PAUL & LINDA MCCARTNEY - "RAM"

I understand. I used to be 16 years old and ripping up my clothes and cutting out chunks of my hair for a new trim. I used to hate on the Beatles, and Pink Floyd, and the Grateful Dead, and all of this—as I then thought—sissy music from the 60’s. GUITAR SOLOS ARE FOR FASCISTS!

But you must, as you grow, come to accept and love the guitar solo! It is the natural course of things. Then again, I am extremely biased. I worship at the altar of George Harrison, Tony Iommi, Jimmy Page, Angus Young and J Mascis. At the altar of Ringo Starr, Bill Ward, John Bonham, Jerry Garcia, and Steven Drozd! Nonetheless, I’ve enjoyed the change from the old me to the new me. It felt like I was broadening my horizons, and there was certainly a lot of great stuff I was missing.

I’ve been getting completely re-obsessed by the Beatles again lately, and that is clearly the source of all of this. And that happens a lot—I listen to weird new stuff for a few months, and then for a month or two I listen to nothing but my Dad’s records. (These usually coincide with periods of underemployment.) WHAT’S MY POINT? Jeez, I forgot.

Oh, that’s right—it’s an amazing album.

Here is an egregiously overlooked album that might make some Lennon enthusiasts rethink Johnny-Boy’s position in the Beatles pantheon… Every song a gem on Paul’s second solo record. While he has made room for other musicians (Paul played all the instruments on his first, McCartney), including Linda McCartney, with whom he shares the artist credits, this record is a showcase of one of the greatest songwriters of all time. Never really got on board with Wings? Hated Memory Almost Full? WHO CARES?? This man gets a big fucking pass on everything he did after being in the Beatles and making Ram. Put this one on and you’ll forget all the other crap you have against Paul McCartney.

One of my favorite aspects of the McCartney mystique is his silliness, and this album doesn’t disappoint as far as that is concerned. In the song “3 Legs”, Paul sings

My dog he got three legs,

Your dog he got none.

In addition, it’s a really great dusty, ramshackle blues-down with buckets of reverb slathered on to great effect. For more silliness, see the close-up photo of two beetles having sex on the album’s back cover. Inside the gatefold are numerous images of Paul doing funny dances, making weird faces, and rocking out. Say what you will about him, Paul is my kind of guy.

Where McCartney started to hint at the power and rockingness of Paul’s solo self, Ram’s big beautiful Beatles arrangements attain a sad and goofy life of their own that really show off.  This is one of those albums that make 1971 one of the most magikal years in music. Big ups to Greg Campaneelay for smashing me between the eyes with this beauty.