Recording and production

Prior to his producing the album, Daniel Rey had worked with lead singer Joey Ramone and lead guitarist Johnny Ramone separately to write songs on Too Tough to Die. ^[1] Drummer Richie Ramone, however, did not get along with Rey, saying that two would "butt heads" often due to the fact that he only liked writing songs with one other person. ^[2] Richie has explained that this may have indeed been the reason why he never cowrote any songs on the album with Joey, saying that Rey "always came with the package." ^[2] Recording sessions for Halfway to Sanity began in early 1987 at Intergalactic Studios in New York City, described by Rey as "a dingy place in midtown." ^[3] For the recording process, drums, guitars, and bass were all recorded earlier in the afternoon, whereas the vocal track was always recorded later in the evening with the instrumentals already played. Rey explained that they did this because "it was quicker to learn songs without any vocal, so they did." ^[4] Joey, however, wanted to work out "how to phrase his singing" and was not a fan of this method of recording. ^[4]

Johnny insisted that no one involved with the recording sessions would listen to Rey, not letting him make decisions that needed to made by him as a the album's producer. He pointed out that Joey and Richie made it hard for the producer because they wanted to remix or change tracks. ^[5] Richie, however, stated thet Johnny, along with their manager Gary Kurfirst, made the album process difficult by wanting the band to spend as little money possible. He explained that he himself wanted to be more radio-friendly and promote more so they might have a hit album, but Johnny and Kurfirst didn't think it would make a difference. Richie would later recall: "Why would you not want an album to be as successful as it could be? Gary Kurfirst seemed to want to keep the Ramones an underground band, I guess his thinking was, he'd profit more." ^[6]

The band's publicist Ida Langsam agreed that the members and record company all felt the need to keep a strict budget on recording, production, and promotion of the Ramones' music. She pointed out that just because much of their album process was done "cut-rate," it did not mean that there performance on the album was not done well, but rather they were trying to find people and places who could do things cheaper, which was the reason the were recording at Intergalactic Studios as they did in their previous album, Animal Boy. ^[7] Langsam went on to say that the Ramones were "never afforded the respect a band of their caliber should have," insisting that other band that were "much less worthy had more respect afforded them" were given more respect. "Everybody thought of them as the local band," she continued, "everybody's friends—'when are you going to break, when are you going to get big, when are you going to reach stardom?'" ^[7]

Rey claimed that the band was very impatient during the album process, and noted that members, especially Johnny and Joey, weren't getting along. "John was fast in the studio," recalls George Tabb, who was recording with his band the False Prophets at Intergalactic Studios at the same time as the Ramones recorded Halfway to Sanity. He called it humorous, "because John would be going, 'Enough, enough, it sounds right.' And Joey, the artist, would go, 'I gotta do my vocals, I gotta do my vocals,' and the drummer's going, 'But my drums!' Johnny was like, 'Fuck it. It's the Ramones. It is what it is and comes out like that.' And he was right. It was the Ramones. He was a good businessman about it." ^[3]

Marketing and promotion

Photography for the album was done by George DuBose, who had also done photography for the band's previous three releases: Subterranean Jungle, Too Tough to Die, and Animal Boy. ^[8] The front cover's picture was taken in Chinatown, New York City, in an old stairwell where they had DuBose's cousin and his cousin's friend—who are credited as "Husky Bros." on the Halfway to Sanity liner notes— ^[9]blocked off the crowd while the photo session was in place. By 4:30 pm, DuBose and other crew members had set up red lighting and a fog machine. After DuBose's camera went through three reels of photos, Johnny insisted that was enough, to which DuBose replied that the record company was paying him a lot of money for the shoot, so they should make it worth while. ^[10] The photosession, however, only lasted about ten minutes, ^[9] and was done in a poorly lit area, which Johnny said was "pretty good not to make us look old, and it was getting harder and harder." ^[5] The back cover photograph was also shot by DuBose, which features green tombstones in a Jewish cemetery. He also took the inner sleeve photos, which depict "Peking ducks hanging in the window of a restaurant, with glaze dripping off their tails, and we used them for the inner sleeve," according to DuBose. ^[11]

The kids are stage diving and moshing on each other's shoulders: two things the Ramones reviled in real life. "They hated it and they tried to stop it as much as possible, affirms Arturo "but it would happen. Kids are really resourceful. Once the lawsuits started coming in, a lot of clubs tried to ban it, too. Sometimes the security made it difficult for them, you know. Once, we were in Tijuana--and of coursem in Tiuana, who cares! They were jumping from a balcony that was atleast 20 feet high. Jumping into the crowd. It was too much. It was great."

Lyrics and composition

The album's opening track, "I Wanna Live," features heavy feedback and a musical style closer to hard rock than punk. ^[12] Described by author Dave Thompson as similar to contemporary " romantic melodies," ^[13] the song was written by Dee Dee, who quoted the lyrics "As I load my pistol/Fine German steel," years later in an photo session with Ken Hinchey and Mike Vought as he started to load a gun. ^[14] The song clocks in at two minutes and thirty-nine seconds, and despite its shorter length, was called "too long" by music journalist Everett True. ^[15] Both the next track, "Bob 'Til You Drop," and the fifth track, "Go Lil' Camaro Go," were described by True as "dire 'fun,'" saying it sounded "as if they've been tossed off in a couple seconds—and probablt were" and that Joey sang with a "drink-ravaged voice." ^[16] Thompson wrote that "Go Lil' Camaro Go," a duet with Blondie's Debbie Harry, had a style similar to bubblegum pop. ^{[13] [17]} Track three, "Garden in Serenity," incorporates elements used in crossover thrash. ^[18] The next track is "Weasel Face," written by Dee Dee and Johnny, regarding a fan "who had a real weasel face," Johnny recalled. ^[5] "He came to all our gigs in the South; he followed us around. I think he was from Mississippi." ^[5] Side A is concluded with Richie's "I Know Better," which, along with "Go Lil' Camaro Go," was described by AllMusic reviewer Stephen Thomas Erlewine to have a "solid" hook.

Joey wrote the opening track for Side B, "Death of Me," as well as "A Real Cool Time," which True said was a tribute to "summer beach" parties and "New York Cat Clubs," and compared the melody line to The Who's " The Kids Are Alright." ^[19] The album's longest song is track number eleven, "Bye Bye Baby" at four minutes and thirty-three seconds. It was described as a "tear-jerking" piece by True, and was influenced by 50's/early 60's girl groups. ^[20] He wrote that it features a "beautiful chiming guitar sound" that "stands out like a sore thumb among" compared to the other songs on the album, because Joey "sings instead of shouting." ^[20] The song was deemed " Phil Spector-ish" in the WEG Publication's Digital Audio and Compact Disc Review. ^[17] It also mentioned that the album's final track, "Worm Man," had a " hardcore punk thrashing" style, ^[17] and True said it was similar to some material by Black Flag. ^[19]

Reception

^{[21] [22]}

TEXT

"Halfway to Sanity had even less to offer than the mediocre Animal Boy. Hampered by the Ramones' lack of direction and limited financial resources, [producer Daniel] Rey strugged to impart his natural enthusiasm for the band." He would later say that "I Wanna Live," "Go Lil' Camaro Go," and "Bop 'Til You Drop" were "Ramones-by-numbers, imprinted with the hallmark of a band contractually obligated to make just another album." Dick Porter ^[23]

"Halfway to Sanity boasted a tougher sound and a more confident overall vibe, thank in part to new producer Daniel Rey, who's been a member of the CBGB punk combo Shrapnel. Dee Dee once again provided some strong songwriting, including "I Wanna Live" and "Garden of Serenity," on which the bassist channeled his personal dilemmas into compellingly crafted songs. After completing work on Halfway to Sanity, Richie Ramone (who contibuted two compoitions to the album) abruptly quit following a salary dispute. Blondie's Clem Burke, temporarily renamed Elvis Ramone, stepped in for a couple shows, before Marky Ramone, now clean and sober, returened to the Ramones' drum seat, where he would remain for the remainder of the band's existence. ^[24]

"This was recorded during a stressful time in the Ramones. Joey and Richie made it hard for Aniel Rey, who was producing the album. They kept wanting to change things and remix songs… Dee Dee and I wrote "Weasel Face" about a guy who had a real weasel face. He came to all our gigs in the South; he followed us around. I think he was from Mississippi. The tracks on this one aren't the best. I always had a problem bringing songs into the band unless I was sure he were going to be very good. I was very selective because I didn't want to embarrass myself. The other guys brought in things that sucked, but they acted like they were great. We shot the album cover in New York City's Chinatown, keeping it dark. It had to be pretty good not to make us look old, and it was getting harder and harder. Also, Dee was credited as bass player here but didn't play on the album. Daniel played his parts. Debbie Harry did guest backing vocals on "Go Lil' Camaro Go" ^[25]

Everette True: "Bye Bye Baby," which is the album's longest song at four minutes and thirty-three seconds, was described as a "tear-jerking" piece by True, and was influenced by 50's/early 60's girl groups. True wrote that it features a "beautiful chiming guitar sound" that "stands out like a sore thumb among" compared to the other songs on the album, because Joey "sings instead of shouting" Joey wrote "A Real Cool Time" which True said was a tribute to "summer beach" parties and "New York Cat Clubs," and compared the melody line to The Who's " The Kids Are Alright."

first british single with indian giver "Indian Giver" Joey "unfortunately sounding like English comedian Vic Reeves doing his "club singer" turn. "Life Goes On" is a synthetic, drum machine-sound and a throwaway, chorus clealy lifted from 
Slade's "
Cum On Feel the Noize"

Johnny: "There were problems between different people. The production, Richie. It was a real pain in the ass to be doing it. Nobody would listen to Daniel, they weren't letting Daniel do what he wanted and certain people were complaining. It was very difficult." Recording on Halfway to Sanity started in early 1987, again at Intergalactic Studios: saving money was high on the list of priorities: "It was a dingy place in midtownthat somebody got a deal at. It's long gone now," Rey said. The band laid down the basic tracks in the afternoon, and Joey recorded his voice in the evening. It was quicker to learn songs without any vocal, so they did--even though Joey wanted to work out how to phrase his singing. "The other guys were very impatient," Rey admits. "They weren't really getting along at that point. Johnny and Joey had some problems."

Despite Halfway to Sanity being one of Rey's favorite Ramones albums, it's a low-point in their career: not Rey's fault--he did the best he could with the material he was given, and at least he brought a consistency back to the sound--

but Joey's songwriting had vitually dried up, and Dee Dee was churning out lyrics without any thought or insight. Plus, there was Johnny's new slick style of guitar-playing to contend with: the Ramones might've been tring to imitate hardcore punk but they were doing it without any of the passion or power of their late seventies line-up. "There was a real money crunch going on," says Ida Langsam. "Everybody was always worried about spending money with the Ramones--everything was always done cut-rate. It doesn't mean it wasn't done well. It was like, 'where can I find to do it for less, who can we find to do it for less?' They were never afforded the respect the band of their calibre should have, and other bands much less worthy had more respect afforded them. Everybody thought of them as the local band, everybody's friends--when are you going to break, when are you going to get big, when are you going to reach stardom?"

"Bob 'Til You Drop" and "Go Lil' Camaro Go" were described by author Everette True as "die 'fun'" and saying they "sound as if they've been tossed off in a couple seconds--and probablt were. Still, at least the bassist had enough with to poke fun at his own situation: "You tried and trie, but you're a flop, youre 35 still pushing a mop," Joey sang in his drink-ravaged voice on the former. "John was fast in the studio," recalls George Tabb, who was also recording at Intergalactic during the Halfway to Sanity sessions, with his band False Prophets. "It was the funniest thing because John would be going, 'Enough, enough, it sounds right.' And Joey, the artist, would go, 'I gotta do my vocals, I gotta do my vocals,' and the drummer's going, 'But my drums!' Johnny was like, 'Fuck it. It's the Ramones. It is what it is and comes out like that.' And he was right. It was the Ramones. He was a good businessman about it." Two other songs stand out--both Daniel Rey/ Dee Dee Ramone compositions. The first, "I Wanna Live" is a feedback-drenched slice of hard rock that moves along at a fair lick. The lines "As I load my pistol/Fine German steel," were later echoed in an interview Dee Dee gave to Ken Hinchey and Mike Vought when the bassist started loading a live clip into his rifle for a photo session. Even at 2'39", the song is too long, though. It was the album's second UK single--the video saw the band attempting to cash in on the hardcore craze, with grainy black and white footage of the Ramones on tour: in their van, looking tired, on stage with skinheads dancing and Joey sporting a Corrosion of Conformity T-shirt and that damn leather glove again. The kids are stage diving and moshing on each other's shoulders: two things the Ramones reviled in real life. "They hated it and they tried to stop it as much as possible, affirms Arturo "but it would happen. Kids are really resourceful. Once the lawsuits started coming in, a lot of clubs tried to ban it, too. Sometimes the security made it difficult for them, you know. Once, we were in Tijuana--and of coursem in Tiuana, who cares! They were jumping from a balcony that was atleast 20 feet high. Jumping into the crowd. It was too much. It was great."

"Garden in Serenity" is a reasonable attempt at hardcore thrash--certainly better than side two's dreadful, stupid stupid, "I Lost My Mind" where Dee Dee starts imitating English punks like Johnny Rotten with his voice, clearly bored by the song's lack of anything, and the two Richie Ramone songs "I Know Better" and "I'm Not Jesus." The last, a Black Flag soundalike would've worked better with Dee Dee singing.

For the sleeve, George DuBose took the Ramones to Chinatown, where they set up in an old stairwell. "We got my cousin and his buddy to patrol the crowd," Dubose said. (credited as Husky Bros. on album.) "We had red lights set up, a smoke machine, everything ready at 4:30 pm. After three reels, Johnny says, 'That's enough.' I tell him that Warner Bros. are paying me a shit load of money, but he's not having it. Monte goes, 'If that's all you want to do, that's all you get. You're covered. I'm your witness.' The whole shoot took about 10 minutes. Then I had to go to the Jewish cemetery and shoot some green tombstones for the back cover. I also photographed Peking ducks hanging in the window of a restaurant, with glaze dripping off their tails, and we used them for the inner sleeve.