Line #17 Music/RAM


1	[[quoteright:301:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ram_1318.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:301:''"You took your lucky break and broke it in two."'']]
3
4	->''"The songs don't feel collaborative so much as cooperative: little schoolhouse plays that required every hand on deck to get off the ground. Paul had the most talent, so naturally he was up front, but he wanted everyone behind him, banging pots, hollering, whistling-- whatever it is you did, make sure you're back there doing it with gusto. It is exactly this homemade charm that has caught on with generations of listeners as the initial furor around the album subsided. What 2012's ears can find on ''Ram'' is a rock icon inventing an approach to pop music that would eventually become someone else's indie pop. It had no trendy name here; it was just a disappointing [[Music/TheBeatles Beatles]] solo album."''
5	-->--'''Jayson Greene''', ''Pitchfork'' review (2012)
6
7	''Ram'' is the second studio album by Music/PaulMcCartney and debut studio album by Linda [=McCartney=], released in 1971 through Apple Records.
8
9	''Ram'' was styled as an attempt to respond to criticisms of 1970's ''Music/McCartney'' with a more fleshed-out production. Gone were the one-man band approach and [[EverythingIsAnInstrument shot glass and bow-and-arrow soloing]], replaced with a more typical series of pop songs. Critics didn't respond as Paul had hoped in the slightest, with ''Magazine/RollingStone'''s Jon Landau famously calling it "inconsequential", "monumentally irrelevant" and "the nadir of the decomposition of Sixties rock thus far". A. J. Weberman of the Rock Liberation Front was so affronted by an album that "said nothing about what was happening on the street" that he staged a mock funeral to symbolize Paul's death as a "representative of youth culture". Even Music/{{Ringo\|Starr}} publicly trashed the album, saying this: "I feel sad with Paul's albums because I believe he's a great artist, incredibly creative, incredibly clever, but he disappoints me on his albums. I don't think there's one tune on the last one, ''Ram''... he seems to be going strange." Music/JohnLennon had the strongest response as, [[ItsAllAboutMe convinced the album was a long attack on him]], he convened [[Music/GeorgeHarrison George]] and Ringo for an AnswerSong, "How Do You Sleep?" (Ringo reportedly refused to take part after hearing the lyrics, famously stating, "That's enough, John!"), later to appear on ''Music/{{Imagine}}''. (Paul later admitted that the song "Too Many People" was a dig at John; they buried the hatchet a few years later).
10
11	[[CriticalDissonance The critical slings and arrows stopped no one from buying the record]], which spawned the hit singles "[[SongStyleShift Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey]]", "[[IntercourseWithYou Eat at Home]]", and "[[PowerBallad The Back Seat of My Car]]" on its way to the top of the charts worldwide. Taken aback by the cold reception, [=McCartney=] became convinced he needed to form a real band to feel like a real musician again, birthing the first line-up of Music/{{Wings}} with Linda, ex-Music/TheMoodyBlues member Denny Laine and ''Ram'' drummer Danny Seiwell. Over time, ''Ram'' has gained in reputation, and while not quite receiving the praise of its most [[Music/AllThingsMustPass direct]] [[Music/JohnLennonPlasticOnoBand competition]], is now considered a key forerunner of JanglePop. (Its reputation has recovered enough that popular music review site Allmusic has given it the maximum rating of five stars, so it has been [[VindicatedByHistory/{{Music}} Vindicated by History]]).
12
13	In 1977, Percy "Thrills" Thrillington - [[AlternateRealityGame actually an adventurer persona McCartney invented to amuse himself]] - released an [[RearrangeTheSong orchestral]] version of ''Ram'' in its entirety. This version had been recorded during the original sessions, then stayed in the vault for six years.
14
15	Not to be confused with the TraditionalHeavyMetal band ''Ram''.
16
17	----
18	!! Tracklist:
19	!!!Original 1971 LP
20	[[AC: Side One]]
21	# "Too Many People" (4:10)
22	# "3 Legs" (2:44)
23	# "Ram On" (2:26)
24	# "Dear Boy" (2:12)
25	# "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey" (4:49)
26	# "Smile Away" (3:51)
27
28	[[AC: Side Two]]
29	[numlist:7]
30	# "Heart of the Country" (2:21)
31	# "Monkberry Moon Delight" (5:21)
32	# "Eat at Home" (3:18)
33	# "Long Haired Lady" (5:54)
34	# "Ram On" (0:52)
35	# "The Back Seat of My Car" (4:26)
36	[/numlist]
37
38	!!!Bonus Disc (2012 Remaster):
39	# "Another Day"
40	# "Oh Woman, Oh Why"
41	# "Little Woman Love"
42	# "A Love for You"
43	# "Hey Diddle"
44	# "Great Cock and Seagull Race"
45	# "Rode All Night"
46	# "Sunshine Sometime"
47
48	!!![=iTunes=] Bonus Tracks:
49	# "Eat at Home"/"Smile Away (Live)"
50	# "Uncle Albert Jam"
51
52	----
53	!! Trooooooooooopes across the water! (water) Trooooooooooopes across the sky!
54	* CallBack: The short piece "Ram On" is a reference to Paul's early stage name "Paul Ramon".
55	* CoverVersion: Several full-length covers of ''RAM'' have appeared in recent years, in part [[MilestoneCelebration as a celebration of Paul's 70th birthday]][[invoked]].
56	* EverythingIsAnInstrument: "Oh Woman, Oh Why" features Paul firing a gun in the studio as part of the percussion section.
57	* FaceOnTheCover: Paul's face can be seen on the album cover.
58	* InTheStyleOf:
59	** "Eat at Home" is a countrified Music/BuddyHolly pastiche.
60	** The stacked vocal harmonies of "Dear Boy" recall late-[[TheSixties '60s]] [[Music/TheBeachBoys Beach Boys]], circa-''{{Music/SMILE}}''.
61	* IntercourseWithYou: "Eat at Home" is about oral sex with one's wife. "The Back Seat of My Car" is similarly about making love [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin in the back seat]] [[AutoErotica of a car.]]
62	* OneWordTitle: "RAM".
63	* SayingSoundEffectsOutLoud: Paul mimics a ringing phone vocally about a minute into "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey".
64	* SongStyleShift:
65	** "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey" throws around various song fragments [=McCartney=] had lying around, adding up to some twelve distinct sections according to [[http://www.beatlesbible.com/people/paul-mccartney/songs/uncle-albert-admiral-halsey/The Beatles Bible]], because going up to eleven wasn't enough.
66	** "The Back Seat of My Car" alternates pop and orchestral sections before building into a big PowerBallad finish.
67	* TakeThat: Despite an abundance of WordSaladLyrics, Paul found space for a couple pot-shots.
68	** "Too Many People" starts off with a "Piece of cake" that sounds deliberately like "Piss off!" and quickly evolves into a rant about things "too many people" (but mostly John and {{Music/Yoko\|Ono}}) were doing at the time, particularly "preaching practices" and "sharing party lines".[[note]]A {{pun}} on the couple's political preaching and lines of coke.[[/note]]
69	** "Dear Boy" is a shot at Linda's ex-husband.
70	* WordSaladLyrics: Par for the course with [=McCartney=]. "[[http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/paulmccartney/monkberrymoondelight.html Monkberry Moon Delight]]" is merely the worst offender.

Context Music / RAM