10 Rock "Sellout" Albums That Are Actually Really Good
7. End of the Century - The Ramones
The art of selling out has never felt more egregious than in the punk rock community. After all, since punk has always been about playing from the heart without any real frills, how is that going to work if the musicians are just focusing on cashing in? That being said, the Ramones actually gave it a pretty fair shot on End of the Century.
While many punk diehards may have been horrified at the prospect of working with Phil Spector on an album, the Ramones' sound was always indebted to the bubblegum pop of old, just stretched to its most aggressive conclusion. And on the surface, that's pretty much what this is, with the four New York natives turning in some pretty stellar takes on traditional rock and roll, even going so far as to include a cover of the classic Baby, I Love You.
That's not to say that this record went off without a hitch, with almost every single member clashing with Spector in the process of making the record. On the other side of things, tracks like Rock and Roll High School and the Return of Jackie and Judy still deserve to be celebrated in the Ramones catalog just as much as Blitzkrieg Bop and Rockaway Beach. Even though selling out may be a bad word by punk standards, the Ramones' take on poppier material is rarely ever a bad thing.