Rating with Ears

Paul (and Linda) McCartney’s RAM

For some reason I ignored this LP and dismissed it when it I first heard it. The entire thing sounded like a bunch of throwaway tracks, and shared John Lennon’s opinion that RAM was shit.

Now that RAM has been re-released, I took it upon myself to re-listen to it. And I’m quite impressed this time around. While my listenings to MCCARTNEY II stuck me with it’s techno songs that sound like what some people are aiming for in today’s indie music, the same thing happened with RAM’s simplicity.

While McCartney did record a really good LP with MCCARTNEY, this follow-up is much better and makes a strong case as one of Paul’s strongest LP’s. There’s quite a few moments here that are really bizarre and sound like they could have come from of Montreal or Ariel Pink.

While RAM’s main focus is in a very bright and optimistic area the opening song, “Too Many People” is a biting criticism of John Lennon and shows him to be a better songwriter than Lennon. (Lennon recorded a criticism of McCartney called “How Do You Sleep” that’s just too direct to enjoy (much like quite a few of Lennon’s songs)) Plus, is “3 Legs” a critique of The Beatles???

While the album does have a handful of songs that sound that anyone could have made them, that’s also the charm of RAM. Songs like “Long Haired Lady” and “Heart of The Country” best exemplify this, and it’s also because of Paul’s wife, Linda’s involvement.

Critics were quick to jump on her for her lack of talent and how little she added to the McCartney’s dynamic. While RAM is still a solo album, there’s no denying Linda’s output on RAM. While it might be minuscule, it makes all the difference. The album has a common theme of optimism and I think it’s all because of where McCartney was at the of this of recording, and having his wife along his side helping him with these songs must have been a very enjoyable experience.

The production on these tracks are much better than MCCARTNEY and “Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey” is one of the best examples with it’s warm bass and nice string section. The sounds of rain are a perfect fit, and the subtle horns are really effective. The song might have turned off critics at time with it’s very upbeat second half, “Admiral Halsey” but it’s one of McCartney’s more interesting pieces. It’s mix of jumpy bass with really joyous guitars and vocals are quite ingenious. Plus, McCartney’s voice is very obviously playing a role and while it come off as a joke, there’s no other way this song could have been performed.

McCartney’s influences show up most heavily on “Dear Boy”, with it’s 50’s rock that borrows from Buddy Holly and “Smile Away” having a bluesy element that sounds like it could have been a horrible song if it was handed off to anyone else, but there’s very few people that bring in such optimism to songs as McCartney and he does that very well on almost every track on RAM, and the end result is not only one of McCartney’s best LP’s, but also an album that stands apart from most of the other albums made in the 70’s. 

Rating: 8.6 out of 10.

F FOR FAKE

Orson Wells’s documentary on “artists” that copy other people’s work and/or fabricate stories of other artists’ lives is quite interesting with Wells putting himself into the film and making a truly interesting documentary that ends up being more an essay on trickery and fraudulent art. The film starts off really great but loses my interest in the last 20 minutes with Wells taking center stage and veering the film into some really slow territory.

Rating: 6 out of 10.

HAYWIRE

Stephen Soderbergh gathers up quite the cast for this action film that packs in quite a few great fight scenes and keep the wild ride going for the entire film. With a cast that includes Michael Fassbender, Michael Douglas, Bill Paxton and Ewan McGregor I was expecting some high quality stuff. But the film is nothing more than a fast paced action film that doesn’t end up being very compelling. It could have used more Antonio Banderas.

Rating: 5 out of 10.