Didn't Steve Jones end up playing bass on the record? You could argue that, given their main songwriter had been discarded by the time the album was recorded, they were more of a manufactured band than ever before; the band playing the music had only part of hand in its composition.
I prefer the sound of the Ramones - that remarkably fast, energetic guitar and the harmonies are a more pleasing contrast to my ear. And they wrote so many more great songs.
Coincidently, I went to the Ramones museum in Berlin today, which is two small rooms filled with memorabilia. Quite cute, and worth the €2 entry. I found the exhibit below funny:

Here's a puzzle for you: what are these notes for, and what do they mean? They were written by Joey Ramone before a German gig.
I also liked this Jack The Ripper-like cover:

I was introduced to Dee Dee King:

And this is probably one of the sillier pieces of merchandising that I've seen:

All in all, a great twenty minutes spent.