This Is The Thread Where We Praise And Canonize Paul McCartney's "Ram"

wah wah wheeeeeeeeee

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EhEU7Z7HPH0

clicked through that, rather slavish recreations but quite nice in places.

theres yet another reissue of this imminent, a half speed mastered version. I love this album as much as anyone but I don't know why this album needs to be reissued every other year

I figured it was so that people could keep making money off of something in perpetuity

I just sprung stupid (comparatively) money for a copy of the 2012 mono Ram. I have Hoffman-level Beatles obsession rn and I feel both icky and (I feel) fine about it.

caught up in my first ever real beatles phase, i listened to this for the first time in ages this week (had only listened once before & didn't get it at all) & i'm really astounded

paul really really loved the beach boys huh

One of the best 420 albums ever if you are in a mindset where you can tolerate all the Paulness.

A Paul-esque mix of the good and unbearable.

paul can have extremely bizarre and bad instincts at times but i don't think he really indulges those at all here, the paul quirks on display here are the most compelling ones

you’re talking to people who hate “uncle albert”

haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaands across the water

The budder wouldn’t melt, so I puddit it the pie.

I like all but one song here, but there's something off about the production on the whole thing, like everything in the mix is at the wrong level or in the wrong place. The mix sounds amateur even for 1971, even compared to Emmitt Rhodes. I had always assumed Ram was mostly home recordings, and I was startled to learn it was cut in New York with a bunch of professionals.

“dear boy” is such a great song, sounds like paul imagining what smile was supposed to be like, and not landing too far off

i also love the pop-up book mixing, which is pretty white album, not unprecedented

I’m glad you’re having some Ram fever, ufo! I think I’ve listened to Ram more than most Beatles albums. I couldn’t post my Spotify Wrapped because my top five were all like Beatles, Neil Young, etc, so you know it’s extreme

"Eat at Home" has terrific guitar.

One of the best 420 albums ever if you are in a mindset where you can tolerate all the Paulness.

A Paul-esque mix of the good and unbearable.

Pretty much OTM. Re: the latter, "Smile Away" is like that at the same time. Fun and catchy but also pretty awful in its inanity. "Monkberry whatever" irritates the hell out of me - like a bad Cookie Monster impression.

The only cuts I like without qualification are "Too Many People" and "Back Seat of My Car," both great. "Heart of the County" has grown on me - charming and modest little number.

Not on the album, but I actually love the B-side "Oh Woman, Oh Why," a great, bizarre oddity.

His b-sides during this period run good to great

ufo don't forget to listen to "another day", as well, which was a non-album single recorded in the ram sessions and released as his first post-beatles single. it's track 1 on the second disc of one of the remastered versions. it fits right into the Ram ethos and sounds great

"Monkberry whatever" irritates the hell out of me - like a bad Cookie Monster impression.

joyless opinion

also wtf you don't like "dear boy" without qualification? macca haters get out

COOKIE

^Never gets old.

i intend to keep doing it, in an effort to prove that it cannot get old!

I cannot fathom disliking the production on Ram.

the divisive recording where some listeners -- but not all -- distinctly hear "COOKIE!" repeated on every other beat throughout the entire album

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.

If confirmed for the McCartney Supreme Court, will you agree to uphold the sanctity of “ram on”?

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.

My little sister and I quote bits of this album at each other like it's fucking Withnail & I

"Weee-a-leedle be a gypsy gadaround" is a weird thing for people to overhear in the supermarket

TOO MANY REACHIN FOR A PIECE OF CAKE

"monkberry moon delight" is my favorite solo paul song. clearly i am the only one who grasps the true essence of paul.

“Monkberry” was my entry point for RAM. I won’t stan for it now, but it’s an essential piece of an essential album so

Also wtf, the mix and production are perfect! It’s not supposed to be an Eagles record - it’s deliberately RAMshackle.

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.

I bet Linda did too.

"monkberry moon delight" is my favorite solo paul song. clearly i am the only one who grasps the true essence of paul.

Best song on RAM

When was the Cookie Monster first seen on American tv?

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.

AM OFTEN MAKING AIR AFTER EATING COOKIE

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

and thanks karl for the "another day" mention, would have certainly forgotten to check it out otherwise

my piano was boldly outspoken in attempts to repeat its refrain

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

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.

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?

Bees are buzzing about my sweet delectable baby
Birds are humming about their big surprise
Who’s your favorite person, dear phenomenal lady?
I belong to the girl with the flashing eyes

I wanna horse
I wanna sheep

Another Day and Oh Woman, Oh Why are so rad