Music journalist Chuck Eddy described the song as "a sort of Black Sabbath punk rock." Though rumors of the album's third track, " The KKK Took My Baby Away," being about Johnny stealing Joey's girlfriend have circulated in the music business, the song was actually written some time before Joey had reportedly found out about this, but the truth remains unknown. The album opens with "We Want the Airwaves," which has instrumentation that strays from traditional punk rock and more so towards hard rock. Joey explained that Johnny had "crossed the line" once he started dating Danielle, and noted that "he destroyed the relationship and the band right there." Johnny defended himself by stating that had Danielle not left Joey for him, "he wouldn't have even been talking about her and saying how much he loved her because he wouldn't have been obsessed about it." Composition and lyrics ![]() He'd run out to meet her and leave as soon as they were done." While Johnny would eventually marry Linda, Joey held a strong grudge against them both, and, though they continued to perform and tour together, the two rarely talked to each other. ![]() She didn't come to many shows and if she did he'd hide her in the back she wouldn't come backstage. Johnny knew it was bad and kept Linda totally hidden from that point on. Ramones' road manager Monte Melnick relates: "Joey was devastated. After the album was released, however, Danielle left Joey and became Johnny's girlfriend. I started feeling that the Ramones were faceless there were no individual identities in the band." He went on to say that this method worked well in the beginning of their career, but would later annoy Joey since "everything wrote, the band would take credit for." ĭuring early stages of the album's development, Joey was dating Linda Danielle. I'm against the band for doing that." Joey countered Johnny's point of preventing the band from selling out by explaining: "By Road to Ruin End of the Century, I was doing the majority of the songwriting. They are trying to go lighter, looking for ways to be more commercial. It really could have used another two of three punk songs .All I want to do is keep our fans happy and not sell out. Johnny thought that this did not result well for the band's sound, saying: "I knew going in that this was not going to be the type of album I wanted. The time period of recording was a high-point in musical style for both Joey and Johnny, though they directed their sound towards different styles of music: Joey's inspiration by pop music became evident in his writing, while Johnny's keenness of hard-rock guitar riffs are apparent in much of his performing on the album. These conflicts and differences became evident in the song writing, as each song was credited to individual rather than multiple members Pleasant Dreams was the first album in which writing is acknowledged this way. Additionally, Marky Ramone and Joey Ramone were both developing alcohol problems, resulting in the frustration of Johnny Ramone. This tension was partially due to Dee Dee Ramone's drug addiction. The studio recording process began on March 30, 1981, and initiated several conflicts between band members. Prior to working with Gouldman, the Ramones had been with audio engineer Ed Stasium to record several demos and, though Sire rejected, the band had intended that Steve Lillywhiteproduce the album. With Sire Records management being insistent on allowing a celebrity record producer to work on the album, they hired Graham Gouldman-songwriter and musician for the British band 10cc-to produce the album. The writing process for Pleasant Dreams began in January 1981. The album was not critically acclaimed either, as it received several mixed articles by reviewers, who insisted the album to be less playable than their first four albums. The album was not commercially acclaimed, which came as a surprise to Sire since they had insisted the band record with Graham in an effort to increase fan-base it peaked at number fifty-eight on the Billboard 200 and only charted outside of the US in Sweden. Pleasant Dreams featured songs such as "We Want the Airwaves," "She's a Sensation," and "Come On Now," strayed from traditional punk rock and took on different styles. ![]() Ultimately, the album incorporated a high production value and a variation of tone throughout the album. There were also disputes about the overall genre of the album, with Johnny leaning towards hard rock and Joey towards pop music. The recording process brought about many conflicts between band members, most notably the strife between Joey Ramone and Johnny Ramone, where Johnny began dating one of Joey's ex-girlfriends. ![]() While the band members wanted Steve Lillywhite to produce, Sire chose Graham Gouldman in an attempt to gain popularity through a well-known recording manager. Pleasant Dreams is the sixth studio album by the American punk rock band the Ramones released on July 20, 1981, through Sire Records.
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