RAM

What if the most musically talented and skillfull Beatle tries to make an album isolated in a farm with his wife and kids?

RAM sounds like that (somehow)

This album made me respect Paul more as an artist than any beatle record could. There are too many good melodies, so many different styles, singing techniques. It's pure McCartney magic.

But all of this comes with some little downsides too.

Weak and Strong points

There is no way to talk about a beatle solo record and not mention The Beatles. I guess what made the Beatles records so complete was the different visions all 4 of them could bring to the LP while still being cohesive in their direction. They would push each other to bring their A game in each track because they were competing for tracks in their records, but here Paul has full control over what tracks are recorded, and it shows.

Some songs really leave to be desided in the lyrics, specially Eat a Home, Smile Away and Monkberry. These are not bad songs at all, just don't really tell an interesting enough story and sound for me to want to come back more often.

These weaker songs specially stand out compared to other tracks with a much stronger foundation and deeper meaning like Too Many People and 3 Legs where Paul takes a dig a John, their relationship and the break up of the band.

It's clear that Paul still feels some resentment agains't John or even for the whole world who thought HE was the one that ended up splitting the band, when in fact John and George were leaning much more in this direction than him. This should be a discussion for some other review or post but it's part of this.

In 3 Legs the analogy of the dog seems to be about him, and he got 3 legs (the other 3 beatles habilities/talents?) but your dog (Lennon himself) got none.

"My dog he got three leg

Your dog he got none"

I guess it's a much more subtle way of saying I got it and you don't than: "The only thing you've done was Yesterday".

The first 2 are really special for me, they take their time and keep building up on their sound through their playtime and both have something I REALLY enjoy when artists do: changing up the pace/style/sound by the end.

You know, just make the song do something different by the time the listener is already used to it's sound

The first one, Too Many People, with the crazy, uncoordinated sounding endind solo feeling like the end of a jam session. Which leads perfectly to the next song, 3 Legs, with a more acoustic and cleaner sound, which finishes with a total twist on the tempo of the song, making for a very fun experience.

Paul's lyricism in Dear Boy

Another great song that tell us something about Paul's personality. Here Paul seem to be flexing about how great of a love he has found with Linda, and basically telling her ex husband

"I hope you never know, dear boy How much you missed"

And

"And even when you fall in love, dear boy It won't be half as good as this"

Calling him a "dear boy" is such a weird way to say something like "you're the lesser man, you're just a boy, you couldn't get it". Good thing he didn't say any of that directly to guy, because later Linda's ex husband would commit suicide... DARK!

Anyway, that's a complete composition, strong vocals, good lyrics, awesome melody and diverse instrumentation. This is exactly what I look for in any McCartney song, nothing more, nothing less.

And songs like Dear Boy, Long Haired Lady, The Backseat of My Car and others all deliver these qualities very well.

The Personal Stuff

I wish there were more personal tracks like the first 5 ones. For me Paul really shines when he can be the melody and composition master that he is and still play with his lyricism at a more personal level. I don't know why he didn't do it more often because it's so clear for me how these songs stand out from the rest as the better ones.

Aesthetic

I always wondered why does this album sounds like it was recorded in a farm? Because most of it really was, at least written in his farm! There is a certain aesthetic that is very unique and gives that feeling of having fun making music on his own now simpler and calmer life, riding horses, playing with his kids, distant from all the noise of the previous years.

That's definitely not the main theme throughout the tracks, but I guess the very much present acoustic guitars and Paul's voice and singing style builds this feeling as something real (in my head).

Inspiration

This album definitely inspired generations of indie artists, to not be afraid in taking the risk of expressing their weirdness and wacky creations. It's a completely different experience from previous Beatles records, yes the Beatles were crazy and wacky but here Paul seems to embrace it completely with screaming, , whith no strings attached, he's doing whatever HE wants with the direction, although he didn't play all the instruments in ALL of the tracks, he did play in most of it.

Conclusion

RAM is fun, melodic, different and creative, these are some of the things I value the most in music. it's enough for me to already be a fan of this record, along with the story behind some songs and the overall aesthetic of it all, makes RAM a good listening experience. It's not perfect, the start of the second half is definitely it's weaker part, but I will always sing/hum some of it's songs because they are SO CATCHY

"OOOOH WE BELIEVE THAT WE CAN'T BE WRONG"

Final Score: Strong 3/5

Just letting everyone know that 3 means it's a worthwhile listen, not the best but definitely above the average. I added a "Strong" before the score just to symbolize that this is closer to a 4/5 than a 2/5.

Favorite Track: Too Many People

Very powerful start for the album, the most direct dig at John Lennon in Paul's career, crazy and loud ending (I love these).

Least Favorite: Eat at Home

Kinda whatever, skipable and doesn't do much for me except for the kinda funny guitar tone in the end.

End Note

This is the first time I'm writing a review/critique, I really don't know if this should be longer or shorter (probably the latter).

If you know me and have any criticism please let me know.