Maps of Music

Pleasant Dreams (1981)

Where the lyrics of Pleasant Dreams take you, and where it was really made.

Despite its ironic title, the album was marked by conflicts between band members during recording and failed commercially after release.

Key places

Basic tracks at Mediasound (1981)

Recording site Record Plant Studios — Basic tracks for the first fourteen songs were recorded here in March and April 1981. The keyboards and most of Joey Ramone's vocals were recorded separately in England. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Keyboards and vocals at Strawberry North (1981)

Recording site Strawberry Studios North — Keyboards, percussion, backing vocals and most of Joey Ramone's vocals were recorded at this studio in April 1981. The studio belongs to 10cc's Strawberry Studios complex. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Pleasant Dreams: sixth studio album by the American punk rock band Ramones
• Released July 20, 1981, through Sire Records
• Writing began January 1981; studio recording started March 30, 1981
• Peaked at No. 58 on the Billboard 200; charted outside the US only in Sweden
• First Ramones album with no cover songs
• First Ramones album without a picture of the band on the front cover

Background

• Band members wanted Steve Lillywhite to produce, but Sire rejected that choice
• Sire insisted on a celebrity producer and hired Graham Gouldman of 10cc
• Ramones had recorded demos earlier with audio engineer Ed Stasium
• Dee Dee Ramone's drug addiction and alcohol problems for Marky Ramone and Joey Ramone added to the tension
• Johnny Ramone leaned toward hard rock; Joey Ramone leaned toward pop
• Johnny's relationship with Joey's girlfriend caused strife between them
• Songs were credited to individual members for the first time on a Ramones album

Recording

• Basic tracks recorded at Mediasound, New York City, March–April 1981
• Keyboards, percussion, backing vocals and most of Joey Ramone's vocals recorded at Strawberry Studios in Stockport and Dorking, England, April 1981
• Gouldman added rhythm guitar and backing vocals; Vic Emerson played synthesizers
• Gouldman later described the sessions as very punctual and professional

Cover

• Photos by Michael Somoroff; design by M & Co.
• Cover art uncredited, credited to Guy Juke

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

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

• Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic: Gouldman steered the band away from bubblegum, British invasion and surf toward acid rock and heavy metal
• Erlewine: the sound was too clean to qualify as punk and had lost the infectious qualities of earlier records
• Robert Christgau: the album comes off corny compared with the band's first four releases
• Spin Alternative Record Guide: panned the halfhearted metal moves
• David Fricke of Rolling Stone: mixed review, four out of five stars
• The New York Times: the record sounds like a New York version of the Beach Boys
• The Boston Globe: praised Gouldman's intelligent, balanced production
• Critics were mixed overall; many noted the high-quality production pulled the band further from its roots

Records

• Peaked at No. 58 on the Billboard 200
• Charted in Sweden, peaking at 35 on the Sverigetopplistan chart
• None of the singles charted; no single was released in the US

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

Trivia

• Joey Ramone said the record company had warned the album would bomb without Gouldman, and it bombed anyway
• The KKK Took My Baby Away was long rumored to be about Johnny taking Joey's girlfriend, but it was reportedly written before Joey learned of that
• Gouldman occasionally played guitar on tracks, but only in restrained parts that suited Johnny's playing
• Four tracks from these sessions were later re-recorded on Dee Dee Ramone's solo albums and on Ramones albums Brain Drain and Mondo Bizarro
• The album is the first Ramones release to credit each song to an individual member

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · pt.wikipedia.org

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