Summary:Paul and Linda McCartney's 1971 album composed at their farm in Scotland is re-released as a four CD/DVD set that includes the original mono recording, the original 12-track album, 1977's Thrillington (an instrumental cover of Ram by Paul under the pseudonym of Percy "Thrills" Thrillington),Paul and Linda McCartney's 1971 album composed at their farm in Scotland is re-released as a four CD/DVD set that includes the original mono recording, the original 12-track album, 1977's Thrillington (an instrumental cover of Ram by Paul under the pseudonym of Percy "Thrills" Thrillington), and a bonus disc of b-sides and unreleased mixes.…Expand
These songs may not be self-styled major statements, but they are endearing and enduring, as is Ram itself, which seems like a more unique, exquisite pleasure with each passing year. Hardcore fans will definitely find the big set to be a worthwhile investment.
This album was criminally under-appreciated in it's day, because most critics I don't think "got" what Paul was trying to do here. InThis album was criminally under-appreciated in it's day, because most critics I don't think "got" what Paul was trying to do here. In contrast to Lennon's "important statement" Plastic Ono Band, and Harrison's career defining epic "All things Must Pass", this was just Paul largely recording independently signing songs that superficially didn't appear to be about anything in particular. How could the writer largely responsible for Abbey Road and Sgt. Peppers release something that didn't make some sort of grand sixties statement?
But that's part of the genius of this album and why it deserves to be in the pantheon of "Greatest former Beatle solo projects". Ram is arguably the first indi-pop album, that doesn't try to be anything more than it is. Paul's musical talents are brilliantly understated on this album, songs like "Ram on" "Dear Boy" and "Back seat of my car" get under your skin without even really trying. The lyrics have some coded (and not so coded) shots at his former bandmates, but they're largely just a celebration of his new life with Linda+ Kids on the farm. In many ways, by not trying to make a "grand post-60's statement", it sounds less dated than some of Lennon's blatant political messages he was releasing around this time. It's a shame this album received the critical backlash that it did when it came out, because Paul reversed course almost immediately and dedicated the rest of this decade and the 80's making music that tried so hard to be liked. It's not really until the late 90's and early 00's that Paul felt comfortable making albums that are comparable to this again.…Expand
I wasn't a big fan of any of the Beatles when they broke up. Later, especially after John died, I started going into their solo works, andI wasn't a big fan of any of the Beatles when they broke up. Later, especially after John died, I started going into their solo works, and after listening to John's work after the Beatles, I started getting into George's work, and now Paul's. The first two re-issues "Band on the Run," and now "Ram" have left me so amazed that Paul released such good music right after the Beatles. This album "Ram" is way up there in the Metacritic charts and deservedly so. It's a classic. I enjoy listening to the newly re-mastered album alone. John said in an interview once that throughout his musical career, he picked Paul and Yoko to work with on his music (at any given time), and that those were very good people to work with. I agree!…Expand
For the longest time "Abbey Road" by the Beatles was my favorite album of all time, it is rock n' roll's quintessential swan song. But thereFor the longest time "Abbey Road" by the Beatles was my favorite album of all time, it is rock n' roll's quintessential swan song. But there was something that kind of bothered me in "Abbey Road": it's too perfect. Absolutely wonderful without a doubt, but the lack of the "bare bones factor" i appreciate so much in music just distanced me from it. And then i heard "Ram". By the time i heard that record i already had heard the essential Post-Beatles albums ("all things must pass", "plastic ono band", "band on the run", etc.) and the Beatles discography of course but when i came i cross this one, with such a sloppy, childish front cover i felt intrigued and when i heard the leading single "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey" i knew THAT was the purest McCartney i've ever heard and yet it was so refreshingly new in the context of his work as a songwriter. My curiosity peaked and i finally heard the album. It is, dare i say it, the most brilliant set of songs McCartney has ever released. The jaw-dropping blend of flawless musicianship and a "i don't give a damn" attitude in the overall sound of the album makes it miles ahead record from anything any pop/rock musician was doing at the time. Mind you, this was released in 1971 and this album might as well be the birth of indie pop. It is full of amazing musical ideas and some of the most honest and unpretentious lyricism McCartney has ever put on paper. It is pure domestic bliss, done by one of popular music's most gifted artists. So unapologetic about what it's trying to convey and full of brilliant melodies wrapped up in an unique sound in the context of McCartney's discography and popular music in general at the time. It is an imperfectly perfect album.
In the beginning i mentioned "Abbey Road" cause Ram's grander moments prove that Paul was probably one of the main architects of the Abbey Road Sound, but the key difference between Ram and Abbey Road is that Ram shows a much more joyful approach to mistakes, not just sound wise but also pen wise. It doesn't fear the carefree mindset that family life and music can give someone and it takes chances on so called lazier approach of song-crafting, but it no way sounds like it's "just another album that has to be recorded". This album on the hands of lesser artists would have been a disaster (and some major critics insist this is a disaster), but Paul is anything but lesser, cause nothing on "Ram" seems calculated. It is genuine and blissful and it is Paul's magnum opus in his solo career and i hope, soon enough, it may occupy his deserved spot in the "classic albums pantheon". An absolute masterpiece...…Expand
This is the sound of a man rediscovering his love for life. The joy and exuberance of it all is astounding -- it's music as pure play, theThis is the sound of a man rediscovering his love for life. The joy and exuberance of it all is astounding -- it's music as pure play, the studio as McCartney's sand-box. At every moment he's experimenting with sounds, textures, song structures, words (check out the latter-day nonsense poetry of "Monkberry Moon Delight") and quite literally rediscovering his voice (the great rock vocal of "Monkberry," the scat singing on "Heart of the Country," the whoops and yelps that one has to go far back in the Beatles catalogue to find the likes of). The weight that had fallen on McCartney's shoulders over the previous few years is well-documented, visible in the Let it Be movie for all to see, written between the lines of Side Two of Abbey Road. Boy, you're going to carry that weight a long time, he'd said. But Ram is the sound of the weight dropping, of McCartney recapturing a spirit he'd last shown on Sgt. Pepper and has been trying recapture again ever since, most recently as The Fireman. We have Linda and the kids to thank for all this, as McCartney clearly knew: witness the four great love songs to Linda, the album art, and the homespun harmony of their voices. Ram is a great document of life, love, and the joys of music, all the better for its timing and for the contrast it makes with the work (just as excellent in its way of course) of Lennon and Harrison at this time.…Expand
"Ram" is my favourite post Beatles McCartney release. If it was released today it would essentially be classed as an indie pop album but such"Ram" is my favourite post Beatles McCartney release. If it was released today it would essentially be classed as an indie pop album but such a tag would do it a disservice. This record may have the sound of a pop record and it certainly has the lyrical depth of one but behind this initial impression is some serious musical complexity. McCartney experiments and pushes himself in a way that just wasn't appreciated at all at the time. I guess at the time of release it was being compared to Harrisons' masterpiece "All Things Must Pass" and Lennon's primal and soul baring "Plastic Ono Band". Very little can compare to those two records and to be fair, "Ram" also struggles next to them. That said, McCartney made a completely different record to either of those and one could argue that with the passing of time, his work here on "Ram" was every bit as influential on shaping the pop music that followed. Universally savaged by the critics at the time (which in itself tells you all you need to know about music critics), the passing of time has allowed people to focus on the record rather than which Beatle you were siding with after the break up. A gem.…Expand
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