sorcerer Sound — Discogs credits list Sorcerer Sound as one of the places where the album was recorded. The source does not give session dates for this studio. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Quad Recording, a recording location (1989)

Recording site MSR Studios — Discogs credits also list Quad Recording as a place where the album was recorded. Additional recording is credited separately to B.C. Studio. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Brain Drain is the eleventh studio album by the American punk rock band Ramones
• Released May 23, 1989
• The last Ramones release to feature bassist and songwriter Dee Dee Ramone
• The first album with Marky Ramone since he was initially fired after 1983's Subterranean Jungle
• The band's last studio album on Sire Records
• The last Ramones album produced by Daniel Rey, until 1995's ¡Adios Amigos!
• The album ends with an unlikely seasonal song, 'Merry Christmas (I Don't Want to Fight Tonight)'

Background

• Originally intended as a 'comeback' album after the belated success of 'I Wanna Be Sedated'
• In his 1998 autobiography, Dee Dee Ramone said recording was tough and that everyone took their problems out on him
• He said it drove him away and that he did not end up playing on the album
• Johnny Ramone, in his 2012 posthumous autobiography Commando, called it one of his least favorite albums
• Johnny said Bill Laswell's production was too dense and that the album had too many Joey songs
• Johnny still named 'I Believe in Miracles' and 'Punishment Fits the Crime' as bright spots
• For the first time on a Ramones album, Marky Ramone took part in the songwriting, contributing lyrics to 'All Screwed Up' and 'Learn to Listen'

Recording

• Mixed at Platinum Island Studios
• Recorded at Sorcerer Sound and Quad Recording, with additional recording at B.C. Studio
• Engineering credits include Robert Musso and Martin Bisi
• Mastered by Howie Weinberg
• Daniel Rey produced the album, and Jean Beauvoir and Bill Laswell also took production roles
• Dee Dee Ramone's bass parts were handled in the studio, while the album was made with several producers

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · www.discogs.com

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• An American punk rock band formed in Forest Hills, Queens, New York City, in 1974.
• Founding members Jeff Hyman, John Cummings, Douglas Colvin and Thomas Erdelyi took the stage names Joey, Johnny, Dee Dee and Tommy Ramone.
• The name was inspired by Paul McCartney's pseudonym Paul Ramon from his Silver Beetles days.
• The band made its CBGB debut on August 16, 1974, and became regulars at the club.
• Sire Records signed them in late 1975.

Members

• Joey Ramone (lead vocals, 1974–1996; died 2001).
• Johnny Ramone (guitar, 1974–1996; died 2004).
• Dee Dee Ramone (bass, 1974–1989; died 2002).
• Tommy Ramone (drums, 1974–1978; died 2014).
• Marky Ramone, Richie Ramone, Elvis Ramone and C. J. Ramone joined as later drummers and bassists.

Career

• The debut album Ramones was released in April 1976 and helped spearhead punk; its influence on British and American punk is widely cited.
• The band performed 2,263 concerts and released fourteen studio albums.
• Rocket to Russia (1977) was its highest-charting album, reaching number 49 on the Billboard 200.
• The band broke up after a farewell show at the Palace in Hollywood on August 6, 1996, following the Lollapalooza tour.
• Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002 and given a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2011.

Reception

At release

• Robert Christgau said Laswell's treatment neither saved the band's rock and roll soul nor turned them into a metal band
• Christgau judged the album's professionalism as 'For professionalism, not bad.'
• Some reviews were good, but the album failed to meet commercial expectations
• The album was originally meant to be a comeback record after 'I Wanna Be Sedated'

Reappraisal

• Johnny Ramone later gave Brain Drain and its follow-up Mondo Bizarro a 'C' letter grade

Records

• Peaked at number 122 on the Billboard 200 chart
• L'album a obtenu la 122e place du Billboard, the single 'Pet Sematary' reached number four on Billboard Modern Rock Tracks
• 'Pet Sematary' became the band's highest-charting hit in the US, peaking at number four on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · fr.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• 'Pet Sematary' was written for the Stephen King film adaptation and became one of the Ramones' biggest radio hits
• Dee Dee Ramone appears as the bassist in both 'Pet Sematary' videos, while C. J. Ramone replaces him in the 'I Believe in Miracles' and 'Merry Christmas' videos
• 'Merry Christmas (I Don't Want to Fight Tonight)' was first released in November 1987 as the B-side of 'I Wanna Live' and was later featured in the 2004 film Christmas with the Kranks
• 'Can't Get You Outta My Mind' was first recorded in the early 1980s during the Pleasant Dreams sessions and stayed unreleased until a bonus track on the 2002 reissue
• 'Palisades Park' is a cover of a 1962 recording by Freddy Cannon
• Rammstein released a live 'Pet Sematary' as the B-side of their 2001 single 'Ich will'

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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