they were expecting, Sire Records contacted the producers of 1978's Road to Ruin: Ed Stasium and ex-band member Tommy Ramone. Too Tough to Die has less production value than previous recordings by the Ramones. Because critics often disapproved of the sound quality on End of the Century and Pleasant Dreams, the band leaned towards a harsher sound. Too Tough to Die was also the first of three studio albums that were licensed from Sire Records to the independent record label Beggars Banquet Records for release in the UK. The deal saw the group's work promoted better and resulted placings on the UK album and singles charts. The group had not charted in the UK since 1980's End of the Century. Cover art The cover photo for the album was taken by photographer George DuBose in a tunnel in Central Park, New York City, near the Central Park Zoo. In the photo, the band members are standing side-by-side underneath an underpass arch, with their dark silhouettes illuminated in the background with blue lighting and dry ice fog. Johnny wanted the artwork to conceptually refer to the film A Clockwork Orange, released in 1971. DuBose relates: "Johnny wanted a picture that would evoke memories of the gang in A Clockwork Orange." DuBose also stated that the band did not need their faces on the cover because they had grown significantly in popularity; however, he originally intended to include their faces. The photograph on the album cover was a "lucky accident" after DuBose's flashes failed to fire and he unintentionally shot the band members in silhouette. Music and compositions Just as the recording methods resembled that of the band's 1970s era, the musical style which they produced also favored the band's earlier approach to punk rock. Even though "Howling at the Moon (Sha-La-La)" featured a synthpop feel, the overall sound leaned more toward heavy metal music rather than pop music, which had been a major focus of the band's writing process throughout the 1980s. Authors Scott Schinder and Andy Schwartz explained: Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic wrote that the album uses the "big guitar riffs" featured on Subterranean Jungle and transfigures them to be "shorter and heavier." The songs featured on the album are mostly rather short and have a considerably fast tempo, which was a typical quality of the band's early work. The album features the only instrumental piece which the band