Paul McCartney – Ram Review

Solo efforts in the immediate, acrimonious split of The Beatles are tinged with a “told you so” attitude. Be it from the songwriting brilliance George Harrison proved to his other bandmates on All Things Must Pass or the artistic intent of John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s Unfinished Music Vol. 1: Two Virgins release. It left Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, the latter of which seemingly with no bad bone in his body and a desire to keep working with his former bandmates. McCartney retreated to his Scottish farm, and Ram came to be. One of his very best recordings, and that includes his work before with The Beatles and after with Wings. There is no getting around the joys of his pop-rock tones but it takes some getting used to. There is an expectation which is removed with time, for McCartney to be on the ball and create as he did in The Beatles. Such is the standard. Ram meets it.  

Everything listeners have come to love about McCartney as a solo artist or as a member of a group can be found on Ram. Hitting out at John Lennon on Too Many People, his opening song feels like a bit of an on-the-nose way to start the album but the depths of Ram are far greater than lyrical spats. A brutal song with its lyrical venom hidden under instrumental joys. The pissing in the wind suggestion, the snap in two, and a thumping, great instrumental to tie it all together, is hard to argue against. 3 Legs is a light bit of fun, a break after the heaviness of its opener and preparation for the instrumental brilliance of Ram On. Ukelele wonders and the depths of the percussion are an effort well worth hearing, the wispy production is the real focus here. McCartney’s instrumental liberation is what comes to life through Ram, his lyrics are still steady and should be no surprise to those who are fans of efforts like Oh Darling and Maxwell’s Silver Hammer. That light whimsy which affects his work is found here best of all.  

This is a perfect and welcoming storm. A tone of tenderness to cover from those harsh times circling. Ram is as much a reaction to professional hurt as it is a chance to lick the wounds of personal heartbreak. Uncle Albert / Admiral Halsey is a tremendous example of this. Those crashes of thunder were wonderfully literal but also held onto the isolated lifestyle McCartney and Linda found themselves in on Kintyre. Every song is a classic, and that is the usual arrangement for McCartney. Smile Away is perhaps swept up in the storm of knocks against The Beatles and pride in the isolation and freedom, but it is a fantastic rocking song with some suggestive, spirited lyrics.  

McCartney at his very best right here. There is always a risk of the catherine wheel spinning off and out of control. The Beatles provided some ballast to his out-there ideas and, free of the other Fab Four members, he must become his own censor. He manages to do so, keeping Ram balanced between respectable artistic brilliance and flickers of restraint. Every song is a classic. The lower octaves and booming, bold work on Monkberry Moon Delight to the charms of Long Haired Lady are pure McCartney. He gives Harrison a run for his money on the best post-Beatles albums. It is hard to look at Ram through any lens that does not consider the post-Beatles carnage, but Ram sounds equally liberated of consequence and trouble, even while making clear reference to those hardships.