'Heart of the Country' is a nice jazzy thing that if it had been on the White Album and had some input from the other beatles would have been 10x better.
Paul's 'wigging out' moments like around 3'20 of 'Too Many People' are fucking deadly.
― de, Saturday, 10 April 2004 21:41 (twenty years ago) link
― Francis Watlington (Francis Watlington), Saturday, 10 April 2004 22:14 (twenty years ago) link
― de, Saturday, 10 April 2004 22:24 (twenty years ago) link
― Elvis Telecom (Chris Barrus), Saturday, 10 April 2004 22:31 (twenty years ago) link
Haha. Yuppers.
― Francis Watlington (Francis Watlington), Saturday, 10 April 2004 22:34 (twenty years ago) link
I think I said this on another thread once, but I can only listen to Paul in moderation. I like many of his songs on the White Album, but if you listen to them all in a row, you'd be dead by Blackbird > Rocky Racoon.
― (Jon L), Saturday, 10 April 2004 23:10 (twenty years ago) link
― David Nolan (David N.), Saturday, 10 April 2004 23:40 (twenty years ago) link
― Rockist Scientist (rockistscientist), Saturday, 10 April 2004 23:42 (twenty years ago) link
― Rockist Scientist (rockistscientist), Saturday, 10 April 2004 23:44 (twenty years ago) link
― Ian Grey (Ian_G), Sunday, 11 April 2004 01:48 (twenty years ago) link
― Tim Ellison, Sunday, 11 April 2004 01:52 (twenty years ago) link
― Rockist Scientist (rockistscientist), Sunday, 11 April 2004 01:52 (twenty years ago) link
― Tim Ellison, Sunday, 11 April 2004 01:55 (twenty years ago) link
― Rockist Scientist (rockistscientist), Sunday, 11 April 2004 01:57 (twenty years ago) link
― Tim Ellison, Sunday, 11 April 2004 01:58 (twenty years ago) link
― Rockist Scientist (rockistscientist), Sunday, 11 April 2004 02:14 (twenty years ago) link
Too Many People3 LegsRam OnDear BoyUncle Albert/Admiral HalseySmile AwayHeart of the CountryMonkberry Moon DelightEat at HomeLong Haired LadyRam On (Reprise)The Back Seat of My Car
― Tim Ellison, Sunday, 11 April 2004 02:20 (twenty years ago) link
*SNICKER*
― Francis Watlington (Francis Watlington), Sunday, 11 April 2004 02:58 (twenty years ago) link
― jim wentworth (wench), Sunday, 11 April 2004 03:21 (twenty years ago) link
― Matos W.K. (M Matos), Sunday, 11 April 2004 04:26 (twenty years ago) link
― Rockist Scientist (rockistscientist), Sunday, 11 April 2004 04:28 (twenty years ago) link
I tried listening once. It wasn't very good.
― David Allen (David Allen), Sunday, 11 April 2004 04:31 (twenty years ago) link
Me no understand.
"Get Back" = Great"Eat at Home" = Stinks?
"Lady Madonna" = Classic"Monkberry Moon Delight" = "The nadir in the decomposition of the sixties?"
― Tim Ellison, Sunday, 11 April 2004 17:53 (twenty years ago) link
― anthony kyle monday (akmonday), Sunday, 11 April 2004 18:18 (twenty years ago) link
Has 'Monkberry Moon Delight' ever been sampled in a hip-hop track? 'Cause it damn well should be.
― G00blar, Friday, 9 November 2007 23:54 (sixteen years ago) link
this record is great, my favorite Macca solo work
― Shakey Mo Collier, Friday, 9 November 2007 23:59 (sixteen years ago) link
Absolutely.
― G00blar, Saturday, 10 November 2007 00:09 (sixteen years ago) link
Surely a great album, although he has done several better ones after he broke up Wings again.
― Geir Hongro, Saturday, 10 November 2007 00:10 (sixteen years ago) link
Lately I've been wanting to add Big Barn Bed (from Red Rose Speedway) to Ram...it's got the weird catchy pot-smoking Ram vibe so much. I wonder if it was recorded at the same time?
― dlp9001, Saturday, 10 November 2007 00:33 (sixteen years ago) link
Ah, it was. I thought I remembered a snippet of it on Ram.
― dlp9001, Saturday, 10 November 2007 00:39 (sixteen years ago) link
i really like "ram".
― the next grozart, Saturday, 10 November 2007 02:06 (sixteen years ago) link
the album with the bonus song "oh woman oh why" is the one to get, simply cos that song's a really funky stones-y dirge.
― the next grozart, Saturday, 10 November 2007 02:12 (sixteen years ago) link
Perhaps some will find this interesting, perhaps not...
...but I'm rerecording "Ram" all by myself, track by track. Have a listen!
The Ram Project
― Davey D, Monday, 5 April 2010 18:53 (fourteen years ago) link
Can't listen right now, but nice idea. I haven't ever heard Ram, i should probably track down the original before checking out your version anyway. Oh, and i've read that book, Tim, it's really good.
― Ismael Klata, Monday, 5 April 2010 20:16 (fourteen years ago) link
the 2004 posts are nuts. i don't even like Macca all that much but Ram and his first album are great
― are we human or are we dancer (m coleman), Monday, 5 April 2010 20:28 (fourteen years ago) link
yeah that is weird. I don't think the tide has turned on this album in the past few years; as far as I remember it's been considered a classic since the 80's at least. I dont' think it was super well received when it came out but that feeling didn't last long. maybe people were just feeling bad in 2004, what with bush being reelected and the world beginning to suck.
― akm, Monday, 5 April 2010 20:42 (fourteen years ago) link
Ram: the choice of the Obama generation.
― Davey D, Monday, 5 April 2010 20:44 (fourteen years ago) link
yeah pretty strange to see spittle-flecked contrarianism on ILM eh
its like the Stevie Wonder c/d thread where the first 100 posts are all people complaining about his sappy balladry
― modern eunuch-like crooning (Shakey Mo Collier), Monday, 5 April 2010 20:49 (fourteen years ago) link
Nice work thus far Davey D!
― dlp9001, Monday, 5 April 2010 22:46 (fourteen years ago) link
kudos on all those Dear Boy vocals! damn
― modern eunuch-like crooning (Shakey Mo Collier), Monday, 5 April 2010 22:53 (fourteen years ago) link
Thanks! Just finished "Eat At Home," BTW.
― Davey D, Tuesday, 6 April 2010 00:15 (fourteen years ago) link
http://www.paulmccartney.com/web/guest/news/-/blogs/paul-and-linda-mccartney-s-legendary-album-ram-set-for-deluxe-reissue?_33_redirect=/web/guestp_33#top
RAM will be available across a variety of different formats:Standard Edition: 1 CD digipak Single disc, digitally remastered 12- track standard editionSpecial Edition: 2 CD digipak Remastered album and 8-track bonus audio CD including rarities, b-sides and the hit single, 'Another Day'.Deluxe Edition Box Set: 4 CD/1 DVD box set & download Remastered album, bonus audio CD, remastered Mono album, Thrillington CD, bonus film DVD, 112 page book, 5 prints in vintage style photographic wallet, 8 full size facsimiles of Paul's original handwritten lyric sheets and mini photographic book of outtakes from the original album cover photo shoot.Hi-Res: 24bit 96kHz files of the remastered and bonus audio CD, accessed via a download code inserted on a card within the deluxe edition packageVinyl: 2LP 180gm, gatefold vinyl with download Remastered album, bonus audio disc plus digital download of all 20 tracksLimited Edition Mono Vinyl: 1LP, Remastered mono albumDigital: RAM will be available for download across a variation of digital configurations including Mastered for iTunes and High Resolution
Standard Edition: 1 CD digipak Single disc, digitally remastered 12- track standard edition
Special Edition: 2 CD digipak Remastered album and 8-track bonus audio CD including rarities, b-sides and the hit single, 'Another Day'.
Deluxe Edition Box Set: 4 CD/1 DVD box set & download Remastered album, bonus audio CD, remastered Mono album, Thrillington CD, bonus film DVD, 112 page book, 5 prints in vintage style photographic wallet, 8 full size facsimiles of Paul's original handwritten lyric sheets and mini photographic book of outtakes from the original album cover photo shoot.
Hi-Res: 24bit 96kHz files of the remastered and bonus audio CD, accessed via a download code inserted on a card within the deluxe edition package
Vinyl: 2LP 180gm, gatefold vinyl with download Remastered album, bonus audio disc plus digital download of all 20 tracks
Limited Edition Mono Vinyl: 1LP, Remastered mono album
Digital: RAM will be available for download across a variation of digital configurations including Mastered for iTunes and High Resolution
― Autumn Almanac (Schlafsack), Friday, 23 March 2012 02:12 (twelve years ago) link
Right...
― Mark G, Friday, 23 March 2012 09:31 (twelve years ago) link
Love this album. So many memories of my grandmother's house in the South of France where she had this record (used to belong to my aunt). Of course, being French, she would mishear a lot of lyrics and on "Another Day" (Paul's single from the time) she scanned the chorus as going: "Sau-sage/Sau-sage/Sometimes I feel sau-sage"...
― Scary Move 4 (dog latin), Friday, 23 March 2012 11:22 (twelve years ago) link
I want that deluxe edition. I love, love, love this record, and did even as a kid. My father had it, and I think I wore out the binding opening and closing the gatefold cover. (Just as so many kids first hear "Yellow Submarine" as their gateway into the Beatles, I got into solo McCartney as a result of "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey.")
― jpattzlovevampz 2 hours ago (Phil D.), Friday, 23 March 2012 12:22 (twelve years ago) link
Sorry I missed on the covers project, totally woulda been into that!
One of my friends suggested a full-LP "Ram" cover band for Halloween one year, which sounds like a dream.
― Emperor Cos Dashit (Adam Bruneau), Friday, 23 March 2012 13:50 (twelve years ago) link
the backlash to the backlash!!!!!
http://www.pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/16651-ram/
― da croupier, Thursday, 24 May 2012 14:04 (eleven years ago) link
Is not wrong.
― Mark G, Thursday, 24 May 2012 14:12 (eleven years ago) link
Half the album is listenable but "Uncle Albert" was and remains a piece of shit – and I'm the guy who defends Press to Play.
― go down on you in a thyatrr (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 24 May 2012 14:18 (eleven years ago) link
It's strange how UA/AH got to number one in the USA, but never even got released as a single here.
Also that "Back seat of my car" (which is great), only got to 37 or thereabouts. Were the great UK public really so bored of McCartney then?
― Mark G, Thursday, 24 May 2012 14:23 (eleven years ago) link
i intend to keep doing it, in an effort to prove that it cannot get old!
― my hands are always in my pockets or gesturing. (Karl Malone), Friday, 10 December 2021 17:47 (two years ago) link
I cannot fathom disliking the production on Ram.
― ma dmac's fury road (PBKR), Friday, 10 December 2021 17:49 (two years ago) link
the divisive recording where some listeners -- but not all -- distinctly hear "COOKIE!" repeated on every other beat throughout the entire album
― my hands are always in my pockets or gesturing. (Karl Malone), Friday, 10 December 2021 17:58 (two years ago) link
Only John said "Cookie" ("Hold On") - when he does it, it was great. Paul just drives it into the ground.
"Dear Boy" is all right. Honestly, Macca hater? That's like the GOP with their cult-like "RINO" paranoia, this isn't some doctrinal purity test.
― birdistheword, Friday, 10 December 2021 18:37 (two years ago) link
If confirmed for the McCartney Supreme Court, will you agree to uphold the sanctity of “ram on”?
― my hands are always in my pockets or gesturing. (Karl Malone), Friday, 10 December 2021 18:49 (two years ago) link
welcome, ufo, you're in for many treats, however deep you dive.this album just rules. imho one of paul's most consistent set of songs, and the combination of the kind of country-rock bedrock with all the different slightly offbeat choices in arrangement and production REALLY works for me. would never have compared it to The White Album before, but that totally clicks.
― I Am Fribbulus (Xax) (Doctor Casino), Friday, 10 December 2021 18:59 (two years ago) link
My little sister and I quote bits of this album at each other like it's fucking Withnail & I
― Urbandn hope all ye who enter here (dog latin), Friday, 10 December 2021 19:11 (two years ago) link
"Weee-a-leedle be a gypsy gadaround" is a weird thing for people to overhear in the supermarket
― Urbandn hope all ye who enter here (dog latin), Friday, 10 December 2021 19:12 (two years ago) link
TOO MANY REACHIN FOR A PIECE OF CAKE
― So who you gonna call? The martini police (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, 10 December 2021 19:16 (two years ago) link
"monkberry moon delight" is my favorite solo paul song. clearly i am the only one who grasps the true essence of paul.
― grove street (party) direction (voodoo chili), Friday, 10 December 2021 19:39 (two years ago) link
“Monkberry” was my entry point for RAM. I won’t stan for it now, but it’s an essential piece of an essential album soAlso wtf, the mix and production are perfect! It’s not supposed to be an Eagles record - it’s deliberately RAMshackle.
― war mice (hardcore dilettante), Friday, 10 December 2021 20:17 (two years ago) link
Some folks go so far as to say that Paul invented indie-pop with RAM. I dunno about that. If he did, he did it by accident (he once said something to the effect that the critics ruined RAM for him and that fans made him love it again, which suggests that he wasn’t as sure in his vision for it as it might seem). I just wish he had other records I could enjoy as much as I do this one. I like my Paul rough & scrappy.
― war mice (hardcore dilettante), Friday, 10 December 2021 20:21 (two years ago) link
I bet Linda did too.
― So who you gonna call? The martini police (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, 10 December 2021 20:30 (two years ago) link
Best song on RAM
― Davey D, Friday, 10 December 2021 20:34 (two years ago) link
When was the Cookie Monster first seen on American tv?
― piscesx, Friday, 10 December 2021 20:36 (two years ago) link
Wiki says he was in the very first episode of Sesame Street, November 10, 1969, trying to eat a letter "W." Apparently he got his name sometime in the 1969-1970 season, and "C is for Cookie" in 1971-1972. Similar "eating" Muppet characters, with non-cookie themes, appeared in Jim Henson TV spots developed in 1966, with the first one making air in 1967.
― I Am Fribbulus (Xax) (Doctor Casino), Friday, 10 December 2021 20:44 (two years ago) link
AM OFTEN MAKING AIR AFTER EATING COOKIE
― covidsbundlertanze op. 6 (Jon not Jon), Friday, 10 December 2021 22:00 (two years ago) link
sounds like paul imagining what smile was supposed to be like, and not landing too far off
yeah this was exactly my thought about most of the album. also not too far off the vibe of the weird post-smile late 60s beach boys albums & but certainly more fully realised than those
― ufo, Friday, 10 December 2021 23:23 (two years ago) link
and thanks karl for the "another day" mention, would have certainly forgotten to check it out otherwise
― ufo, Friday, 10 December 2021 23:27 (two years ago) link
my piano was boldly outspoken in attempts to repeat its refrain
― Western® with Bacon Flavor, Saturday, 11 December 2021 00:13 (two years ago) link
didn't mean to be so aggro about this but if you're like "i, a person who likes the beatles and has thoughts about paul mccartney, only like two of the songs on his excellent album ram without qualification," afaic you are trying not to like it. free yourself
― STOCK FIST-PUMPER BRAD (BradNelson), Saturday, 11 December 2021 00:35 (two years ago) link
i listen to RAM more than any other Beatles/solo release. it's very hard for me to not feel charmed and inspired by a happy family man living out on a farm making loopy macca music.
― Western® with Bacon Flavor, Saturday, 11 December 2021 00:55 (two years ago) link
Some folks go so far as to say that Paul invented indie-pop with RAM. I dunno about that.
How about Paul invented Elephant 6?
― Hideous Lump, Saturday, 11 December 2021 01:22 (two years ago) link
Bees are buzzing about my sweet delectable babyBirds are humming about their big surpriseWho’s your favorite person, dear phenomenal lady?I belong to the girl with the flashing eyes
― Naive Teen Idol, Saturday, 11 December 2021 05:24 (two years ago) link
I wanna horseI wanna sheep
― Urbandn hope all ye who enter here (dog latin), Saturday, 11 December 2021 07:03 (two years ago) link
Another Day and Oh Woman, Oh Why are so rad
― Urbandn hope all ye who enter here (dog latin), Saturday, 11 December 2021 07:04 (two years ago) link
didn't mean to be so aggro about this but if you're like "i, a person who likes the beatles and has thoughts about paul mccartney, only like two of the songs on his excellent album ram without qualification," afaic you are trying not to like it. free yourself― STOCK FIST-PUMPER BRAD (BradNelson), Saturday, December 11, 2021 12:35 AM (six hours ago) bookmarkflaglink
― STOCK FIST-PUMPER BRAD (BradNelson), Saturday, December 11, 2021 12:35 AM (six hours ago) bookmarkflaglink
Quoting without further comments
― Urbandn hope all ye who enter here (dog latin), Saturday, 11 December 2021 07:07 (two years ago) link
First time I heard this album I couldn't sleep the night because bits from it kept circling round my head
― Urbandn hope all ye who enter here (dog latin), Saturday, 11 December 2021 07:08 (two years ago) link
I know it's tongue-in-cheek, but in all seriousness, I don't like disliking music. It brings me no pleasure in having less music to enjoy, especially from someone who's already had a hand in creating so much of my favorite music. I give everything many chances because I don't believe in dismissing any work on the first try, or even the second or third time around. If people see a lot in something, I want to see what they're seeing too.
I've played Ram and really all of Paul's music many times - I still hold on to a lot of it "just in case" and that includes a copy of Ram. Even the worst stuff has something brilliant - a hook, the singing, a great bass line, etc. - and sometimes that feels like a saving grace but a lot of times it's frustrating coming from someone who's capable of delivering the whole package. I'm glad you guys love Ram, it amazes me that it's got a devoted following that swears by it, but honestly, I've never been able to sit through the whole thing without getting massively irritated half the time. I mean, Adam Sandler has his fans too, I can accept that without liking his shit. Meanwhile, I get a lot more out of Band on the Run, Run Devil Run and Memory Almost Full (which tbh I rejiggered with four cuts from Chaos & Creation but that's another story). I like Ram more than a lot of other Wings/McCartney albums, but I just don't see it being this landmark achievement of any kind. Calling it ground zero for indie pop always seemed like an enormous stretch, one that ignores a lot of music from the previous decade.
― birdistheword, Saturday, 11 December 2021 08:10 (two years ago) link
I guess that should be "I dislike Ram less than a lot of the Wings/McCartney albums"
― birdistheword, Saturday, 11 December 2021 08:11 (two years ago) link
It got dropped during some recent phone upgrade but for about 12 years my iPhone ringtone was the ukulele intro to “Ram On.”
― Naive Teen Idol, Saturday, 11 December 2021 14:20 (two years ago) link
One of the things I found listening to all the 70s McCartney releases was that the musical quality didn't correspond with any other aspect. You couldn't say, "He's only good when he: - rocks (or does ballads)- is serious (or is whimsical)- is autobiographical (or writes characters)- sounds familiar (or experiments)- does rock and pop (or does other genres)"...because he's done both good and bad material of all sorts. The one thing that unites the bad songs for me is a certain self-conscious attention to effects, like we can see Paul looking over the song with an arched eyebrow, thinking, "This is really gonna get 'em!"
― Halfway there but for you, Saturday, 11 December 2021 14:48 (two years ago) link
Sure but there’s something about McCartney’s sheer skill as a performer and songwriter that almost always elevates the song above whatever conceit he’s concocted (this is super obvious in Get Back where his farting around on the soundstage is almost always interesting). I think in part that’s why his work is so easy to go back to and re-examine. The conceit is transparent—“I’m going to do Tin Pan Alley/Buddy Holly//Little Richard/Elvis Costello here!”—but the execution is almost always more interesting in some way, even if not always mind-blowingly so. Back on topic, I find “Hey Diddle” to be an absolute ear-worm. The sweet blend of Linda’s vocals with Paul’s, the third grade concert recorder interlude, the lilt in Linda’s voice on the line “Ah but don’t you fear/The next time around/She’ll be there.” Even if it wasn’t on the record proper, this thing just feels like the apotheosis of the Ram aesthetic.
― Naive Teen Idol, Saturday, 11 December 2021 15:40 (two years ago) link
'hey diddle; is indeed great, love this record but hadn't listened to unreleased cuts. 'rode all night' is downright weird
― global tetrahedron, Saturday, 11 December 2021 20:02 (two years ago) link