''Acid Eaters'' is the thirteenth studio album by American punk rock band

Ramones The Ramones were an American punk rock band that formed in the New York City neighborhood of Forest Hills, Queens, in 1974. They are often cited as the first true punk rock group. Despite achieving a limited commercial appeal in the United ...

. Released in 1993, towards the end of the Ramones' career, the album is the band's first and only album entirely composed of covers. ''Acid Eaters'' forms a musical tribute to the Ramones' favorite artists of the 1960s and highlights the influences the Ramones took from

garage rock Garage rock (sometimes called garage punk or 60s punk) is a raw and energetic style of rock and roll that flourished in the mid-1960s, most notably in the United States and Canada, and has experienced a series of subsequent revivals. The sty ...

bands like the Seeds and the Amboy Dukes, as well as from popular bands such as the Beach Boys, the Who and the Rolling Stones (all of whom are covered on this album).

Background

Although ''Acid Eaters'' is specifically made of covers from the sixties, it was not the first time that the Ramones had played or recorded cover songs, with the band having released cover versions on most of their albums, almost all or them from the sixties, starting with a cover of Chris Montez's hit " Let's Dance" (written by and credited to Jim Lee) on their debut album. Other notable covers previously performed by the group include: the Rivieras' " California Sun" (originally recorded by Joe Jones); the Beach Boys' "

Do You Wanna Dance? "Do You Want to Dance" is a song written by American singer Bobby Freeman and recorded by him in 1958. It reached number No. 5 on the United States ''Billboard'' Top 100 Sides pop chart and No. 2 on the ''Billboard'' R&B chart. Cliff Richard ...

" (originally recorded by Bobby Freeman); the Trashmen's " Surfin' Bird"; the Searchers' " Needles and Pins" (written by Sonny Bono and Jack Nitzsche, originally recorded by Jackie DeShannon); the Ronettes' " Baby, I Love You"; the Music Explosion's " Little Bit O' Soul"; the Chambers Brothers' " Time Has Come Today";

Freddy Cannon Frederick Anthony Picariello, Jr. (born December 4, 1936), better known by his stage name Freddy Cannon, is an American rock and roll singer, whose biggest international hits included "Tallahassee Lassie", " Way Down Yonder in New Orleans", and " ...

's " Palisades Park"; and the Doors' "Take It as It Comes." Jan and Dean's " Surf City" had been performed live by the Ramones on one occasion on August 20, 1982, in New York City, but makes its studio debut here.

Production

In his 2012 autobiography '' Commando'',

Johnny Ramone John William Cummings (October 8, 1948 – September 15, 2004), better known by his stage name Johnny Ramone, was an American musician who was the guitarist and a founding member of the Ramones, a band that helped pioneer the punk movement. ...

called the album "hit-and-miss," stating that many of the songs "were done with studio work, arrangements, and tricks, which was really different for us", and that the band "experimented to mixed success." He added that "we were getting all kinds of suggestions from everybody, and it was getting to be a pain in the ass. I mean, ' She's Not There' by the Zombies?" Johnny awarded the album a "B−" grade. Bassist

C.J. Ramone Christopher Joseph Ward (born October 8, 1965), better known as C. J. Ramone, is an American musician best known for working as the bassist, backing and occasional lead vocalist of the punk rock group the Ramones from 1989 to 1996. He is one o ...

gave the album a "D" grade, saying that it was done strictly for the money. The album features several guest singers on backing vocals, namely Pete Townshend on " Substitute," Sebastian Bach on " Out of Time" and Traci Lords on " Somebody to Love." According to Johnny Ramone, while he considered Townshend "one of the greats and one of my guitar heroes", Townshend was a half an hour late for his session, resulting in Johnny giving up and leaving the studio to watch a Yankee game. According to C.J. Ramone, ''Acid Eaters'' was only going to be an EP before manager Gary Kurfirst promised a bigger advance as well as a bigger cut if they made it a full release.

Promotion

The band promoted the album on the animated

Cartoon Network Cartoon Network (often abbreviated as CN) is an American cable television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. It is a part of The Cartoon Network, Inc., a division that also has the broadcasting and production activities of Boomerang, Car ...

talk show '' Space Ghost Coast to Coast'', in the first season episode entitled "Bobcat".

Track listing

Personnel

Ramones * Joey Ramone – lead vocals (tracks 2, 3, 5–7, 9–13) *

– guitar * Marky Ramone – drums *

– bass guitar, lead vocals (tracks 1, 4, 8) Additional musicians * Joe McGinty – keyboards * Pete Townshend – backing vocals (track 2) * Sebastian Bach – backing vocals (track 3) * Traci Lords – backing vocals (track 5) Technical *

Scott Hackwith Scott Hackwith (born September 3, 1968) is an American composer-producer-musician whose career has progressed from work as a professional guitarist and singer to recording producer and scoring motion pictures. Currently, he is the owner-chief cr ...

– producer, mixing * Gary Kurfirst – executive producer * Trent Slatton – engineer, mixing *

Bryce Goggin Bryce Goggin is an American record producer and sound engineer. His career began in the early 1990s, working at Baby Monster Studios. He first received note for mixing the album ''Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain'' by Pavement. He has since worked with ...

– assistant engineer (Baby Monster) * Rojo – assistant engineer (Baby Monster) * Johnny Wydrycs – assistant engineer (Chung King) * Jack Hersca – assistant engineer (Chung King) * Diego Garrido – assistant engineer (Chung King) * Peter Beckerman – assistant engineer (Sound on Sound) * Scott Hull – mastering

Charts

Certifications

References

{{Authority control Album chart usages for Sweden Album chart usages for Canada Album chart usages for Billboard200 Ramones albums 1993 albums Chrysalis Records albums Covers albums Radioactive Records albums