Hop Around

Hop Around
Studio album by
ReleasedJanuary 2000[1]
RecordedOctober–November 1998[1]
StudioSignal to Noise, Toronto
GenrePunk rock
Length32:35
Label
  • Other Peoples Music (North America)
  • Corazong Records (Europe)
  • Woimasointu (Finland)
ProducerChris Spedding
Dee Dee Ramone chronology
Zonked!
(1997)
Hop Around
(2000)
Greatest & Latest
(2000)
Alternative cover
2002 Finnish vinyl reissue
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Kerrang![3]

Hop Around is the fourth studio album by Dee Dee Ramone, released in 2000.[4] It was his final album to contain mostly original material before his death in 2002. The album features, among others, producer Chris Spedding on keyboards and guitar, drummer Billy Rogers, who notably played with Johnny Thunders and the Ramones,[5][6] and Ramone's wife Barbara on bass and vocals.

Background

Dee Dee Ramone and Chris Spedding met each other in Toronto in 1998 just before recording Hop Around. Spedding had been hired by Ramone's label, the Toronto-based Other Peoples Music, to produce the album. According to Spedding, they both enjoyed working together, and he found Ramone to be very professional, "which I didn't expect because he had a strange reputation." Spedding remembered that they worked quickly, "because Dee Dee uses a lot of energy in the studio and got bored quickly. Because of this I think we were well suited."[7]

Recorded in fall 1998, Hop Around was released over a year later in January 2000. Spedding: "Dee Dee was disappointed with the record company (OPM) delaying its release and then not promoting it properly. He wanted to rerecord everything again and put it out on a different label. He asked me to produce the new one. ... I dissuaded him from rerecording the songs from the previous album and we recorded what was to become our last album together, Greatest & Latest.[7]

Critical reception

Allmusic's Stewart Mason gave the album 1½ stars out of 5, describing it as "a pathetic mess made by a guy whose best work was over two decades in his past and who was reduced to Rutles-style imitations of those past glories." He went on to say that Chris Spedding's production gives the album "a crisp '70s punk sheen that's actually rather nice on its own merits but which really only points up the complete lack of inspiration in the songs."[2]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Dee Dee Ramone except where noted

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."I Don't Wanna Die in the Basement" 1:52
2."Mental Patient" 1:40
3."Now I Wanna Be Sedated" 2:21
4."Rock & Roll Vacation in L.A." 1:59
5."Get Out of this House" 1:35
6."38th & 8th" 2:38
7."Nothin'"Dave Bingham, Roger Mayne2:39
8."Hop Around" 1:32
9."What About Me" 2:26
10."I Saw a Skull Instead of My Face" 2:23
11."I Wanna You" 2:02
12."Master Plan" 2:29
13."Born to Lose"Johnny Thunders2:35
14."Hurtin' Kind"Doug McCutcheon2:20
15."I'm Horrible"Ramone, Barbara Ramone, Chris Spedding2:04
European edition
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."I Don't Wanna Die in the Basement" 1:52
2."Mental Patient" 1:40
3."Now I Wanna Be Sedated" 2:21
4."Rock & Roll Vacation in L.A." 1:59
5."Get Out of this House" 1:35
6."38th & 8th" 2:38
7."Nothin'"Bingham, Mayne2:39
8."Hop Around" 1:32
9."What About Me" 2:26
10."I Saw a Skull Instead of My Face" 2:23
11."I Wanna You" 2:02
12."Master Plan" 2:29
13."Chinese Rocks"Ramone, Richard Hell2:35
14."Hurtin' Kind"McCutcheon2:20
15."I'm Horrible"Ramone, Ramone, Spedding2:04
2002 Finnish vinyl reissue
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."I Don't Wanna Die in the Basement" 1:52
2."Mental Patient" 1:40
3."Now I Wanna Be Sedated" 2:21
4."Rock & Roll Vacation in L.A." (Alternate version) 1:59
5."Get Out of this House" 1:35
6."38th & 8th" 2:38
7."Nothin'"Bingham, Mayne2:39
8."Hop Around" (Alternate version) 1:32
9."What About Me" 2:26
10."I Saw a Skull Instead of My Face" 2:23
11."I Wanna You" 2:02
12."Master Plan" 2:29
13."Chinese Rocks"Ramone, Hell2:35
14."Hurtin' Kind"McCutcheon2:20
15."I'm Horrible"Ramone, Ramone, Spedding2:04
16."Be My Baby"Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich, Phil Spector 

[1]

Personnel

Credits adapted from the album's liner notes.[8]

  • Dee Dee Ramone - vocals, guitar
  • Barbara Ramone - bass, lead vocals on "Rock & Roll Vacation in L.A.", "Hop Around", "I Wanna You" and "Hurtin' Kind"
  • Billy Rogers - drums
  • Chris Spedding - mellotron, acetone organ, guitar
Additional musicians
Technical
  • Chris Spedding - production
  • Rob Sanzo - engineering
  • Peter J. Moore - mastering
  • Sasha - artwork
  • Beresford Egan - ink drawings
  • Tom Skudra - photography
  • Tara Fallaux - photography

References

  1. ^ a b c Chris Spedding – Sessiongraphy. chrisspedding.com. Retrieved December 6, 2018.
  2. ^ a b Mason, Stewart. "Hop Around - AllMusic review". AllMusic. Retrieved December 6, 2018.
  3. ^ Fortnam, Ian (February 12, 2000). "Albums". Kerrang!. No. 788. EMAP. p. 45.
  4. ^ Dee Dee Ramone Discography. deedeeramone.com. Retrieved on 8 March 2019.
  5. ^ Subterranean Jungle – the european pressings. ramonesonvinyl.blogspot.com. Retrieved on 8 March 2019.
  6. ^ Schinder, Scott; Schwartz, Andy (2008). Icons of Rock: An Encyclopedia of the Legends Who Changed Music Forever. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 9780313338458. Retrieved 8 March 2019.
  7. ^ a b Laitio-Ramone, Jari-Pekka (2004). Rock In Peace: Dee Dee And Joey Ramone. Tmi Ramoniac. p. 41. ISBN 9789519896519.
  8. ^ Hop Around (CD liner notes). Dee Dee Ramone. Corazong Records. 2000.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)