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From the Vault...
10/14/2001
#755 |
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info
Paul & Linda Mccartney
"Ram"
© Capitol Records
Year of Release: 1971
Rating:
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track listing
Too Many People
3 Legs
Ram On
Dear Boy
Uncle Albert/
Admiral Halsey
Smile Away
Heart Of The Country
Monkberry
Moon Delight
Eat At Home
Long Haired Lady
Ram On (reprise)
The Back Seat
Of My Car
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Paul & Linda Mccartney
"Ram"
In recent months, there has been two albums reviewed here on this website
that compares their musical style to the one Sir Paul McCartney:
XTC (07/29/2001), and The Raspberries
(08/12/2001). Andy Partridge of XTC and Eric Carmen of The Raspberries
do bear a resemblance vocally and style to the solo McCartney; and as
mentioned in im my Raspberries review:
"With two Beatles reviews already chosen during the past 12 months, maybe
hopefully there's a good chance that a Paul McCartney solo release will
be reviewed here on the WSVNRadio website. (The previous McCartney solo release
mentioned on this site was Wings' Greatest, in October, 1996.)"
It was this week in 1996 where Paul McCartney was chosen... It's great
to have you back, Paul.
1971's Ram (with wife Linda) is truly one of the best releases
to recommend for the curious (solo) McCartney fan. A lot of childhood
memories exists for this album for me, as I remember very distinctly the #1
song from this album, "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey," and hearing that
this song was recorded by The Beatles, yet at that time in 1971, they had broken
up, and each Beatle was on their own. In fact, many of these songs could
easily had been recorded by the fab four, only if they had remained together.
"Too Many People" may have focused towards the breakup of The Beatles,
where too many people getting caught in the aftermath of success, with lyrics
such as: "Too Many People going underground / Too many reaching for the piece
of cake... / Too many looking for that lucky break" Maybe the success of the
Beatles had stretched it's limits. But we can only imagine if John, Paul, George
and Ringo had stayed together throughout the next decades.
Picture the bluesy "3 Legs" on The Beatles' Let It Be --
they were getting back to their roots, and "3 Legs" would have been a
perfect reminder of 3-chord boogies, as they had played before at the Cavern
Club in the early 1960s. Oh, if the Beatles only got back together... get
back to where they once belonged...
"Ram On" has the nice melodies of another Beatle song, "Mother
Nature's Son," yet "Ram On" and it's reprise is a bit more upbeat
than that of Paul's great tune from The White Album. "Dear Boy"
definitely defines Paul on his own, with his pop-ditty style.
We can also imagine "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey" by The Beatles
for a second... With the vocal "sound effects," we can imagine John Lennon
reciting those silly lip sound effects, and him also, doing the line "We're
so sorry / Uncle Albert / ..." And speaking of John Lennon, the blues
rock of "Smile Away" easily fitted his love for blues on a harder edge,
as we all know that Lennon probably would have loved to be jamming on this
particular tune.
The McCartney pop returns with "Heart Of The Country," defining
McCartney as a superb solo performer with his pop style. "Monkberry Moon
Delight" is different for the common McCartney fan, his voice is very rough,
likewise musically, yet it has a McCartney sound, and could be an easy contender
for John Lennon handling the vocals if recorded by The Beatles. (This one is
possibly the only least-listened-to song.)
"Eat At Home" is another enjoyable pop upbeat tune, almost as upbeat
as a future Wings' hit, "Jet," yet not as powerful. It's definitely more
pop than "Jet" and is another regularly listened to tune. "Long Haired
Lady" is another pop number, just as pop as the album's opening song, "Heart
Of The Country." Ending the album is "The Back Seat Of My Car," a
beautiful ballad, and I can't help hear the styles of The Beach Boys and The
Raspberries on this ballad. It's a classic McCartney ballad, where we can easily
see how he was influenced by future music stars.
"Ram" is a must. It's McCartney at his prime, after the breakup of
The Beatles. Paul McCartney proved that away from his famous group, he could
still record albums and achieve popular hits with great success; maybe more or
less than the band that first made him famous -- still, it's McCartney at his finest.
© WSVNRadio.net. All rights reserved.
Review or any portion may not be reproduced
without written permission. Cover art is the
intellectual property of
Capitol Records
and is used for reference purposes only.
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