Paul McCartney - Ram (14 tracks) +Album Reviews

5 Star album, 3 star remaster

Wayne Klein | My Little Blue Window, USA | 11/13/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Paul McCartney took a lot of hits when The Beatles disbanded. One of the albums that took the biggest from his solo career was "Ram" which John Lennon dismissed and Roy Carr from the New Musical Express called "music for rooms with ducks on the wall", i.e., designed for domestic bliss. That ain't the way it is at all. "Ram" is one of McCartney's earliest sonic masterpieces. The songwriting, arrangements and performances are universally strong. From "Too Many People" (allegedly a veiled attack along with "Three Legs" and a random line from "Monkberry Moon Delight" that sounds like Paul's saying "have some of this Lennon" on the other three Beatles)to the amazing country rock of "Heart of the Country" every song could have held their own compared to John's or George's.

"Ram On" is a veiled reference to McCartney himself. Paul Ramon was one of the many pseudonyms McCartney used for himself while a member of The Beatles in his youth. "Eat at Home" celebrates the domestic bliss that Lennon would be celebrated for on his last great album "Double Fantasy". Paul was just a bit ahead of the times here. "Smile Away", "Dear Boy" (another supposed veiled dig at Lennon) both are stand outs as well. The former has a nice funky beat, the latter is McCartney on piano with some stunning backing vocals and a sharp, tricky arrangement.

As to the merits of this remaster, (I'm referring to the 1993 remaster import from Holland), it's good. It's not a huge improvement on the American version but it does have two bonus tracks one of which isn't available anywhere else. "Oh Woman Oh Why" is a minor McCartney rock gem worth investigating for hardcore Beatles/McCartney fans. The other bonus track the A side of the same single "Another Day" is available elsehwere. The definitive version is still the Gold disc mastered by Steve Hoffmann for the DCC release."

Revolution In The Head

Joseph Norman | 05/06/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"...This was McCartney's second solo outing and was released at the height of The Beatles bitter legal and personal battles. The album is littered with sly messages and digs at his former colleagues, the cover features a picture of 2 beetles copulating, and riled Lennon in particular, who went onto raise the stakes dramatically with his vitriolic attack on McCartney's persona with `How Do You Sleep' on `Imagine'.Ram finds McCartney at his most infuriating, the material ranges from the sublime to the ridiculous. Works of a true pop genius alongside songs that failed to hold the writers attention long enough for him to finish them. In this sense this album could be seen as blue print for his solo career.Highlights of a very varied bunch include the album's opener `Too Many People' his riposte to John and Yoko's endless preaching, including some wonderful driving guitar work. `Dear Boy' shows that his skill for melody and vocal harmonies remain undiminished on a song aimed at Linda's first husband. There's the 3-songs-in-1 of `Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey', a US no.1. `Back Seat of My Car' finds Macca under the influence of Glam Rock and then there's `Monkberry Moon Delight' featuring one of his most surreal lyrics
`So I sat in the attic, a piano up my nose, and the wind played a dreadful cantata, sore was I from the crack of an enemy's hose, and the dreadful sound of tomato'
All delivered in a powerful guttural scream, one of his finest vocals. A real hidden masterpiece.With these you get some ten-a-penny rockers and half formed songs. But despite these flaws, or perhaps because of them, Ram is the quintessential McCartney album. Brimming with creativity, invention and ideas, some complex, some no more than doodles. Ram allows us a rare insight into the creative process that has made McCartney one of our most celebrated and inconsistent songwriters."

Save your money

plutarch | a lonely highway | 11/25/2003

(3 out of 5 stars)

"If you're trying to decide which edition of _Ram_ to buy, you are strongly advised to stick with the much cheaper domestic version. EMI's 1993 "remastered" editions of the McCartney catalog (with the white covers) have to rank as one of the greatest scams ever foisted on the unsuspecting public. Listening to these discs, it's painfully obvious that they didn't bother doing new transfers from the analog tapes, and just had somebody play with the eq a little bit. Don't believe me? Do your own comparison... you'll want your money back. Unfortuantely, unless you can track down DCC's gold discs, the only albums in the McCartney catalog that have been remastered in the true sense of the word are the 2-disc reissue of _Band on the Run_ and the _Wingspan_ anthology.Now, carping aside, this is a pretty groovy album. Has its ups and downs, like much of Mac's post-beatle work, but definitely worth a listen."

Direct from Junior's farm...

D. Hartley | Seattle, WA USA | 06/22/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is the most "Beatlesque" of all of Paul's post-Fab Four output. This is also his most "English" album...kind of his "Waterloo Sunset"; songs that seem inspired by living the pastoral British rural life. I don't understand why many dismiss this album as a trifle..perhaps because it only yielded one "greatest hit"--"Uncle Albert"? At any rate, there isn't one weak cut one here, even the one or two-minute "filler" tunes that have an endearingly rough "home demo" sound (reminiscent of "McCartney"). There are cuts like "Back Seat Of My Car", with a melody line and vocal harmony arrangement that would make Brian Wilson weep; the great country-blues "Heart of the Country"; the dead-on Elvis vocal impression on the infectious rocker "Smile Away"...the list goes on and on. This British import reissue also wisely includes the A + B sides of the 45 that was released at the same time and didn't appear on the original album: "Another Day" and "Oh Woman Oh Why". Excellent remastering on this disc also--far superior to the domestic US version."

Has Grown in Stature

Benjamin C. Leonard | South Bend, Indiana United States | 02/26/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This is another one of those McCartney albums that was trashed by the critics when it first came out. Time has been very kind to it though and it really is a strong effort. One of the reasons for the bad reviews of any Paul album is because of his Beatle past. In some ways he will be haunted by it forever. This album came out shortly after the Beatles' breakup so the comparison was inevitable. If McCartney had never been a Beatle his sales would have suffered but perhaps his solo work would have been more accepted by the critics. Ironically, this is probably his most Beatle sounding album. Ram has some of the funniest and most ridiculous lyrics I have ever heard, but for me that is only a minor drawback. On very few albums can I say I like every track, but on this I do and with the addition of two bonus tracks, this makes Ram even stronger. Ram is loaded with catchy riffs and melodies and some truly wonderful vocals. Paul puts on his best Elvis imitation as he goes a little deeper in the throat and at times just blows me away. His voice is so expressive and he has the ability to change his style of singing from song to song. I have to hand it to Linda too; because she does give us some first rate harmony on several tracks. Ram is probably one of the top five best McCartney albums."

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