The Ramones : The Ramones ( Expanded Edition )

The Ramones

 is the debut 

studio album 

by American

 punk rock band 

The Ramones,

 released on

 April 23, 1976

 by Sire Records.

 After Hit Parader editor 

Lisa Robinson

 saw the band

 at a gig in 

New York City,

 she wrote about them

 in an article and

 contacted Danny Fields, 

insisting that he be 

their manager.

 Fields agreed and

 convinced Craig 

Leon to produce 

The Ramones, 

and the band recorded 

a demo for prospective

 record labels. 

Leon persuaded

 Sire president 

Seymour Stein 

to listen to the band perform, 

and he later offered

 the band a recording contract. 

The Ramones 

began recording in January 1976, 

needing only seven days 

and $6,400 to 

record the album.

 They used similar

 sound-output techniques

 to those of

 the Beatles

 and used advanced 

production methods by Leon.

The album cover,

 photographed by

 Punk magazine's 

Roberta Bayley,

 features the four members

 leaning against a brick wall 

in New York City.

 The record company 

paid only $125

 for the front photo, 

which has since become

 one of the most imitated

 album covers of all time. 

The back cover

 depicts an eagle belt buckle 

along with the album's liner notes.

 After its release,

The Ramones 

was promoted with 

two singles 

which failed to chart. 

The Ramones

 also began touring 

to help sell records;

 these tour dates were 

mostly based in

 the United States,

 though two were booked in Britain.

Violence,

 drug use, 

relationship issues,

humor, 

and Nazism 

were prominent

 in the album's lyrics.

 The album opens with

 "Blitzkrieg Bop", 

which is among the band's 

most recognized songs. 

Most of the album's tracks

 are uptempo, 

with many songs 

measuring at well over 

160 beats per minute. 

The songs are also rather short;

 at two-and-a-half minutes,

 "I Don't Wanna Go Down to the Basement"

 is the album's longest track.

The Ramones 

contains a cover 

of the Chris Montez 

song

 "Let's Dance".

The Ramones

 peaked at No. 111

 on the US Billboard 200 

it received glowing reviews

 from the reputed critics 

who wrote about it.

 Many later deemed it a

 highly influential record, 

and it has since received 

many accolades,

 such as the top spot on

 Spin magazine's

 list of the

 "50 Most Essential Punk Records". 

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