Maps of Music

Subterranean Jungle (1983)

Where the lyrics of Subterranean Jungle take you, and where it was really made.

The cover shows the band in a Manhattan subway car, and one of the four men pictured was fired from the band during the recording of the album.

Key places

Where the album was recorded (1983)

Recording site Kingdom Sound — The album was recorded at Kingdom Sound in Syosset, Long Island. The point is set at the town centre, not the exact studio building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Cover photo subway station (1983)

Album cover Record Plant Studios — The cover photograph was taken by George DuBose at the subway station on 57th Street and Sixth Avenue in Manhattan. The point is set at the city centre, not the exact station. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Subterranean Jungle: seventh studio album by the American punk rock band Ramones
• Released by Sire Records on February 28, 1983
• Returned the band to a harder punk rock sound after the more pop-focused End of the Century (1980) and Pleasant Dreams (1981)
• Guitarist Johnny Ramone encouraged the harder direction

Background

• Recording sessions saw disputes between band members, mainly over alcohol addiction of Joey Ramone and Marky Ramone and drug addiction of Dee Dee Ramone
• Johnny Ramone was the only one of the four members not dealing with addiction
• Dee Dee Ramone was undergoing psychotherapeutic treatment
• After disappointing producers on the previous two releases, the band was skeptical of producer Ritchie Cordell
• Marky Ramone was let go during recording; drummer Billy Rogers played on 'Time Has Come Today'
• Joey Ramone was given less stylistic freedom than on the previous two releases

Recording

• Recorded at Kingdom Sound in Syosset, Long Island
• Production credited to Ritchie Cordell and Glen Kolotkin
• Walter Lure played additional guitar

Cover

• Image of the band inside a subway car
• Photograph by George DuBose at the subway station on 57th Street and Sixth Avenue in Manhattan
• DuBose designed the concept around a B Sixth Avenue Express train that stopped at the empty station for about 20 minutes
• Marky Ramone was placed at the subway window at Johnny Ramone's request

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 in The Village Voice: despite two inferior pieces, the album was more worthy of an audience than anything the band had done in the 1980s
• Stereo Review strongly recommended it to headbangers of all ages and called it a textbook Ramones album
• Its lyrics on mental illness and drug abuse were said to be refreshing
• Peaked at number 83 on the US Billboard 200 and failed to chart elsewhere

Reappraisal

• Stephen Thomas Erlewine in a retrospective AllMusic review: the band's most enjoyable record since Rocket to Russia
• Erlewine said the producers steered the band back toward the 1960s pop infatuation behind its early records
• Erlewine said the band had not sounded so alive since its earlier days, even if the album may not fit the strictest sense of punk
• Douglas Wolk in The Rolling Stone Album Guide (2004) was less enthusiastic and called it an attempt at radio-friendly production
• Wolk said the cover songs almost recast the group as an oldies act

Records

• US Billboard 200 peak: number 83
• Failed to chart internationally
• Neither single, 'Psycho Therapy' or 'Time Has Come Today', charted
• In a 2004 interview for New York magazine, Johnny Ramone graded the album a B and said he was pleased with its guitar sound

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• Marky Ramone was fired during recording, and 'Time Has Come Today' became the Ramones' only song to involve three drummers
• Dee Dee Ramone sang lead on 'Time Bomb' and on the bridge of 'Outsider', the first Ramones album with lead vocals from someone other than Joey Ramone
• Subterranean Jungle is the first Ramones release to begin with a song the band did not write
• Johnny Ramone said the band shouldn't have included three covers, but he was happy with the guitar sound
• Marky Ramone said he hated the production and the producer
• Green Day covered 'Outsider' in 2002 on Shenanigans

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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