The concept looks great on paper. Combine the famed "Wall of Sound" producer Phil Spector with the three-chord, three-minute, speed-laced ditties of the Ramones--and it sounds even better on vinyl. The Ramones never needed any help sounding massive, but Spector's production brings out subtleties hidden within, making Johnny's lone Mosrite guitar blaze like a bomb squadron, coaxing some evocative and emotional singing from Joey, even (gasp!) shading some of the songs with strings--punk-rock sacrilege in those days. The Ramones live up to the task by writing some of their best--and most overlooked--songs to date. "Rock & Roll High School" and "Do You Remember Rock & Roll Radio?" are exhilarating (and somewhat nostalgic) bids for commercial recognition. Even the covers here--"Baby, I Love You" and "Chinese Rocks"--transcend the original source and become solid members of the Ramones' community of songs. Though they've been accused of rewriting the same album over and over, End of the Century proves the Ramones were much smarter, more adventurous, and more innovative than we'd ever expected.

--Tod Nelson