Ahead of the September 22 release of the Ramones’ Road To Ruin 40th Anniversary Edition, ILYOS looks at the album's significance and presents some great video footage from back in the day.

Jeez, it doesn’t seem that long ago that the 40th Anniversary Edition of the Ramones first album appeared. That was September 2016, and it’s testimony to how hard the Ramones worked and how quickly they developed, that we’re here now, two years later, talking about the 40th Anniversary Edition of their fourth album, the hard-hitting and ground-breaking Road To Ruin.

As we’ve already announced, this definitive new Road To Ruin is to be released on Sire September 22 and follows the template of the three earlier 40th Anniversary Editions: deluxe hardbound book packaging, with 1LP & 3 CDs, & a booklet with new liner notes essays (this time from Punk Magazine founder/writer/cartoonist, New York Rocker writer Roy Trakin, and engineer/producer Ed Stasium) and rare images.

Road To Ruin was the first Ramones album to feature Marky Ramone who replaced original drummer Tommy. Tommy, under his real name Tommy Erdelyi, was still on hand to co-produce. The album can be seen as a clear step away from the buzzsaw bubblegum of the first three albums, which all featured songs written before they even had a record deal. Road To Ruin had its fair share of hard and fast, but it was sonically with more heft, and song-wise more varied. Highlights included “I Just Want To Have Some Thing To Do” – an anthemic hard rock song – and the 60s-ish folk/country-rock ballad “Questioningly”, which was a nice companion to the album’s only cover, a beautiful version of the Jackie DeShannon/Searchers early=-60s hit “Needles & Pins”, which surely could have been a UK hit had not Smokie just beaten them to it. The best thing on the album without doubt though was the brilliant “I Wanna Be Sedated”, which took the bubblegum influence heard in early Ramones classics like “Blitzkrieg Bop” and “Rockaway Beach” into dynamic new directions, and which also would surely have been a hit had it not been for the lyrical content!

You can pre-order the Ramones’ Road To Ruin 40th Anniversary Edition here. Check out the full tracklisting below, and crank up some great Road To Ruin-related videos to get yourself primed.

“I Just Wanna Have Something To Do” 

The band’s unforgettable entrance in their classic 1979 movie Rock’n’Roll High School – the greatest rock movie ever!

“Needles & Pins”

A Live German TV performance from ’78.

“Don’t Come Close”

The first single from the album,  live on Top of the Pops.

For more great reading on the Ramones, especially their influence on Aussie punk music, check out our website, here.

CD1:
Remastered Original Mixes
01 I Just Want To Have Something To Do
02 I Wanted Everything
03 Don’t Come Close
04 I Don’t Want You
05 Needles And Pins
06 I’m Against It
07 I Wanna Be Sedated
08 Go Mental
09 Questioningly
10 She’s The One
11 Bad Brain
12 It’s A Long Way Back
40th Anniversary Road Revisited Mix
13 I Just Want To Have Something To Do
14 I Wanted Everything
15 Don’t Come Close
16 I Don’t Want You
17 Needles And Pins
18 I’m Against It
19 I Wanna Be Sedated
20 Go Mental
21 Questioningly
22 She’s The One
23 Bad Brain
24 It’s A Long Way Back 

CD2:
Rough Mixes & 40th Anniversary extras
01 I Walk Out (2018 Mix)
02 S.L.U.G. (2018 Mix)
03 Don’t Come Close (Single Mix)
04 Needles And Pins (Single Mix)
05 I Just Want To Have Something To Do (Basic Rough Mix)
06 I Don’t Want You (Basic Rough Mix)
07 I’m Against It (Basic Rough Mix)
08 It’s A Long Way Back (Basic Rough Mix)
09 I Walk Out (Basic Rough Mix)
10 Bad Brain (Basic Rough Mix)
11 Needles And Pins (Basic Rough Mix)
12 I Wanna Be Sedated Take 2 (Basic Rough Mix)
13 I Wanted Everything (Basic Rough Mix)
14 Go Mental (Basic Rough Mix)
15 She’s The One (Basic Rough Mix)
16 Questioningly Take 2 (Basic Rough Mix)
17 S.L.U.G. (Basic Rough Mix)
18 Don’t Come Close (Basic Rough Mix)
19 I Wanna Be Sedated (Backing Track)
20 I Don’t Want You (BritPop Mix)
21 Questioningly (Acoustic Version)
22 Needles And Pins (Acoustic Version)
23 Don’t Come Close (Acoustic Version)
24 I Wanna Be Sedated (“Ramones-on-45-Mega-Mix!!”)

All tracks on disc 2 except 3,4 & 24 previously unreleased

CD3: 
Live At The Palladium New York, NY 12/31/79
1. Blitzkrieg Bop
2. Teenage Lobotomy
3. Rockaway Beach
4. I Don't Want You
5. Go Mental
6. Gimmie Gimmie Shock Treatment
7. I Wanna Be Sedated
8. I Just Wanna Have Something To Do
9. She's The One
10. This Ain't Havana
11. I'm Against It
12. Sheena Is A Punk Rocker
13. Havana Affair
14. Commando
15. Needles & Pins
16. I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend
17. Surfin’ Bird
18. Cretin Hop
19. All The Way
20. Judy Is A Punk
21. California Sun
22. I Don't Wanna Walk Around With You
23. Today Your Love, Tomorrow The World
24. Pinhead
25. Do You Wanna Dance?
26. Suzy Is A Headbanger
27. Let's Dance
28. Chinese Rock
29. Beat On The Brat
30. We're A Happy Family
31. Bad Brain
32. I Wanted Everything

Vinyl LP 
40th Anniversary Road Revisited Mix
01 I Just Want To Have Something To Do
02 I Wanted Everything
03 Don’t Come Close
04 I Don’t Want You
05 Needles And Pins
06 I’m Against It

01 I Wanna Be Sedated
02 Go Mental
03 Questioningly
04 She’s The One
05 Bad Brain
06 It’s A Long Way Back