When Ram came out, I was just going on 1 years old. I don't remember this release when it was current obviously, but I have come to be a tremendous fan of this album.
Ram is Paul's second solo release since the breakup of the Beatles after his first solo effort, McCartney, just a little bit over a year ago. Ram was released in May of 1971, and in my opinion, it still sounds very fresh and current. To my ears, the music never sounds dated to early 70's or to any other decade.
Music critics did not get this album right away, especially in the UK. Even Rolling Stone magazine, (big fans of The Beatles) when reviewing this disc contain quotes such as "the nadir in the decomposition of Sixties rock thus far," "incredibly inconsequential," and "monumentally irrelevant." Pretty harsh, but I could sort of understand what they mean. This album does take more than one or two listens to understand the genius of it. This album is so unlike anything Paul McCartney has done before in his career, and it is not something you would expect from such a prolific song writer.
This album is very rough, very emotional, and seems to try to prove a point.
A couple of the songs are credited to Paul & Linda McCartney, and why not? The album is titled Ram by Paul & Linda McCartney. His ex-bandmates, George, John and Ringo (and their manager Allen Klein) had argued to him and in court, that it's impossible that Linda had contributed to any of Ram's compositions. Of course, the reason that they sought legal action, since The Beatles were still under contract to be The Beatles until 1978 or something like that, they would still get a piece of the McCartney money pie whenever he released a hit album. Although this album spent about five months in the top ten here in the States, he hadn't a major hit album for three more years, that's when his successful Band On The Run was released. I would guess that it worked both ways, and since George Harrison already had a hit album All Things Must Pass (November 1970) and soon John Lennon with Imagine (September 1971), maybe they sort of seen this move as unfair.
You see, since Linda is credited as a songwriter on 6 of the 12 songs, that money goes to Linda, and totally bypasses The Beatles and/or the evil Allen Klein.
McCartney's first solo album, McCartney had no outside musicians. It was just all Paul & Linda. On Ram, he had three other musicians:
Denny Seiwell (drums)
David Spinoza (guitars)
Hugh McCracken (guitars)
In any case, the music speaks for itself. Here are the songs:
Too Many People is a great opener. It's a heavy acoustic number, with some electric leads throughout the song. It has lyrics, that some believe to be aimed at John Lennon:
♫"That was your first mistake,
You took your lucky break
And broke it in two.
Now what has become of you?
You broke it in two, yeah"♫
If this is true, these lyrics suggest that Paul is sort of saying, "Now what can you do? Without me, you'll be nothing. I told you so."
This was never confirmed by McCartney, of course, in fact I think this claim may have been started by John Lennon.
Lennon also stated that he wasn't sure if Three Legs was another dig at him, but at least it shows one true thing; Lennon was a fan of McCartney's music, and it is probably safe to assume, that the truth is, that it was a mutual admiration.
Three Legs sort of has a rockabilly feel, with real heavy bridges. Paul sort of does his Elvis impersonation during the verses. I love the way Paul takes something old, and makes it new the only way he can.
Ram On has a very fun melody to sing along with. It starts off with a count in and a small guitar, or a ukulele and you hear a sudden stop. Then you hear Paul say, "Take two" and then the songs starts properly. This song has only one lyric repeated, but it never gets dull or old.
♫"Ram on give your heart to somebody
soon right away, right away"♫
John Lennon definitely heard insults pointed at himself in the lyrics for Dear Boy. I'm not sure what lyrics he is referring to, but it's possible it's the whole song. The lyrics are about a man who found a great woman, and then let her go for another lesser woman. If John is correct, then this is referring to Cynthia, his first wife and the ever-present Yoko Ono as the lesser woman. That is very harsh, if it is true. But then again, you must take into account John's heroin-induced paranoia, especially when it comes to Yoko Ono. No wonder why he retaliated so harshly in his upcoming album in the song How Do You Sleep?
Here is a sample of lyrics:
♫"I hope you never know, dear boy,
how much you missed,
And even when you fall in love,
Dear boy, it won't be half as good as this
I hope you never know how much you missed, dear boy."♫
The song is played with quiet bouncy piano chords, and almost a whispery voice from McCartney.
The song is hypnotically addicting as well as some other songs here.
The big single of this album is Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey. The song is one of the strangest ever composed, yet it was so well received by fans, occasional listeners and critics alike. The music is almost symphonic, and Paul must of heard it as well as he utilized the New York Philharmonic Orchestra to bring out the beauty of this track. The lyrics are just so abstract, that they really do not make any sense, yet they tell a sensical story.
♫"Admiral Halsey notified me
He had to have a berth or he couldn't get to sea
I had another look and I had a cup of tea and butter pie
(The butter wouldn't melt so I put it in the pie)".♫
See what I mean? The Hands Across The Water part of the song makes the track whole and thoroughly enjoyable.
I love the song Smile Away, yet if there had to be a weakest track on the album, I suppose this would be it. It's not that the song is poorly written or anything, but it's just that all of the other songs are almost as equally as amazing. It sounds as if Paul had written the song relatively quick compared to the rest of the album. It is one of these three chord progression type of rock song. I'm glad it is included on the album. The lyrics are stupid, like ones you would make up on the spot, but Paul still makes it fun to sing a long to. There is really only one verse and chorus worth of lyrics:
♫"I walking down the street the other day
Who did I meet
I met a friend of mine and he did say
Man I can smell your feet a mile
away
Smile away, smile away, smile away, yeah smile away
Smile away, smile away, smile away, yeah smile away".♫
Heart Of The Country makes me visualize Paul riding on a horse and singing this song. This is another acoustic guitar song. This song sounds very demo like, and it reminds me of his McCartney album from the year before.
Well, speaking of strange music and lyrics, take a listen to the radical and off the wall Monkberry Moon Delight. First off, with the title, what in the world is a Monkberry? I think Paul made it up.
This is a very heavy song, with prominent piano and a guitar run supplying the mood. Paul's vocals sound as if his throat is in shreds.
On this song, (and I should say most of them on this album), the background vocals is a part of what makes this song rock. People may say awful things about Linda McCartney's singing, but as a backup vocalist for Paul, she is super effective. She's always in key, and very strong voiced.
On this particular song, Linda's daughter Heather also supplied background vocals.
Here is a small sample of the lyrics for Monkberry Moon Delight:
♫" Ketchup (ketchup)
Soup and puree (Soup and puree),
Don’t get left behind (get left behind)...
When a rattle of rats had awoken,
The sinews, the nerves and the veins.
My piano was boldly outspoken, in attempts to repeat its refrain.
So I stood with a knot in my stomach,
And I gazed at that terrible sight
Of two youngsters concealed in a barrel,
Sucking monkberry moon delight." ♫
A straight ahead rock song will be found on every McCartney release. On this album, Eat At Home is the one song.
This song is in the same vein as Helen Wheels from Band On The Run. This is also one of the only songs with a prominent electric guitar. As I write this review and listen to the CD, I notice now just how much of this album is acoustic guitar and/or piano.
Somewhere I read in a magazine or a Paul McCartney bio or somewhere, when they described the next song, Long Haired Lady, they used the word haunting. I can sort of see what they mean, the chorus sort of gives a haunting feeling. Paul sort of drags out the words on the chorus:
♫"Loooong haaaaired-....Laaaadyyyyyyy".♫
Again the background vocals play a major part in this song's charm. I don't know whether Linda did actually write any songs on this disc, but her contribution is very much felt and appreciated.
Ram On makes a second appearance, but in a much shortened (under a minute) yet identical rendition as the earlier version. This song has a different ending, with different lyrics. The lyrics are:
♫"Look who's coming 'round, that corner
Look who's coming 'round that bend"♫
The reason why that's cool, is because on his next LP release, (after Wild Life), Red Rose Speedway, the opening lyrics are identical as the first song Big Barn Bed begins.
The Back Seat Of My Car is a masterpiece. It is sort of reminiscent of Abbey Road. This song could have easily fit into the side two segue. Again, Paul uses the New York Philharmonic Orchestra. This song was released in the UK as a single, I'm not sure how well it did there. This has always been a favorite of mine.
Released the same year as Ram is the amazing single Another Day. It could have easily fit on this album, in fact now it is included on many versions of this
CD release as a bonus track.
I feel John Lennon was a bit jealous of such a nicely written song, since he made mention of it in his venomous, yet meritless How Do You Sleep?.
I was not old enough to appreciate this album when it first came out, but the impression I get is that it took people a few hundred listens to let the splendor of this album to sink in to their ears and heads.
I know it took me until about 1988 to give it a fair shot.
Since this album is really the only one of Paul's that has been revisited in a way by Paul himself, I believe that it must be one of Paul's proudest moment in his career. See his Thrillington release from 1977. It is an album that performs all of the songs off of Ram, yet symphonically.
It's a shame he ignores it totally when it comes time to tour.
the songs
1. Too Many People
2. 3 Legs
3. Ram On
4. Dear Boy
5. Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey
6. Smile Away
7. Heart of the Country
8. Monkberry Moon Delight
9. Eat At Home
10. Long Haired Lady
11. Ram On
12. The Backseat of My Car
13. Another Day (Bonus Track)
♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦More Beatles-related Epinions from Scapp70♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦
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