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1.37am
22 December 2013
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robert said
In terms of the shot of the beetles on the album – everyone noticed that when it first came out – to us it meant one of two things – either “f*ck the Beatles” or that “one Beatle was f*cking another”.
In either case it was pretty intense stuff. And then John had the shot of him holding the pig as an insert to the Imagine album – that was a jaw dropper.
I interpreted it to be the same message (The ‘RAM’ Beetle Pic) that Paul sent along with ‘Let Me Roll It ‘ later on when he said, “I Want To Tell You that you’re going to be mine” only the picture was much more graphic. For me the ‘How Do You Sleep?’/’Let Me Roll It ‘ tandem is the high point of The Beatles’ solo works, and in a way an even better “reunion” than the fabulous ‘I’m The Greatest’ for both of those songs could be credited as Lennon/McCartney due to the way they influenced each other to new heights just like in the old days. Although much more vicious by way of competition for besting each other, further underscored by George’s participation on ‘How Do You Sleep?’, they proved for one last time that they could bring out the best in each other. Both these tracks are top notch and stand out amongst their other solo material, and don’t discount John’s ‘I’m The Greatest’s role here for you know it must’ve cut Paul deeply that Klaus Voorman was substituted in for him on bass on this excellent “reunion” track, another high point in The Beatles solo works, I think that I’m gonna go listen to it right now as a matter of fact…:-)
6.57pm
Reviewers
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1 May 2011
Offline I don’t think Paul was bummed at Klaus playing bass on I’m The Greatest. He wasn’t in town at the time so couldn’t attend the session, it wasn’t like he was blanked or turned up at the door and got told to go away, only Klein supporters were allowed.
"I told you everything I could about me, Told you everything I could" ('Before Believing' - Emmylou Harris)
7.55pm
22 December 2013
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I think the point here is that Paul never knew about the session until after it happened, and probably would’ve flown in from just about anywhere had he been told about it, it’s something he never discusses but how could he not feel left out on this one, I believe that even Billy Preston was in on the session as well, everyone except for Paul.
Getting back to ‘RAM’, it’s a curious album in the sense that it invites such polarizing opinions on its musical merits. I mean, you either love or you hate it in most cases. Someone posted the Jon Landau 1971 review earlier and finds his comments on ‘Heart Of The Country ‘ & ‘Monkberry Moon Delight ‘ astonishing, yet I find them to be bang on. If I remember right, I actually picked the needle up off of the song ‘Heart Of The Country ‘ upon first spinning the vinyl when he started up that ‘Manamanama-Meemee-O-My, Manamanama-Meemee-O-My-My-My…………” crap thinking to myself, “this can’t be the same person who wrote ‘Eleanor Rigby ‘” and “maybe Paul really is dead!” When I first saw the title ‘Monkberry Moon Delight ‘ it was “what’s this all about?” and “hopefully it’s just another instrumental ala ‘McCartney'”, but when he starts going off like he does on this track against what’s probably Linda’s most annoying backing vocals ever (and I like a lot of her singing) it has me really scratching my head as to what the hell happened to his songwriting abilities. For those of you who really love this album and can’t understand why so many don’t like it, the one’s who hate it are just as puzzled by why it’s so fascinating to you. I don’t think that any other Beatle album has such opposite extreme reactions to it as this one does….:-)
2.04am
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1 November 2013
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I’m indifferent towards Ram . It’s OK, I guess, but when compared with Band On The Run and Chaos And Creation, it’s really not up there with his best.
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10.05pm
10 August 2011
Offline The pendulum swings too far one way and then the other. It’s true in so many aspects of life, why not here?
The album was panned when it came out. I agreed that a number of songs were sophomoric and could have been written by anyone who could play 3 chords. That included “Smile Away ” (the “Oh Darling” voice notwithstanding). That’s the one song on the album I can’t listen to. Other songs did nothing for me – “Too Many People ,” “Ram On ,” “3 legs,” the “Uncle Albert ” part of the Ablert/Halsey song, “Eat At Home ,” “Long Haired Lady” … Blah. Filler.
So yea, this was not going to be on par with any Beatle album.
But contrary to those of you above on this thread, I LOVED (and still love) “Monkberry Moon Delight .” In fact, at the risk of losing all respectability in your eyes, I would say that if I could only take a handful of Macca songs with me on a desert island, this would be one of them. I love the piano riff; I love the crazy lyrics; I love his voice; and I love the scat singing over the last minute or two of the song. I love all those long endings with his voice all over the place. That includes “Hey Jude ” and “Nineteen Hundred And Eighty Five .”
I also like the guitar riffs on “Heart Of The Country ” and haven’t tired of the song.
“Dear Boy ” is a great exercise in overlapping melodies. I never gave one thought to what it was about. This is the first time I’ve ever heard anyone refer to Linda’s ex; didn’t even know she had one. (I know she had a daughter.) Who cares? Who gives a flying fig whether Lennon thought it was about him? He thought “Hey Jude ” was for him!
The “Halsey” half of the “Uncle Albert ” song is enjoyable in not-too-deep a fashion.
Finally, “The Back Seat Of My Car ” is a song that I never even noticed when the record came out, probably because there so many songs above it I didn’t care for. I paid attention for the first time when McCartney released “Wingspan.” And to my surprise, I really enjoyed it. Very anthem-like (“oh, we believe that we can’t be wrong…”).
So that’s 4 1/2 good songs out of 12. Nothing great – which is why I’m surprised by how excited everyone is today about this album. Having said that, the songs that I like make it worthwhile. It’s roughly on par with McCartney, Tug Of War , Off The Ground , Driving Rain … above Wild Life , Red Rose Speedway , Pipes Of Peace , McCartney II , Back To The Egg , Press To Play .
Go ahead – I’m ready for the “horrible sound of tomato”
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1.50am
6 August 2013
Offline Into the Sky with Diamonds said
The pendulum swings too far one way and then the other. It’s true in so many aspects of life, why not here?The album was panned when it came out. I agreed that a number of songs were sophomoric and could have been written by anyone who could play 3 chords. That included “Smile Away ” (the “Oh Darling” voice notwithstanding). That’s the one song on the album I can’t listen to. Other songs did nothing for me – “Too Many People ,” “Ram On ,” “3 legs,” the “Uncle Albert ” part of the Ablert/Halsey song, “Eat At Home ,” “Long Haired Lady” … Blah. Filler.
So yea, this was not going to be on par with any Beatle album.
But contrary to those of you above on this thread, I LOVED (and still love) “Monkberry Moon Delight .” In fact, at the risk of losing all respectability in your eyes, I would say that if I could only take a handful of Macca songs with me on a desert island, this would be one of them. I love the piano riff; I love the crazy lyrics; I love his voice; and I love the scat singing over the last minute or two of the song. I love all those long endings with his voice all over the place. That includes “Hey Jude ” and “Nineteen Hundred And Eighty Five .”
I also like the guitar riffs on “Heart Of The Country ” and haven’t tired of the song.
“Dear Boy ” is a great exercise in overlapping melodies. I never gave one thought to what it was about. This is the first time I’ve ever heard anyone refer to Linda’s ex; didn’t even know she had one. (I know she had a daughter.) Who cares? Who gives a flying fig whether Lennon thought it was about him? He thought “Hey Jude ” was for him!
The “Halsey” half of the “Uncle Albert ” song is enjoyable in not-too-deep a fashion.
Finally, “The Back Seat Of My Car ” is a song that I never even noticed when the record came out, probably because there so many songs above it I didn’t care for. I paid attention for the first time when McCartney released “Wingspan.” And to my surprise, I really enjoyed it. Very anthem like (“oh, we believe that we can’t be wrong…”).
So that’s 4 1/2 good songs out of 12. Nothing great – which is why I’m surprised by how excited everyone is today about this album. Having said that, the songs that I like make it worthwhile. It’s roughly on par with McCartney, Tug Of War , Off The Ground , Driving Rain … above Wild Life , Red Rose Speedway , Pipes Of Peace , McCartney II , Back To The Egg , Press To Play .
Go ahead – I’m ready for the “horrible sound of tomato”
No tomato from me. I love Ram .
"There's no such thing as bad student... only bad teacher."
2.23am
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29 November 2012
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I’m resurrecting this thread I started last summer since this week is the 43rd anniversary of RAM’s release. Cranking this mono mix through headphones at the moment and it’s still as perfect as it’s always been.
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12.37pm
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1 November 2013
Offline I’m not a huge fan of Ram (kind of a stupid album for me, with a little bit of catchiness here and there, but that’s for another thread), but I’d be interested to hear the mono mix. I can’t find it anywhere.
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4.17pm
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1 May 2011
Offline Its in the ultimate deluxe remastered archive box where you have to also buy a book, the double cd, lots of bits of paper and Thrillington to get it. Or hunt for it on a torrent site.
It really rankled me when i discovered that you had to spend around £70 to get all the music.
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5.25pm
Reviewers
29 November 2012
Offline You can also find it on YouTube. If you don’t like the album, there may not be a point in seeking it out, but if you think it’s as great as I do, then it’s worth the time and effort as I think it’s the superior mix in multiple ways. Really weird that Paul even decided to mix it in mono in ’71, albeit only for radio stations.
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10.22pm
30 September 2013
Offline DrBeatle said
You can also find it on YouTube. If you don’t like the album, there may not be a point in seeking it out, but if you think it’s as great as I do, then it’s worth the time and effort as I think it’s the superior mix in multiple ways. Really weird that Paul even decided to mix it in mono in ’71, albeit only for radio stations.
IT WAS BECUSE OF PHASE ISIUSES WHEN FOLDED DOWN TO MONO
8.27pm
18 April 2013
Offline I think Linda’s backing vocals are one of the best things about this album.
"If you're ever in the shit, grab my tit.” —Paul McCartney
1.20am
28 March 2014
Offline I still can’t believe this LP was panned when it came out. Great stuff on this LP!
Now “Wild Life ” is another story……….
BEATLES Music gives me Eargasms! 
1.40am
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1 May 2011
Offline The following people thank meanmistermustard for this post:
Mr. Kite, Bulldog"I told you everything I could about me, Told you everything I could" ('Before Believing' - Emmylou Harris)
1.42am
3 June 2014
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1.47am
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4 February 2014
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5.04pm
14 December 2009
Offline Can I just say that I like “Heart Of The Country “‘s acoustic-guitar-soloing-with-scat-singing-accompaniment MUCH better than “Rocky Raccoon “‘s similar trick with scatting-and-tack-piano? Yeah, I can say that.
Paul: Yeah well… first of all, we’re bringing out a ‘Stamp Out Detroit’ campaign.
5.39pm
Reviewers
4 February 2014
Offline Looking at my post two above, it’s actually appropriate here as Dear Friend was recorded during the sessions for Ram .
I, just yesterday, listened through all of Ram for the first time. I’ve been wanting to hear it for a while now, and since I can’t play the vinyl I got just yet, when I found the two disc CD at the library I checked it out.
Before that I only knew 3 Legs , which I enjoy, but not immensely. Uncle Albert /Admiral Halsey (it’s on Wings Greatest so of course I knew that) which I like both parts of, but really like the trumpet(?) part in the middle.
And lastly I knew Monkberry Moon Delight , which I loved for Paul’s amazing vocals, and the backup during the “ketchup…” parts. I knew how Too Many People went but never really listened to it.
I guess I’ll try and describe the good and bad of each song.
Too Many People – Good music, great melody even if the lyrics aren’t much. The “that was your first mistake…” parts are the best.
3 Legs – Nice basic song, not overly impressive. Still enjoyed it.
Ram On – A sweet little song, although maybe a but long. The ukelele is a key part of what makes it good.
Dear Boy – Love the melody and effect on his voice in the beginning. The chorus part (“when I stepped in”) isn’t as good as the verse, but still has little melody hooks like “and out”. A nice catchy basic McCartney piano part. This song feels like it has meaning unlike some others on the album. One of my favorites on Ram .
Uncle Albert /Admiral Halsey – The first part is soft but has little relaxing guitar parts. The trumpet/horn part in the middle is one of the best parts, perfect transition. The guitar in the second part after “…across the sky” is a great part. And the “Admiral Halsey notified me… Butter pie…” part is amusing. Pretty good song.
Smile Away – Really liked the music in the beginning, but the backup vocals were kind of annoying and the lyrics were disappointing. Not well thought out. Not horrible, but not that good.
Heart Of The Country – Not my type of song, but still like it. Wasn’t really impressed at all until the scat vocals with the guitar, they’re the best parts. Not that notable otherwise.
Monkberry Moon Delight – Love it for the lead vocals, and the backup during the “ketchup…” parts which is really catchy. The nonsensical lyrics are also interesting, I had no idea what half of them were until I saw the lyrics that came with the CD. The fade out is also great with Macca’s singing.
Eat At Home – Haven’t listened to it again, not that memorable. Wasn’t that bad I don’t think, but can’t really remember.
Long Haired Lady – I love Linda’s backing vocals on everything else, but her co-lead here is kind of off. Not bad overall, but a second kind of boring song in a row.
Ram On – The reprise is the same as the song, only shorter so better.
Back Seat Of My Car – Good melody and piano. Vocals are great as always with Paul, the high parts remind me of the Beach Boys .
While Side 2 isn’t that great except for MMD, the album as a whole, listening through, is great. Really loved it. I can understand why people were a bit critical at the time, but it wasn’t anywhere as bad as they acted.
I read that a reviewer said something similar to, “it’s laid back, but seems overproduced in a way that’s contradictory to the music.”
I like that mixture of laid back, acoustic type music with the orchestra on some songs and the extra production that went into it.
Great album either way!
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Von Bontee4.16am
1 November 2012
Offline Wow, I was a good BBer and I scrolled through all 26 pages of the Paul McCartney section to make sure — and confirmed that there is no topic on his album “Ram ” per se (there are topics on Ram mono, and Ram remastered, and Ram songs — but not on Ram itself, as there are on Band On The Run , Pipes Of Peace , McCartney II , etc.).
So, to kick this topic off (about my favorite Paul album), I found this video I’m sure others know about, “Ramming”, a youtube mini-documentary about the making of Ram . While it’s good that Paul does a lot of voice-over narration in which he remembers things about the making of Ram , and while the video does show some photos I never saw before, it is unfortunate that there was no actual filming done, apparently, of that whole Ram time. Still, it’s worth a watch:
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3.11pm
3 June 2014
Offline One of his best post-Beatles albums for sure. I’ll just do what Kite did and go through the tracks, though I’m going to be nicer in general…
Too Many People – Excellent song. Great melody, great singing, great instrumentals… it’s great.
3 Legs – Bit of a typical blues tune, but gets more interesting from “When I fly…” Another one I really like.
Ram On – Short but sweet ukelele, harmony and handclap-led tune. Repetitive, but short enough that it doesn’t get annoying. Not a favorite, but it’s still very nice.
Dear Boy – One of the album’s best. Interesting effect on Paul’s voice here, but flowing harmonies are sort of more center stage here. Very catchy melody once again.
Uncle Albert /Admiral Halsey – Everyone knows this one. This song remains his biggest radio hit, at least in America (not including his Wings hits). The first half or so, Uncle Albert , is a mellow, apologetic tune to… an uncle, I guess. Then the other part, Admiral Halsey , is a jaunty song led by horns and goofy lyrics. My favorite part is the part about the butter pie for sure.
Smile Away – Quite an interesting side closer. It’s a somewhat long song from Paul, basically repeating the same thing throughout the course of its time. Despite this, I love the song. As usual, the singing is great, the lyrics are once again goofy, and the buzzing bass (which I thought was a problem with the CD at first) is an unexpected sound.
And then there’s side two…
Heart Of The Country – A happy song about “the Heart Of The Country ,” if you couldn’t figure that out. More specifically, living in it. A song that can very easily stick itself in your head, with some catchy guitar-and-vocal scatting.
Monkberry Moon Delight – One of my all-time favorite solo McCartney songs. Absolutely ridiculous lyrics, but they’re a big part of how fun the song is. The whole thing has a kind of insane sound, with a snarling vocal from Paul spitting nonsense, with Linda echoing some of the nonsense over a heavy piano chord. Slightly reverby vocals and a slick guitar sound give it an almost psychedelic undertone. And then during the long fade-out, Paul screams “Monkberry Moon Delight !” in a variety of ways. Endless fun to listen to, and of course it’s got a very catchy melody.
Eat At Home – Kind of a typical 70s pop-rock song, but I still love it. Very catchy YET AGAIN (surprised?), and the guitar work is nice.
Long Haired Lady – A beautiful, very long song that kind of suffers from slightly flat lead singing from Linda in parts, but overall quite an epic song. Excellent despite the little parts where she doesn’t quite hit the low notes.
Ram On (Reprise) – Pointless, almost the same as the first, but shorter. However, it’s interesting because there’s kind of a preview of his future song Big Barn Bed sung in falsetto at the end.
Back Seat Of The Car – The other epic. It’s easy to see why this one was a single: it’s beautiful once again, super catchy, and has multiple parts that could worm their way into your head at any time. A brilliant album closer.
So that’s what I think of Ram . It’s a near-perfect album, and perhaps as close as Paul (without Wings, at least) will ever get, though he’s got numerous other great albums too.
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