Rocket to Russia

For the cover album, see Rocket to Russia (The Queers album).

Rocket to Russia
Studio album by
the Ramones
ReleasedNovember 4, 1977 (1977-11-04)
RecordedAugust – September 1977
(tracks 5 and 6 recorded April 1977)[1][2]
Studio
Genre
Length31:46
LabelSire
Producer
Ramones chronology
Leave Home
(1977) 		Rocket to Russia
(1977) 		Road to Ruin
(1978)
Singles from Rocket to Russia
  1. "Sheena Is a Punk Rocker"
    Released: May 1977
  2. "Rockaway Beach"
    Released: November 1977
  3. "Do You Wanna Dance?"
    Released: March 1978 [5]

Rocket to Russia is the third studio album by the American punk rock band Ramones, and was released on November 4, 1977, through Sire Records. It is the band's last album to feature original drummer Tommy Ramone, who left the band in 1978 to focus on production. The album's origins date back to the summer of 1977, when "Sheena Is a Punk Rocker" was released as a single. That summer was known as the peak of the punk rock genre since many punk bands were offered recording contracts. The album's recording began in August 1977, and the band had a considerably larger budget with Sire allowing them between $25,000 and $30,000; much of this money went toward the album's production rather than recording.

The album's cover art was directed by John Gillespie. John Holmstrom and guitarist Johnny Ramone both worked on illustration, with the entire back cover contemplating a military theme, while the inner sleeve artwork depicted many of the themes portrayed in songs. The subject matter of songs varied throughout the album, though nearly all the tracks on the album incorporated humor into the lyrics. The musical style showed more of a surf rock influence, and many songs had minimal structuring.

The album received positive reviews, with many critics appreciating the matured production and sound quality as compared to Rocket to Russia's predecessors. Music critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine called it his favorite Ramones album as it contained several hooks and featured more variety of tempos. The album was not as commercially successful as the band had hoped, peaking at number 49 on the Billboard 200.[6] Band members blamed the Sex Pistols for their lack of sales, saying that they changed the punk image for the worse. The album was ranked at number 106 in Rolling Stone's "500 Greatest Albums of All Time" in 2012, and was ranked number 385 in the 2020 edition.[7][8]

  1. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference loudersound was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Bessman 1993, p. 74.
  3. ^ "50 Greatest Pop-Punk Albums". Rolling Stone. November 15, 2017. Archived from the original on November 9, 2020. Retrieved June 28, 2019.
  4. ^ Rathbone, Oregano (December 2017). "Ramones – Rocket To Russia: 40th Anniversary Deluxe Edition". Record Collector (474). Archived from the original on 2018-11-21. Retrieved 2018-11-21.
  5. ^ True 2005, p. 343.
  6. ^ "The Ramones". Billboard. Retrieved 2022-02-04.
  7. ^ "500 Greatest Albums of All Time: Ramones, 'Rocket to Russia'". Rolling Stone. 31 May 2009. Archived from the original on 1 October 2016. Retrieved 28 September 2016.
  8. ^ "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone. 2020-09-22. Archived from the original on 2021-07-02. Retrieved 2020-11-25.