Why Paul McCartney's RAM is the first Indie Pop album
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- čas přidán 25. 06. 2024
- In 1971 #PaulMcCartney released his second solo album #RAM. At the time, critics, fans, and even his fellow #Beatles heavily chastised the release, particularly remarking on how strange and overly-indulgent it was. Nearly 50 years later the retrospective reviews of RAM show nothing but critical acclaim and reverence for what many critics call the birth of the #IndiePop sound and ethos.
Overrated? Ahead of its time? Watch this video and decide for yourself.
00:00 - Intro
4:57 - Going 'Independent'
6:26 - Indie as a Genre
8:50 - RAM as Indie Pop
15:23 - RAM Today
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Great work! 😀
Wow, thanks man! Been a fan of your channel for a while 😊
Elliot Roberts cheers! Keep up the good work 😃😃
Fantastic! Great Film!
Some CZcams Royalty is in the house!
okay we got David Bennett as Paul and Elliot Roberts as George...the CZcams Beatles are coming together...
Ringo was right there's not one good song on " ram", there's about 10.
This comment is legendary 🤟😂
👍🏾 Thats what I say! I myself think every song is great! Not one bad one...
@@garychambers5850 Yep! Put on yer headphones and press "random". Not many albums you can do that with...:)
@@garychambers5850 😉
@@seltaeb3302 I know for a fact that journalists often invent quotes from people. I read a supposed quote from George Harrison that claimed that he said there were only two good tracks on McCartney. Didn’t believe it then, don’t believe it now.
My man's got that George Harrison look
i was thinking of jim morrison at first bcs of the hair, but now that you've mentioned it, it's more george!
Looks like Dhani a bit haha
Wish I had all that hair.
I was thinking a 1978 Freddie Mercury but I think that works better
Also Tom Evans (Badfinger)
I found the RAM vinyl at a thrift store for .25 cents. It’s an original release and in perfect condition. Probably my favorite record I found at a thrift store.
I'll give you .26 cents for it
@@Elbowbanditest2003 😂😂😂
Wtf
My favourite record, at any price.
I paid $25 for mine -_-
I’m glad you mentioned Linda’s distinct voice! The album wouldn’t have the same feeling without her. Paul has an ungraspable genius for his art, and the inclusion of Linda, his muse, injected so much heart and soul, story, and humanity into this record that further illustrates his ability to visualize and execute.
It’s funny her voice isn’t great but was a very distinct part of his music.
The fact that Monkberry Moon Delight follows Heart of the Country is just insanity. Talk about RANGE. The guys a genius.
Yea yes yes, this👆🏼
I have always thought this as well.
AGREE! My FAVE album of all time
yeah
Paul was consistently ahead of his time throughout his career.
The only reason critics were panning the record was everyone had the misperception Paul had broken up the band rather than the truth: He was suing to protect them against Alan Klein.
Never heard of this, could you explain more?
Paul often dabbled in British music hall style tunes..."Honey Pie", "When I'm 64", "Maxwell's Silver Hammer" are good examples. He was exposed to this style as a youth in Liverpool by his father who played in his own band.
@@jannuzijannuzicharlescharl3260 yes, for example Paul wrote Helter Skelter and the Sgt. Pepper intro.
They both rock! So does Get Back!
@@jannuzijannuzicharlescharl3260 it wasn't the wrong thing to do because if he didn't do it they would have lost all the rights to their songs
@@jannuzijannuzicharlescharl3260 yeah because Lennon was a selfish coward who wanted others to bear the blame for his mistakes.
Paul McCartney was confronted at Disneyland and he decided to reveal the truth because why not why would you lie about it to your fans?
Then John spends the next couple years acting like he didn't bring Yoko and have the meeting and declare that he was leaving the group originally
Uncle Albert/ Admiral Halsey is one of my all time favorite songs. I listen to it almost every day. It is so complex, mystical, innovative that 50 years later, it still sounds modern and avant-garde.
Right? It blows my mind it’s from 1971
Avant-garde but still pop which is what makes it such an achievement imo
Such a great song
It's one of my favorite songs too! I find it so unique and special, not a single other song like it.
I agree. It is a great song. I heard it on a road trip to California from Texas. It was two months later before it was played on the radio in Dallas.
It's my favourite Paul album, it's fantastic. I read that Pitchfork article too and I was very shocked that it was criticised when it came out. He must have been gutted but it's a sublime piece of work.
Shocked by Ringo's words - maybe it was his way of trying to get The Beatles back together - like telling your divorced parents "you're better together than apart".
I can't stop listening to Ram and this is from a previously hard-core John fan. Listening to Ram I realised what a fool I was and how my favourite part of The Beatles - unusual chord changes, unexpected melodies, unexpected changes and time signatures are all Paul. Another Day is extraordinary somewhere between Eleanor Rigby (I LOVE Paul's observations and I am not a lyrics person) and the changes in "You never give me your money" although the latter has more changes, admittedly. It's absolutely blissful and I'm ashamed to say that I came to Paul's solo work extremely late.
I hope ringo and George's words were for that reason too. John was more complicated.
At the time music had to be ‘heavy’ and have ‘meaning’ and loud and bluesy! McCartney more then anyone always did and does what he wants. No other rockstar would of made when I’m 64 in 1967 or get away with it. Imagine Jagger or Hendrix doing it. He has so many different styles of music it’s skitsophrenic in away. To me Mccartney is a musical genius .
Schizophrenic in a way
I totally agree with you but I can’t stand improper grammar
This is one of the catchiest albums I have ever listened to
It sounds so much like Paul and the Beatles and the like and yet nothing like them at all
Paul wrote When I'm 64 when he was 15 or 16 not in '67, that's just when it went on an album
@@patriciaedwards5183 It doesn't matter when he wrote it, the point is that no other rockstar could release music hall style songs like When I'm Sixty-Four or Honey Pie in the 60s except for Paul McCartney.
@@verticalfish The Kinks did that too.
Yeah. Part of what makes Paul cool is that he's not afraid to be uncool.
"Back seat of my car" is so much ahead of it's time. Years later on, Queen would be releasing those kind of stuff.
Love " _Back Seat of My Car_ " I love every song on that album. 🤎 Theres not one bad song! I love the way side two kicks off with _Heart of the Country_
Nice, mellow Acoustic Guitar song, then in comes _Monkberry Moon Delight_ " *WOW* .. what a rocker! And I love the vocal! He used on The Beatle song, " _Oh Darling_ "
"Helter Skelter", and others.
I don't have very nice comments to make about QUEEN, totally over rated and schizophrenic song writing, patchwork songs.
Whereas, the album RAM is one of the best albums ever made.
When the 2,3,4 slides into SMILE AWAY, I lose my shit man.
That is filthy, dirty Rock, with hilarious lyrics.
McCartney is a GOD and a very humble one, so down to Earth.
Dear boy has a very ‘queen’ sound to it too
@@alanstrom2221 I agree with the last half and Queen is incredible.
@@alanstrom2221 Queen is the opposite of overrated, my dear. They were one of the absolute greatest musical gifts we'll ever have.
Ram is one of the most romantic rock n roll/acoustic records ever made, greatly underappreciated.
Absolutely!
New Wave As Well!
im going to be honest i put off listening to most of paul mccartney's solo stuff because i didn't really like his songs from towards the ends of the beatles, they seemed drowned out by the likes of john with his eccentric experimental stuff, but after watching this video i was like "i guess i should listen to ram". i need to thank you for putting me onto this, i have to say that ram may be one of the best albums ever made by anyone like ever. i now have it on vinyl and im glad to say that its the best purchase ive ever made, so thank you for making this video and changing my mind!
I'd say Paul McCartney is more experimental than John.
@@flemit35 - Paul's always had to push against that stereotype; I recall reading/hearing him saying that even in the middle 60s, when John was going back to suburbia at night (with Cynthia and Julian) Paul and Jane Asher were heading into the more experimental clubs in London.
@@thosdot6497 I meant musically, in my view Johns music tends to fit nicely into the Rock genre, is more emotional and personal than Paul, while Paul has more quirky song and covers greater styles. John usually gets more praise from music critics because most music critics are rock fans, while Paul is really one of the great rock performers when he wants to be he obviously loves more pop orientate material as well
@@flemit35 - very true, Paul's interviews with Rick Rubin touch back on how John and Pau, and their different approaches to life and music were possibly influenced by the different fortune they had growing up. Further to the critic thing though, is that at the end of the 60s and into the early 70s, authenticity was the thing; John's anguished output obviously rated much more highly on that metric.
@@flemit35 From what I've read and heard, anything "edgy" (Revolution 9) and experimental (Tomorrow Never Knows) that John gets so much credit for, Paul was already doing on his own first, experimenting with sound collages and tape loops. In fact, Paul was so into the avant-garde that he hosted a show of Yoko's work at Indica Gallery---where John met Yoko!
my favorite Beatles solo album
I listened to it more than many Beatles album
I love ram but cmon all things must pass?
Ram is by far my favorite album by anyone, ever and has been since the first time I listened to it in 1975. I was 12 at the time and discovering the Beatles and their solo work. Nothing has surpassed it, IMHO, since that day.
@@lauraweiss7875 I’m sorry but ok computer is considered one if not the greatest album of all time and one of the most influential albums of all time by critics and all things must pass by George is wayyyyy more important then ram
@@lauraweiss7875 Ram is a very special album to me too, and I don't know if I've ever heard another album by another artist that I ever preferred over Ram, or that ever had such a magical effect on me.
@@jackkitchen154 that's your taste bro, accept other's
I like the sound of ram more than any other solo beatles album. all things must pass is great tho
I was 15 years old when Ram came out and as soon as I heard it I understood it. No saying its the greatest album ever but over the years I think I listen to it more than any other album in the world. I always go back to Ram. It's a quirky, idiosyncratic, goofy, brilliant, melodic, stoner masterpiece. It inspired me to learn the ukelele. Rock critics are the most useless form of life on earth. Don't pay any attention to them. Ram on.
Thanks for the comment man! This was lovely to read :)
ram shoulda been called "Pure McCartney".
I think movie critics may be slightly more useless than music critics. I loved Ram from the first listen in the mid 80s. Never understood the disdain it had received from critics.
Me too ....always go back to it.
@@catsofsherman1316 I think the idea was to punish McCartney, no matter how good what he was doing. Criticism was adverse to him but paradoxically, his albums were successful and Paul filled stadiums.
I love this album, I've been listening "Monkberry moon delight" a lot, I love all the theatrics he gave to it!
Extraordinary singing that gets better as the song goes on
That song goes nuts
It’s kind of wild how aggressive of a song it is, but Paul’s vocals are so good.
That’s my favorite off the album FOR SUREEE!!
JUSTICE FOR RAM AND INDIE POP
PREACH
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@@flamingpi2245 sounds like a not as good version of talking heads. But float your boat peter pettigrew.
I bought the RAM album when it was released and couldn't get home fast enough to listen. Every song is good and it stands the test of time. Screw the critics - they had it in for Paul back in the day - blaming him for the breakup. Paul's the complete package - he can write the song, record the song, produce the song and market the song. He truly is the one man band.
I agree!
Seriously. Not to put down the others, but he’s a four headed monster all on his own.
Funnily enough, for all talk of All Things Must Pass and Plastic Ono Band "spurring him into" making a more ambitious album, he recorded the basic tracks for the whole album from October 12th to November 20th, 1970, which is before the release of both albums. I always found that interesting, as it shows that no matter what kind of album the other Beatles made, RAM was already there :D
John and Yoko had already made two LPs, and George had made "Wonderwall". McCartney's first solo was "McCartney," and it is embarrassingly amateurish for all his experience in recording.
@@jnagarya519 - i think the reason why it sounds amateurish as you call it is because he didn’t go to a professional recording studio or hired anyone to mix it and clean it up. He recorded it at his home studio in a farm, using whatever he had lying around, throwing any ideas that may stick etc. it wasn’t his strongest album but it did show him that he could do it, that he could have a life after the beatles.
@@jnagarya519 No one who records and engineers Maybe I'm Amazed is amateurish.
@@jnagarya519 amauterish my ass
@Mika Hattunen When I first learned that Paul McCartney made " *The McCartney* " album all by himself, I was like HOW? Then I learned of _Multi-Tracking._
By the way " _McCartney III_ " is out and its great! But I'm longer in bands. Those days have passed. But I love writing songs and recording them, playing all instruments.
Its really fun, to come up with Guitar parts, keyboard/Piano parts, a cool bass-line, a vocal, And the drums. I have a nice Yamaha set , but sometimes its late at night
and people are asleep so I use either my drum machine or the drums built into my keyboard. Anyway, I thank Paul McCartney for introducing me back in 1970
to Multi-Track Recording/ Overdubbing.. Thanks Sir Paul! 👍🏾 🚶♂️🚶♂️🚶♂🚶
It’s just kinda beautiful to see how Paul has always been put down by life and people and still that never deterred him, he kept doing the music he loved, he responded to haters with a smile and nowadays people are finally realizing how amazing his discography was after the end of The Beatles
Reminds me if his lyrics for "Smile Away"!
I’m a relatively new Beatles fan, and I consider him the reason for that entirely, his songwriting is by far my favourite aspect of The Beatles.
Yes. I remember getting into The Beatles some 10-ish years ago, and I had this instinctual feeling that Paul didn’t any anywhere as much praise and recognition as he deserves. But I also see that people, especially journalists, are seeing him now for his complete artistry, amazing work ethic and how much they did him wrong. And that’s satisfying as hell to see.
In my teens in the early 70s, I was given both the 'McCartney' and 'Ram' albums as birthday gifts from my Uncle. He said to me that these albums will be your favourite because they are brilliant. I remember playing both albums over and over, and I did think they were brilliant. To this day I still listen to these albums on the original vinyls that I received and yes, they are among my favourite albums to listen to.
awesome...Your Uncle had taste, and so do you
I lost my ‘Ram’ vinyl. 😭
There's another reason why critics often destroy contemporary albums that become classics. Critics, especially those working for the RollingStones and Pitchforks of the world, seem to be looking for the next bandwagon, seeking trends (both musical and political in music) to back, to give an extra spin to a trend that's already gaining momentum and looking like it's "the future", the next big thing! And if your music doesn't fit into that idea, good luck, whether it's Ram, Led Zeppelin IV or De-Loused in the Comatorium, it'll be trashed by the same outlets that may later celebrate it as a classic.
That's why I don't waste my time on critics and enjoy watching video essays from independent creators instead. Like this one.
Pitchfork is a very modern publication and far more supportive and less cliquey than Rolling Stone was but I take your point.
De-Loused does suck though
Those that can do...Do! Those that can't Criticize!
@@NiteMoves2010
Sometimes those who do also criticize.
People have the right to opinionate for worse, you don't have to make something to know if it's good or not i.e you're gonna know if something you're eating is good or bad
@@McDoinky Those that can, don't criticize, they evaluate and comment, i.e critique...very different.
Dang, dude. I had never heard this album. Gotta say, three listens through yesterday, and it's quickly becoming a favorite. Lovely, yet raw. Simple, yet exploratory and playful. So much fun. Thank you!
Ram has always been a unique sounding album on it's own. I've always loved this album and am surprised it still sounds fresh and original. Many McCartney albums sound better with hindsight because they become free of the musical norm of the era. McCartney doesn't make music to fit into its time but makes it to be timeless. Go Paul!
Like Queen and Mozart. I was a Queen fan in the 80s and ridiculed. Now everybody and their children is singing to Bohemian Rhapsody.
“They become free of the musical norm of the era” Yes, this comment is so true!
I've been a Beatles fan almost my whole life, and only a solo Paul fan for the last few years. What I realise is that back then Paul had a much, much wider taste in music than most of the critics, and it's only many years later, when musical taste has become less tribal and partisan, that we realise that Paul was that way right from the very start.
Dude I couldn’t disagree more. There’s been so much more genrefication, and musical tribalism over the last two decades than the 5 that preceded it.. people need their favorite to be indie pop/scream core/post punk/rockabilly/watermelons and “no other band is exactly like the one I like”.. I’ve been actively buying records since the 90s. There is more genre sections in stores now than ever before.. you used to be able to go through the pop/rock section and ultimately pop/rock/alternative section (alternative being a remarkably ironic monicker) and fond 90% of what you were looking for unless you really had a specific desire for something special you were into at the time.. pretending your multimillion album selling “indie pop” band doesn’t belong with those categories of music flys in the face of what the Beatles did to open up things beyond the very strict musical tribalism of the music industry in the pre Beatles world.
Cheers.
@@nubworthycigars6682 it's certainly true that people nowadays have far more access to a much wider range of music than they did. What I was really talking about was the mainstream media, who were quite snobbish about anything that you might consider 'pop', whereas nowadays most people enjoy pop for what it is, and amongst other things, Macca is the godfather of pop, he's always loved it, right back to the 1920 / 30s stuff he learned from his dad.
My friend's mum game me a copy of the RAM album in 1993 and it made me realise that Paul was the creative force behind The Beatles. I've used this album many times since when discussing with friends 'who is the best Beatle?' and while George and John had great albums, Ram is the most Beatles-like.
IMO, the 1st indie pop album is "Smiley Smile" by the Beach Boys. It was released on their newly formed independent label, the production was gloriously lo-fi, and the songs were creative. The album came out 4 years before "RAM".
Only album to compete with RAM
Came here to say this… beach boys were a few years ahead of Paul even on this
@@danielfleming9630 Disagree, and I was referring to SMiLE
@@Meneervdberg to me it’s very hard to compare something like SMiLE to Ram… they’re almost polar opposites given the complexity and breadth of instrumentation of SMiLE, consisting of nearly a full orchestra at parts.… Smiley Smile on the other hand, (while still the inferior version of the two, imo) is still pretty great and was an innovation for the time, being made at Brian’s homespun makeshift studio. So in that sense, maybe The Beach Boys can be credited as making the first of its kind, especially following close after with Friends and Wild Honey… but I do have to admit that the material on RAM comes off a bit more well-written, produced and cohesive than those BB albums… it’s very impressive what Paul was able to put together like this
Both McCartney and the Beach Boys suffered from an attack of the uncools for their output at the start of the 1970s, and both frankly have been vindicated by just how pervasive and influential those records have been to modern music.
What goes round....... .
.... comes around
Agreed. The Beach Boys run of albums from 1967's Smiley Smile (which is THE first ever indie album) through to Holland in 1973 were largely met with indifference at the time, but today they're absolutely adored, by fans and critics alike. And rightly so.
@@thomasogg602 For sure, and people shouldn't sleep on Love You either.
@@MH90 Nope, nor L.A. (Light Album). Or most of the pre-Pet Sounds albums either. Incredible body of work.
Monkberry Moon Delight is just simply... awesome.
GOD i’ve always been so entranced by that song
@@wikaela9822 same here! It gave MAD magical mystery tour vibes for me.
My favorite, or one of my favorites on the album! 🚶♂️🚶♂️🚶♂🚶
Funny though, talking about Ram, John once said, "I can't stand the second track from the... well I mean. It doesn't matter anyway". Second track from the second side? Was john getting ready to take a swipe at Monkberry Moon?
Facts
I was given the Ram lp for my 11th birthday. I begged for it! I think it was actually the first album I ever owned myself. I listened to my two brothers albums and 45’s. The Beatles will forever be my #1 ❤️
Thank you for mentioning Linda's contribution to Paul's work. While not being a really good singer, her voice added a beautiful texture to the background vocals. I really miss her.
Yeh i love it on this album
Define “good singer”? Her vocals in Ram are incredibly smooth
@@McDoinky Sade, Joan Osbourne, Bonnie Raitt,Shamekia Copeland....
@@kitano0 so she’s bad because she’s not on your list?
RAM was a record that blew my little 10 year old mind in 1975 when I first heard it. Paul is a genius.
takes lot to impress a ... 10 year old boy
@@nathanreiber6819 Keep in mind, my favorite band prior to hearing this was The Osmond Brothers.
@Nathan Reiber I don't think so. It's early teens where it takes a lot of work. 10 year old boys and girls are fairly open.
@@nathanreiber6819 Same for me and the same age. I found in my mom's (or maybe one of her boyfriends') record collection. Really didn't know who Paul McCartney or the Beatles were, but this record spoke to me.
@@ellie-tk4jy I was being cheekily sarcastic when I posted that. Great record though.
Ringo on Paul’s songwriting: “not one good song”
Ringo’s song writing: “he’s lives on a farm, got plenty of charm beep beep”
😂 lmao
The audacity of Ringo with that comment, though lmfao
Beep beep, mmm, beep beep, yeah!
I can see Rin Go having a comment about Paul's drumming... But as far as writing songs, well - come on!
@@Cat-hn2on And he wasn't even the best drummer in the Beatles! 😂
It's May 17, 2021 and Ram turns 50. Wonderful album to listen to.
My brother was a huge Beatle's fan and I remembering him playing Ram a lot when I was 15 years of age, I immediately loved this album and the way the songs all sound different yet somehow gel together. I still love this album and I feel it is McCartney's best solo album. Props to you for mentioning Linda's voice as well. I think that the tonality of her voice completely compliments this album and is easy on the ears, unlike Yoko Ono's voice on John Lennon's albums. I remember buying Double Fantasy and being very upset that Yoko's songs were places after every other John Lennon song, as opposed to all her songs being on side B of the album, and if memory serves me correctly, all or a good number of her songs faded from his songs into her. As a result I remember I had to re-record all his songs onto a cassette tape just to listen to his music uninterrupted, and fade them out before it got to one of Yoko's songs.
agree with your opinion about enjoying "poppy crappy" music. honestly, real life is already too serious, let people(me) enjoy their indulgent music!
yup. Thats what Freddie Mercury said. Music is escapist. We dont need preaching from 20 yr old musicians. That whole preaching thing got Lennon killed because he was a hypocrite.
Same happened to The Beach Boys. All of their records from late 60's and early 70's were ignored completely and nowadays some of those albums have gone to be known as the best of all time like "Sunflower".
RAM was Paul McCartney's answer to what Brian Wilson was trying to do with Smile as an answer to Magical Mystery Tour, and so on. Those two were still competing with each other after everyone else had lost interest.
What?? Smile was an answer to Revolver, it was recorded way before Magical Mystery Tour and 70% of it was recorded before Pepper as well.
Ram is probably the best album he made after The Beatles.
It had the creative flow The White Album had. Just less messy.
Ram and McCartney II have got to be his two best and most experimental albums by him and my personal favorites. They're so..."McCartney".
@@_PuppetMaster86 Yep! I adore McCartney II so much
@@thesilvershining I wish Secret Friend was on the album and not an added track
White album was so messy because the band had some contractual obligations with EMI (I think) to release a certain number of songs. Basically, they put all those songs in that album to get out of a previous deal, and thus make more money going forward. I got that info from an interview with george martin, during his later years.
RAM is seriously incredible - it holds up so well, and honestly it aged brilliantly and I'm glad it's finally respected today. I feel the same way about McCartney II.
Haha no.
‘Dear Boy’ is an almost completely overlooked masterpiece. Just listen to it and say it is not so.
It's as great as any Beatles song/recording...and I LOVE the Beatles...from the first note to the last not just an amazing performance!
Belle and Sebastian based an entire career on that one song.
Agreed.
A fantastic, fantastic love song. Has to be heard through headphones to appreciate the many layers of sound.
My favourite McCartney song, it's incredible
I bought the album. Then I bought the cassette. Then I bought the cd. And then I bought the download. I can't say that about too many albums. I love Ram.
I received Ram for my 11th birthday in 1971 and I’ll never forget unwrapping it to see that magical gatefold artwork and being swept away by my favourite Beatle with ‘Too Many People’ wow, what an album after Abbey Road, the dream was still alive I guess. Maybe that’s why I ended being a record producer.
It is the best album and thanks for the magical content! Great channel!
The algorithm has blessed me with this channel.
Lennon - "I'm going to show you my willy, strut about in a quasi-military outfit and make out I personally invented the notion of peace". Harrison - "I'm going to bring eastern philosophy to the attention of the godless western world". Starr - "I'm going on a decade long bender". McCartney - "I'm going to make a tuneful album with my beloved wife that people can enjoy and sing along to". Well what's wrong with that - I'd like to know.
... cause here I go agaaaaain! ;)
There's no Eastern philosophy on all things must pass
The only feat acknowledged here, unspoken yet as obvious as a bulldozer parked in your backyard, is that Beatle Paul has released a half century's worth of highly forgettable music. How images of Joy Division, a band of unsurpassed creative brilliance, made its way into this sorry attempt to convince people that post-Beatle Paul had a major influence on pop/rock's future should be enough to aggravate even casual fans of intelligent, inventive pop or rock music.
@Bröther May I Have Some Lööps You're traveling in regressive music circles, Brother. If I understand you correctly, you are trying to diminish the significance of Ian Curtis, and Joy Division, because of a song being used as "theme" music for a television show, yes? I would cease paying attention to tv theme music I were you,sir, if you are going to profess and expound on who and what have been the major influences on the evolution of popular music. Invest more time in media devoted to the art. Pay attention to current heavy-hitting musicians and deejays citing past musicians as influences and the reason they got into music in the first place. Ian Curtis, Joy Division, and their successors, New Order, who reshaped "club" dance music, come up time and again.
@Bröther May I Have Some Lööps Sister, more young people know the name Coca-Cola more than they know the name Evian water but that doesn't mean the former isn't bad for you. Of course McCartney is a household name. Because he had a musical life before he heard that "someone's knockin'at the door". If no long and winding road had been taken, and no John and George known, it's highly likely his early solo albums would've been found in record store remainder bins, along with other orphaned works by people with names like Leo Sayer, Air Supply, and Strawberry Alarm Clock. Never too early to become an accomplished musical historian. Lots of indie music is truly insipid as you should find with extensive listening. And there's lots of echoes of Ian Curtis/ Joy Division in today's and near-today's music: The War On Drugs, Nick Cave, Mark Lanegan , Interpol, The National. . . . .
Just because you're dead or retired from the music business does not mean you weren't or are not influential.
Far worse to be alive and think you are influential, yes? Keep listening to the music and treasure the links between what you love now and its associations with the musical past.
I found this album my junior year in college. I studied it all year and it became part of my heart forever. I love, love, love that album.
This is my absolute favorite “solo” record by any beatle... I always felt like this album was and influence on some of my favorite “indie” groups like Grizzly Bear and Beirut.
“Ram” was definitely ahead of it’s time...being released at a time when Prog Rock & Singer Songwriters were on the rise. Both it & “McCartney” were bold in their minimalist approaches compared to the grandiose nature of most late 60’s - early 70’s Rock. Both LPs have their epic moments but in general have a back to basics feel...even the title was a clever play on “(Paul) Ramone” from the Silver Beetles days.
I think you can call Ram whatever one wants but as compared to his first album...Ram is grandiose in places...I don’t think Mc 1 is at all.
Regardless, critics missed the boat on this one and it’s almost as if Paul could have recorded Sgt Pepper 2 and it would have been panned
All kinds of music was on the rise at that time, not just prog-rock , heavy metal/rock (Black Sab, Deep Purple etc.), singer-songwriter/soft rock (Carole King, America) McCartneyesque pop (Badfinger), pop-rock like Elton John, glam rock was around the corner (Slade, T Rex). I don't think McCartney was trying to be ground breaking then, just doing what came to him immediately without fellow Beatles interfering. The results could be very good or very average.
@@terrythekittieful I’m well aware of the hard rock, glam, pop rock, etc. of the period. It may have been an oversight not to list every genre. I still stand by my point that Ram was ahead of it’s time to which it’s recent re-evaluation by many fans & critics alike attests.
@@kentlewis987 I'm not knocking 'Ram', I like it, but there were heaps of other albums by other artists at the time that were much better.
@@terrythekittieful there’s no denying 1971 was a great year for music...Who’s Next, Sticky Fingers, What’s Going On, There’s a Riot Goin’ On, Led Zeppelin IV, Imagine, Tapestry, etc. but at some point it becomes subjective. The other LPs listed may have had more serious themes in general but IMO that only gives credence to my original point.
Good job with this mate. I was (and still am) a big Beatles fan in the mid 90s and read the reviews of Ram at that time which made it sounds like tosh so i never bothered with it. About 10 years later, however (mid-2000s) I decided to put my toe into the post-Beatles Paul stuff (already loved John & some of George's work) and listed to 'Back Seat of My Car' and 'Uncle Albert' which kind of blew me away as they are such great tunes. I then decided to download the whole album, listened to it and now rate it as one of my all-time favourites. Certainly top 50. Maybe top 30. Tunes like Ram on, Dear Boy and Long-haired Lady are such awesome use of melody & composition and I think you are right it saying that this album was arguably the start of low-fi indie/pop in the way it was made & produced and the themes that run throughout it.
Red Rose Speedway is also a great album to complement Ram, perhaps even more so than McCartney.
When I listen to Beatles songs, besides the music, there is also this kind of magic, of four friends who created songs together. I guess I miss this spirit in the solo works, even though there are definitely many good to very good songs.
But I have to admit that I have only now listened to RAM in its entirety and many songs have captivated me! And to also think of Paul and Linda as a young couple who created it all together gives it that special touch (for me).
Thanks for your informative and entertaining report, Elliot!
their solo stuff is not as solid and consistent as their work as a band. some of the solo songs are "almost beatle quality", but there's always something missing. and their solo albums have filler songs. when they were together that didn't happen, they had enough material to do 14 good songs on every album. they have good songs, but "normal good", like "normal artists".
as a band they were something more, not "normal".
I got into the Beatles at quite a young age. In my teen years, I was all about John. The introspection, the angst, the despair, all juxtaposed with the non-sensical. I thought of Paul as "the pop guy" who reigned john's ideas into consumable songs. This even extended into John's solo career, in which you could really hear the absence of Paul. Paul's "The long and winding road" was, to me, the penultimate pop schlock. I always knew, though, that the Beatles were a sum of their parts.
Years later, after passing through my teen angst years, and playing in bands, creating music, and being a tiny bit less angsty, I re-visited Paul. My mind was blown and I felt a fool for how much I had underrated him. For that time period, outside of underground music, does it get more experimental than Pauls albums? He deftly hid that experimentation in brilliant melodies. He also continued to do so throughout his career. Sure, tons of pop schlock thrown, but Driving Rain? McCartney III? I also loved when he showed up to record in that Sound City documentary with a cigar box guitar. While I don't think there's any lack of acknowledgement of Paul's contributions to music via Beatles and solo, I think more are waking up to his essential role in making the Beatles what they were. I think the term "refined experimentation" my suit this situation well.
Looks like Ram was just too ahead of it's time! It's a great record!
Man you are amazing! RAM is hella modern ......
Hella timeless.
Love The Beatles, love McCartney, love "Ram." The last two minutes of "Long Haired Lady" is up there with any Beatles tune. An underrated tune on an underrated album. Thanks Elliot for shining the spotlight on this gem.
My god?? I was always drawn to Paul out of the four yet a bit hesitant to listen to his solo works for some reason. But now that I’ve listened to Ram I’m in absolute awe!! Thank you so much for this video. This album is the perfect middle ground between Beatles and Velvet U, definitely a new favourite of mine 🤩🤩
I just discovered your channel via CZcams recommendation and I'm so glad I found it! Even though you only made two videos, they have very good quality and I enjoy watching them! Keep going!
Great video mate, what an underrated channel you've got here! I particular like what you said about Linda; I've always thought she had such a unique overlooked voice, and it complimented Paul's style beautifully. RAM is a true masterpiece!
Elliot, the amount of work you must do for you videos is incredible. I love how you give all the background information before you focus on the main talking point of your video. I start off the videos with a few questions and you manage to answer each question so I feel completely satisfied and far more knowledgeable by the end of it. I've never listened to RAM, but I'm going to check it out this week. Thank you for the quality videos.
I've grown up listening to the Beatles since I was born (thanks to my dad who was born in 1964!) and I only discovered my favourite McCartney album last year! I fell in love with Wild Life so much that my best friend bought me the vinyl just because he saw how much I loved it. Paul's music literally transcends time to the point where it is still leagues ahead of many indie artists and songs of today. If I didn't know that Paul was the singer behind Wild Life I would've thought it a modern indie song!
Love the video!
Paul's music makes me warm, like some vague but tender childhood dream i almost remember ❤️😁🙂
🥳💜True Magician 🤯👽
Wild Life deserves ALL the love!!!!!! Glad you enjoy it!!
Thank you!!! Been saying this for years. Ram is a masterpiece. Great video.
Great Review! Like Ram Wing's last album "Back to the Egg" is simply genus in it's mixed styles and rawness. McCartney never needed to impress, he loves what he does!
Loved it when it was released, love it today, and all the years in between. It just doesn’t get old. Ram on!
I only discovered this album in 2020 and was surprised how wonderful it was. Great critique.
Such a great video. Love the scene of you putting on the record at the end - so satisfying!
I was 12 when RAM was released. It has been one of my favorite albums since that time. A few years later in college I would sit with friends and we would play the songs our guitars, sing and be happy. I really would never have cared what a critic thought. You need to hunt down the album "HOLLY DAYS" credited to Denny Laine. It is essentially Paul McCartney and Denny in Paul's barn doing Buddy Holly songs with Denny singing lead. Great lo-fi genius.
Holly Days is great!
I love Ram more than any album I can think of at the moment. It is in my opinion peak Paul McCartney even though at the time he was not in a great headspace following the breakup of The Beatles. Ram is one of my number one inspirations when it comes to writing my own music. When i listen to ram i want to go out into a field with my guitar and write my own ram. I am scared i might copy it, so im not going to. Every time i have my ram songwriting field day dream i am quickly reminded that i live in a city and cannot do that. I used to live in the country and when i listen to ram i want nothing more than to go back. It feels like home that album does. Nothing makes me happier than it. I think i officially have to say it is my favourite album. I love and appreciate it so much. I cant use words to explain it.
I was in 10th grade or so when this came out & I remember LOVING every second of it, as well as it’s predecessor McCartney. I was not aware of anyone who didn’t Love it!! To me it was the most like a Beatles album than any of the other Beatles solo works.
I just got into the beatles recently...... and RAM was the first album I listened to after discovering the Beatles solo careers....I love the home grown feel it’s beautiful
It was the exact same thing for me!
I love your channel this far!! excited to see what's to come
Thank you so much for bringing attention to this outstanding album. I have loved every song on this gem since it was originally released. There are so many little nuances that were intentionally left for us to savor...the deep inhale at the beginning of Ram On, the voice going to a growl at various times on Monkberry Moon Delight, the missed line in Smile Away. This was Paul McCartney's genius on full display!
I've had this video pop up as a suggestion by CZcams for over a year now, and I have no idea why I hadn't watched it until today. Brilliant. Ram is one of my all time favourite albums, right up there with Dark Side Of The Moon, Abbey Road, A New World Record, Revolver and Rumours. Sometimes I put off watching videos about my favourite things in case they just try to trash them. It wouldn't change my mind, but we can all do without that at the end of a hard day, right? Anyway, I loved this video. Thank you for making it. I guess one reason I watched it now is because the other day I sat through your review of every McCartney album ranked, and I did that in one sitting. And enjoyed that too. So I felt this might be a safe bet now.
Anyhoo, thanks. Loved it.
RAM is and has always been my fave McCartney album. That's one superb disc. 3 Legs, Eat at Home, Smile Away - these tracks are fantastic.
"ringo also released an album." lol
A little dismissive, Ringo was doing the “sing the Great American Songbook” decades before that became a thing.
For a while, Ringo was the number one selling solo artist from the Beatles.
@@Skachild23 exactly
@@salmonsandwich3183
I was thinking of a rock and roll artist doing the “American Songbook”, not the pre-rock and roll singers.
@@salmonsandwich3183
I’m pretty familiar with Ella, she’s great!
I felt SO vindicated when pitchfork & co finally recognized the greatness of this album. RAM's always been one of my fav Paul solo albums, it's overflowing with fun and creativity (and a big helping of f you attitude.)
It's great to see that Ram is getting more recognition today. It's my favorite Beatles solo album next to All Things Must Pass. Such an incredible album, every track is great for the reasons you stated in your video! Ram also gave us the single "Another Day" (my favorite solo Paul tune), which was sadly not included on that album. Great video!
Great review, also nice to see your Hofner bass in the background when you play the record
Wonderful video. I listened to RAM for the first time the other day, alongside McCartney's most notable solo work after the release of his new album. I'm genuinely starting to prefer his work over John Lennon's and George Harrison's. Can't believe I left his work in the dark for so long.
Same.
UGH, I sooooo hate my smug, conceited '90s teenage self for dismissing this when I had it on CD. Over the years I've slowly come to realized how incredibly prophetic this piece of art was. Sorry, Band on the Run. RAM is Macca's best in my book.
Psyched to see a channel with quality music history videos! Looking forward to your content 👍🏼
Ram was slammed by critics whov never made a hit album.
Goes to show, even in the early 70’s...if you weren’t in someone’s back pocket...Rags like RS could make or break you. Also didn’t help, the narrative was beginning to lean towards Paul being the evil ex-Beatle...
His first LP was a better album. Ram is peppered with the kind of pop schlock he was a master of.
@@mikephalen3162
And what's wrong with that? What's this weird aversion to pop music that people seem to have? Songs aren't automatically inferior just because of their style.
@@mikephalen3162 boils down to personal tastes..not your or my opinions. Ram is far and away, better than his first record. Doesn’t matter to me if anyone agrees with me...it’s my tastes, not anyone else’s. If someone enjoys Back to the Egg more...fantastic for them, noting wrong with that
True, but it was also bought by people who’d never made one either.
This deserves so many more views, extremely well-done man !
RAM is one of the most exciting and incredible albums I have ever heard. And I heard A LOT!
Sir Paul McCartney is the quintessential musician of our time.
Your videos make me see things in new light(s). I appreciate the thought and care you take in each one.
I gotta give Ram another listen. Its been awhile.
RAM is my favorite album from my favorite Beatle... little did I know that it was *this* big (or that it would be)... dude, I love to know that you are into The Beatles and them separately...
again, thanks for another *incredible* video, you are awesome !!
"Smiley Smile" says hello
Nah, Smiley Smile was just the first Animal Collective album.
As does Friends (1968).
Smile Away !
I first heard Ram as a little girl after I'd devoured the entire Beatles catalog and was hungry for MORE! That was back in the 80s where the only thing I knew about older albums was the fact that I was able to find them in record stores and try them out! I had no idea the album was hated by critics, and I loved it! That and Tug of War are my favorite McCartney solo albums. Wings I didn't like as much because, now that you brought this whole thing up about indie pop sounds, it has more of a formulaic rock band feel to it....which I guess is what they were going for? Wings seems to have been built to have a good-time take it on the road, good old fashioned rock and roll band experience, whereas some of Paul's early solo albums definitely have a quieter, more quirky and playful thing going on with them. Thank you for talking about Ram! I've always thought it was a wonderful, creative and supremely melodic album!
Love your videos man, amazingly done and a well deserved tribute to an often overlooked masterpiece.
You definitely need more subs this was really good
Your analysis is spot on! Even without it, "Ram" is so cool.
Dude I really love your Beatles content!! I’ve watched each video ❤️ keep it up 👍🏻
I love this album - I think it was influenced by their children - that's why it appealed to me as a kid. He's always had that kid-ness about his solo music.
Linda: "So Paul, how do you like the new album cover with you posing with a ram?"
Paul: "It's good, but it won't look good when it's shrunk onto a CD."
Linda: "What's a CD?"
Paul: "A compact disc."
Linda: "Paul, are you from the future?"
Paul: "Yeah."
Linda: "How is it?"
Paul: "I'll tell you if you agree to do my song about Uncle Albert..."
Stealing jokes form Family Guy? Oof, yeah, there's gonna be a tax for that.
This joke is from family guy and it doesn’t even make any sense the way you tell it. The Ram album cover looks fine on a CD where as the Sgt Pepper album doesn’t becouse it makes all the faces too small to tell who they are.
I love everything about RAM, from the slight jabs at John and the Beatles to the utter chaos of Paul and Linda having fun, especially on my favorite, Monkberry Moon Delight (how is it any different than I am the Walrus in its silliness and nonsense?) I really don't understand the hate but that comes from discovering it as a teenager nearly a half century later I guess. But like McCartney II, which is admittedly not as good, both were ahead of their time and hold up a lot better today IMHO than his 80s stuff. Great video!
VERY nicely done! I'm a musician and a lover of the Beatles since childhood (my birth and firs year overlapping with their having become popular in England and then the US). I really do love some of Paul's contributions to music in general. This album has some really choice pieces in it. I find that on each album of his - either on his own or with Wings - there is at least one tune that I always want to come back to. On Band on the Run, it's Picasso's Last Words (which he wrote resulting from a conversation with Dustin Hoffman asking if he could write about a subject that he suggested, then pointed to the headline of Picasso's death). On Red Rose Speedway, it's "My Love", Venus & Mars, it's "Venus & Mars/Rock Show" and "Letting Go", London Town it's "I'm Carrying" & "Famous Groupies", Back to the Egg it's "Spin It On" & I think I'm hardly alone liking "Coming Up" from McCartney II. He has a way of bringing me back again time after time. Thanks for the commentary on this album. He really should be treasured as one of our greatest songwriters and Indie Pop is, quite certainly, squarely within his realm.
This was such an amazing video! Informative and entertaining all at the same time! I was super intrigued when you said John Lennon "invented" alternative rock and grunge. You should definitely make a video on that! I'd totally watch it.
I love your haircut! I'll show the stylist a picture of you next time I take the good ol' reliable bunch of fuzz into the shop.
Great review! I viewed this because of McCartney's latest release, III, and all the different reviews that album gets, from sheer praise to almost slaughter. So....well...haha, some things never change?! Ram is also one of my favorites (and with such an immaculate sound!). As is Chaos and Creation (although, apart from Fine Line, very moody and reflectiing in it's tone). Also: Red Rose Speedway, Flaming Pie, but also the aforementioned McCartney III; from first listen i liked it! Kind regards from The Netherlands! Simon
McCartney III actually reminds me more of Ram than McCartney I, especially all the farm songs haha
Yesss some love for Flaming Pie!
@Luke For me it's Memory Almost Full. Wipes the floor of everything from Off The Ground to Egypt Station inclusive.
III is strange, it meanders a lot and I think of Jeff Lynne's dad's comment to his son about early ELO records: "The problem with your tunes is, they've got no tune".
That's how I feel about McCartney III. But I enjoy listening to it like a trance record. But there are no riffs or hooks that lodge in my mind. I still can't remember how any of the tracks sound until I put it on again.. But that's pretty cool in its own way.
amazing content!! so well researched and great production! 👌
This is an excellent analysis mate. I totally concur with your comparison of Linda's backing vocals with that of Nico. Really nice reference to pull out of the bag. Your video has inspired me to go and listen to the record now! Keep doing what you do chap.