That's because critics hated him for doing whatever the hell He wanted to do and not sucking up to them. Now he's the richest musician in the world HAHAHAHAHAH
Couldn't agree more. He didn't become a moron when The Beatles ended. Over 50 years yeah there are some great and no-so-great albums, but the entire body of work is just so incredible. I hope some of these series like Crystal is doing will start to expose more people to that fact.
Jann Wenner and Rolling Stone magazine was responsible for a lot of the McCartney hate after The Beatles split, with him taking Lennon's side (when no editor or music journalist should have taken any "side" and should've been impartial) and trashing everything McCartney did. Many others seemed to take his lead on McCartney, which was a huge shame really. But as usual the fans know best!
@@CowmanUK I feel that the music press for a long time was biased towards John and against Paul. Anything John did had wings on it (no pun intended) and anything Paul did was crap.
You must have ears of STONE. Linda's backing vocals are wretched and were placed there in part to give a faux songwriting credit and more money in their pocket due to the lawsuits going on around Appel/Klein/the other Beatles. It went to court and the court ruled against them.
I'll never forget the first time I heard Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey. I was about 5 years old and my dad and mom took us to my grandparents house but for some reason they weren't home. My dad had the house key so we hung out at their house and my dad put this vinyl record on. My sister and I both started dancing around the living room when Uncle Albert came on. It was so much fun. I discovered that it was Paul McCartney a few years later when I got into the Beatles. This is my favorite Beatle solo album, with Plastic Ono Band a very, very close second. Both of them together would make an amazing Beatles album, with a few of George's songs from ATMP. Can't wait to watch your reaction to the second half! Also looking forward to Led Zep II 😊
I was 5 years old as well when it came out. The first time I heard it was on the way to swimming lessons in the next town. Early in the morning, freezing cold water. We heard it a lot after that. Other kids said it was The Beatles and I believed that for a couple of years. I'll never forget it.
I remember critics used to hate this album. WTF?! Btw, the title "Ram On" is a play on the name "Ramon." Paul would call himself "Paul Ramon" while the Beatles were gigging as "Long John & the Silver Beatles" in the early 60s.
The song Smile Away, I hated for ages, but it dawned on me when I heard it the background vocals are saying, “don’t know how to do that” and “learning how to do that”. When you ignore the throwaway lines of smell your feet etc, and you focus on the fact that he doesn’t know how to smile away, but he is learning how to do it, the song transformed for me. I’m sure at this time Paul McCartney after the break up of The Beatles wasn’t in the greatest of places mentally and when you think of that, it really made me change my mind on this song. He is feeling sad but he is trying to put on a smile. Brilliant!
Yeah actually Paul was really depressed after the Beatles divorce, he actually mentioned about how he was feeling very suicidal but his kids and wife helped him to survive that time
This is probably my favorite Paul McCartney solo album. So many great songs on it. I have heard it described as the first "alternative" album and I can totally see where that is coming from. This album is all over the place, you can totally hear Beatles elements but he does his own thing with it. It is a true classic. As much as I like "Too Many People', it apparently is a John Lennon/Yoko Ono diss track. Anyway I am looking forward to your side two listen and hoping to see your first listen to "Band on the Run" which is another great one.
Apparently, Jan Wenner of Rolling Stone killed a positive review one of his writers did for the album and forced them to come up with a bad one. He was always a John Lennon sycophant.
@@thomaspappalardo7589 He’s a vile human being. He really is. He’s kept people out of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame out of spite. He and Allen Klein are two peas in a pod.
At the time the world and critics were pissed that the group broke up and McCartney caught the largest portion of the blame when he was first to publicly announce the divorce … even though Lennon had quit the band more than six months previously without telling the media.
You know why the critics panned it... because they were unable to accept the Beatles were done and blamed Paul for it even though it was John who broke them up.
Picture yourself listening to this album for the first time. Paul McCartney is no longer a Beatle, but this album still has remnants of the Beatles sound. Beatles producer, George Martin, did the orchestral arrangements on this album yet remained uncredited for decades. “Too Many People”-Paul’s opening salvo at John and Yoko. Rarely do we get an angry Paul, but he’s not holding back. John and Yoko would respond on the next album. “3 Legs”-Nice blues homage from Paul. It could be a reference to John, George, and Ringo, but I love this track especially how each verse gets more intense than the previous. “Ram On”-Paul’s stage name when they were the Silver Beatles was Paul Ramon. I love the ukulele sound on this and how it becomes so joyous and expansive after “right away…” 4) “Dear Boy”-Paul’s diss track to Linda’s ex-husband. Sadly, he later committed suicide. I love this track, too, and those harmonies would soon become a Wings trademark. 5) “Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey”-I call this song “Tragedy and Comedy”. It starts out on this somber, melancholic tone accompanied by rain and thunder then becomes this majestic, bouncy tune with the sun shining through. LOVE it. My favorite track on the album. 6) “Smile Away”-fun rocker from Paul and Linda. Paul clearly shows he can rock and is more than just silly love songs. BTW, if you ever get a chance, go listen to “Rode All Night” from Paul. It’s a track that almost made the album and IMHO should have. One of his best rockers. I’m so so so SO happy you listened to this album, Crystal. Just wait until you hear Side 2. 😊🐏
Phil Ramone produced the tracks with the strings as well as the single "Another day" from the same sessions. He would later produce the track "Once upon a long ago".
if you like the jam rode all night you might just enjoy the added bass and lead guitar this user overdubbed right here ruclips.net/video/Fa0f0ywyI0s/видео.html
As a Beatles fan I have been along for the ride in all your Beatles reactions. Glad you are doing solo ones too !! I must say you are enjoyable to watch and listen to and a talented and lovely lady to boot !!! Catch you on side two !! One of my favorite solo albums by the way. Love Paul's London Town and Tug of War and Flowers in the dirt and well all of them!
This has always been my favorite McCartney album. Pure creativity and melodic ear candy. Another one that's grossly underrated that seems a close cousin to this is Red Rose Speedway.
Under appreciated at the time due to all the bad breakup vibes and misguided anti-McCartney sentiment in the press, RAM has aged into one of his all-time classics. Probably his greatest pop-professor masterpiece. 🐏❤️
I really love this album, especially Dear Boy and Back Seat of My Car, and ... really all of the songs. This was one of favorite records in high school.
It’s funny how the music reviews at the time for Ram were so bad. Even John, George, and Ringo trashed it publicly. It’s now considered a masterpiece. I love it. Heart of the Country on side 2 is my favorite on this record.
It was fashionable then for the music press to trash Paul. Jann Wenner, in particular, has held a vendetta for years against him. Kept him out of the HOF for a long time, forced a “Rolling Stone” writer to change his favorable review of “McCartney” to an unfavorable one. At the time, Paul was largely blamed for breaking up The Beatles.
@@Sweetish_Jeff_ Being blamed for the breakup is his own fault. John was the first to tell the group he wanted to quit and Paul helped convince him to keep it quiet for the time being and then publicly quit himself. I love Paul but that was a straight up asshat move.
@@SorgFamily If you read the press release Paul wrote all he said was he had no plans to record with the beatles. He ddidn't say the beatles were over. He didn't pin it on John who left the band 8 months earlier. The PRSS were the ones to put out headlines saying "I Quit!" Paul did NOT say that. John was angry he didn't get to say it was over and trashed paul for a few years. I would say Paul really should have run his press release by a real press agent to smooth out the words better that they could not misinterpret.
Hi Crystal! I love that you are covering this album. Uncle Albert was the first pop song I really loved. I would have been 5 or 6 when it was a radio hit and I actually thought it was the Beatles (lol). The backing vocals & playfulness of Ram On and Dear Boy always give me a Brian Wilson/Beach Boys vibe. Also, when you get to John's Imagine album, remember Too Many People when you listen to How Do You Sleep? John took Too Many People as a dig at him & Yoko and that track is his response. Anyway, girl you made my day again! Best wishes & take care...
The Beatles were the soundtrack of my life during elementary school. They hit in the US right before I started kindergarten and broke up when I was in 6th grade. I can't recall a single day when at least one Beatles song was not on the radio (or at least it seems that way). When RAM was released, it was the first album I bought with my own money, so I have a special connection to it and never get tired of listening to it. Thanks for your comments on side one and the work you put into these. I'm looking forward to side two.
I'm so happy that people appreciate this wonderful album now. Also, I enjoyed your reaction very much. You are quite insightful and give much deeper analysis than I'm used to seeing in react videos.
I've been watching and enjoying all your Beatles vídeos without commenting, then I found you commented on Ram which is my all time favourite album, I had to watch! And then seeing the empathy with which you were listening to Ram On it delighted me so much! Almost as if I were hearing it for the first time too! Thank u for that!!! A fan from Brazil!
Make no mistake; Too Many People was directed at John. They were going back and forth at each other in song at the time. Such a melodic album, Paul was in a zone musically. Elton John praised the harmonies on Ram. Dear Boy, Ram On and Back Seat of my Car have such creative harmonies. Dear Boy sounds like a vintage Beach Boys song.
This album is essentially an encapsulation of Paul and Linda's love. While John became fully immersed in politics, raw emotions and the avant garde (years after Paul had discovered it), Paul retreated to his farm in Scotland and had a breakdown with Linda and their kids. He slowly emerged with 'McCartney', a wonderfully relaxed and home made album in which he played all the interments himself, creating a loose and unfinished (type) album. He then decided to form a new band and the result is Ram. Linda had absolutely no musical training, but he persuaded her to do backing vocals and learn the keyboard. Despite endless mocking by the press, within a few short years she was playing on stage to record breaking stadium audiences with Wings. Paul and Linda were leading an idyllic life, their new band toured the UK in a small van, with no advance bookings.. They would turn up at random universities and ask if they could play in the student union bars...imagine...running a bar and Paul McCartney turns up asking to play that night with his new band. This evolved into the biggest ever world tour. Footage is so amazing, this young band touring with kids in tow, having fun. Paul just wanted to get back to his roots of playing in front of audiences and being with his family. He and Linda didn't spend a single night apart in almost 30 years apart from a few nights when he was in prison in Japan. And that love story and journey was perfectly encapsulated by this album of domestic bliss, depicting, amongst other things, his happiness living on a farm in Scotland away from it all. And by the way 'Dear Boy' was written about Linda's ex husband, essentially saying you're mad for letting her got you have no idea what you are missing, she is amazing :)
My first listen too and definitely going to buy this album when you’ve analysed side 2. Thank you for this great review/analysis your smile and laughter is infectious. Enjoy the rest of your day and have a great weekend sending positive vibes. Take it easy Crystal
After his homemade debut solo album, Paul went the full studio route for his second effort, using top studio talent like guitarist David Spinozza (he made Spinozza audition, which the top session man resented). The freeze-out with former partner John Lennon was at its lowest point; Lennon later bitterly attacked Paul in "How Do You Sleep?". John parodied Paul's cover photo with a sheep with one of himself--with a pig.
Hounestly, this is my favorite McCartney album. Memories and stuff. But Paul at his best. Like his over the top singing, love it. Listen to Smile away. Nobody sings nonsense like Mccartney does. Hysterical, brilliant.
Even when you were hugely into all those great Beatles classics I suspected you'd really enjoy Uncle Albert! It is so varied and interesting...instant classic.
I have seen all your reactions to the Beatles and now I am seeing these from McCartney, I love each and every one of these songs and I love that you react in each of these videos in such a favorable way towards them, connect with my feelings and empathize with everything what you say. I cannot express how happy I am that you enjoy this music as much (or even more) as I do every time I listen to it.
Great reaction! "Too Many People" was a coy, underhanded message to John Lennon. There were other sly digs directed to John on this album. Lennon responded to Paul with "How Do You Sleep", a direct and obvious knockout punch that had George Harrison playing lead guitar, on his 'Imagine' album. George and Ringo also thought some of the lyrics on "Three Legs" were directed towards them and John. All former Beatles released songs with messages directed toward the others or to one particular Ex-Fab on their early solo recordings.
John read a lot of things into the Ram album (mostly correctly) but he misread one song ('Dear Boy') as being a message to him from Paul, when Paul later revealed that he was actually singing about Linda's ex-husband.
Paul would later respond to John with “Dear Friend” from “Wild Life” and John would later respond and apologize to Paul with “I Know I Know”.from “Mind Games”.
Crystal, You reactions to Ram are the most joyous, most wonderful things I've ever seen on the Internet. I was smiling and laughing right along with you. Love. Love. Love it! And you are terrific. Don't ever let anyone convince you otherwise.
Thank you so very much my kind friend’ 💜 you deserve the most spectacular weekend! I hope you enjoy our newest reaction! ruclips.net/video/K_0wy5iWcKg/видео.htmlsi=Z-MOnH9ZI7E1YLcw
This was the first LP I ever bought, $3.99 in 1971. One of my all-time favorites. Looking forward to your reaction! The way you dig into this music that I love, seemingly effortlessly! You peel back layer after layer, in ways I've never been able to express, not having the training or vocab. Listening to this is like finally, truly seeing an old friend in a new way.
RAM was an underrated album at the time it was released, but now I can see that peoole in general are giving the importance it deserves. You know what: Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey is still the great song in it with Dear Boy and The Back Seat Of My Car coming pretty close. Three Legs is a really good one: a fly flies in, a fly flies out.
Crystal, listening to you go through your excellent description of each song brings tears to my eyes...literally. I feel so much emotion when I listen to someone really appreciate The Beatles' and Paul's music. It is indeed the greatest music ever produced. And remember these artists that you mention, like the Bee Gees, and Pink Floyd came way after The Beatles and were greatly influenced by The Beatles. The Beatles and each member totally changed rock music with each album they released, and you really did have to go through it year after year to be totally shocked with each new sound they came up with, because a lot of it had never been done before. Crystal I love your video's, and I love you for loving The Beatles. Thank you so much. I will now shut up and listen to side two with you. LOVE YOU!
The 'British' accent in Uncle Albert is definitely a joke part, hardly anyone speaks like that, certainly not McCartney. There may have been a similar part from memory in Yellow Submarine.
It is a real accent, think back to the Mary Poppins movie with the old man who floated and the finicky father. But it was surely exaggerated for a bit of humor in the song.
I brought the ram album in '73.At the time it was a bit out of flavor. My friends at the time thought it was very uncool.but I loved it,and still have it to this day.but time has justified my taste as it's nowadays considered a classic. Pleased to see young people today enjoying it(Crystal).Great review 🇳🇿
Crystal. I'm 68 years old and have been a Beatles, McCartney, Lennon, Harrison and Starr fan my entire life. I listen to a lot of reactions. I especially enjoy younger people discovering their talent. But, no one grasps their talents better than you. Crystal, you make me appreciate John, Paul, George and Ringo more than ever. I didn't think that was possible. Also enjoy your analysis of other bands and artists as well. Keep up the great work and thanks for providing a wonderful source of entertainment and appreciation. Take care.
Love your channel!! I was turning 11 when this came out and remember hearing Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey on the radio. Sublime! It wasn't till 1973 when I turned 13 that I started saving my money to buy Beatle and solo Beatle albums. This is definitely one of my faves. I think "Heart of the Country" is my fave from this, but I love the whole album!
Wow!! I cant even begin to imagine what that moment must have been like for you, the first time listening to such amazing music on the radio!! You were a bright youngster at 13 to save money for all the right reasons!!! The Beatles reign supreme then, now & forevermore! I can’t wait to get to Heart of the Country on side II!
Excellent video and reactions again Crystal! This is my fave McCartney album (though Band On The Run isn't far behind) and is one of my fave albums of all time, of any artist. The creativity exploding in all directions from McCartney is quite breathtaking, tunes within tunes, and a real rollercoaster ride of an album. I look forward eagerly to when you get round to part 2. I'm so pleased you enjoyed the first half. I love your descriptive reactions, I truly do. Take care xx (I might have to watch this reaction vid again tomorrow evening when I can relax with a whisky and have nowhere to go!)
I love "Ram On," it's actually one of my favorite solo McCartney tracks...I agree, it's very dream-like, whimsical. The instrumentation is effective in its simplicity and offbeat...I also love the suspension of the tension from the (I think?) D-flat major seventh and B-flat minor chords and then that tension is released with the C-F-C-F chords...
Glad you got to Ram so quick. I put this and Band on the Run up there with the top Beatles albums. Best part about that to me is that at least 3 or 4 of my top 10 paul songs are not on either. The dude is beyond prolific. You mentioned after dear boy, but I found the same - you'll hear new things years later sometimes.. so many playful and colourful layers.
"Dear Boy" was written by McCartney at the time as both a realization of how lucky he was to have his wife Linda, and as a troll at Linda's ex-husband on what he lost.
Loved your wonderful "Hello" greeting, and I can't help but wonder when you're gonna do your own album, especially after you have soaked in all those amazing musical influences that no doubt will show up in your own musical works 🎶🎶🎶🙆♂️🙆♂️🙆♂️👌👌👌👏👏👏
This is a great choice … when it was first it was panned but since them many people gave taken a second look at this album and have said its one of his best solo efforts and i agree with that … second only to the album Band on the Run
Great reaction. Been obsessed with the Beatles since I was about 8 years old. I am 40 now and they never get old. RAM is my all time favorite Paul McCartney album. IMO his absolute pinnacle of creativity. Not to say there aren’t other masterpieces in his canon. Just that if I could I’d give this 6 out of 5 stars. Lol. Want a cool piece of bizarre trivia? The Beatles song that most influenced Smile Away was actually Revolution #9! No kidding. Those backing vocals/chants through the entire song actually originated on a rough mix of Revolution #9! I wouldn’t believe it if I hadn’t heard it for myself but there you go. It almost sounds like they are chanting a phrase ‘come-a-wanna-me-ya’ or something like that. I can’t understand it. But the Beatles use that exact chant in a rough mix of Revolution #9. Thanks for the awesome videos!
Awesome Crystal, I couldn’t wait for you to hear this album ,its absolutely amazing most of the songs were going be Beatles songs , there’s a song called “hey diddle” (1971 Version) that was supposed to be on this album (was left off) another amazing song …just Paul on acoustic /drums ,singing with Linda. Absolutely love your takes and breakdowns of all the music …keep up the good work👍✌️
As you know I'm sure, Macca wrote "Too Many People" as a dig at his friend, John. The line "Too Many Hungry People Losing Weight" was a reference to just how thin John had become. Then there were the lines "Too Many People Breaching Practices" which Paul said that John was always saying during practice " Do this, do that, do this, do that!" and the most obvious line in the song, "You Took Your Lucky Break And Broke It In Two" meaning how he just decided to leave the Beatles. I love your reviews, thank you very much. Looking forward to the next one. I'm now an official lover of your channel. By the way, not many people know that McCartney played every single instrument himself, and that includes the obvious ones like bass, piano, drums, acoustic, electric and steel guitars and keyboards. But he also played the mellotron, wine glasses, percussion, handclaps, and even the bow & arrow. Talk about a multi-instrumentalist!
Pretty sure it’s “Preaching practices”……. “I was looking at my second solo album, Ram, the other day and I remember there was one tiny little reference to John in the whole thing. He'd been doing a lot of preaching, and it got up my nose a little bit. In one song, I wrote, "Too many people preaching practices", I think is the line. I mean, that was a little dig at John and Yoko. There wasn't anything else on it that was about them. Oh, there was "You took your lucky break and broke it in two" - Paul McCartney, Playboy, 1984 Don’t think it had anything to do with band practice. If anything Paul was the one who told people how to play on his songs.
@@SorgFamily I guess we read two different McCartney stories. Well, it's not all that important to me if I got some wrong. Thanks though, I enjoyed your review!!
Great album very underrated, probably the first garage album. Thanks for introducing this great work to new listeners. Would love you to review Supertramp Crime of the Century. Keep it up.
Thank you for the great reaction! It was great to see your reaction to the brilliance of Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey and the amazing vocals on Dear Boy! Paul’s genius with melody and the fun he has with all of his different vocal styles make RAM an incredible album to listen to!
McCartney (and the Beatles generally) was/is an amazing tunesmith. I think it comes from a deep familiarity with tons & tons of music. Growing up they were exposed to and listened to more music than many of their contemporaries. For example, here is a song from 1956 that McCartney took as the building blocks for Lady Madonna. ruclips.net/video/G5odaPQ0eVo/видео.html (...maybe a little stride piano).
Now I often go back and listen to your reviews before I listen to my records.You have made the best music better. When the Beatles broke up,the world fell into two different camps.JOHN and PAUL and I was with John. I sone realized it's all to good to choose sides. I think Paul said it best with Silly Love Songs and John heard him.We all like happy songs we can sing.Thanks for your refreshing insight to music.
I really enjoyed your reaction and analysis once again. You have a way of making music that I've heard repeatedly over the years sound fresh and new. Keep listening.
Your reactions are pure gold, Crystal, and, as our friend Harri Best would say, "Diamonds in my ears"! I love what you are doing with your LP reactions, and eagerly anticipate each one! The only thing wrong with your channel is that you don't have many more hundreds of thousands of subscribers! You are rapidly becoming one of my very favourite RUclips video reactors!!!!!!!! Don't stop, please!!
Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey is in some ways similar to the Abbey Road medley -- a handful of incomplete tunes glued together into something quite special.
On the album cover is a a picture of a beetle copulating with a beetle. The Beatles went on tour of Scotland as a backing band. They all changed their names for the tour. Paul became Paul Ramon. Hence the name of the album. And , in recognition of The Beatles being the first punk band, now you know where The Ramones got their name.
As much as it sucked that the Beatles broke up, listening to their initial solo albums makes one realize that there was no way to take the output of the three primary songwriters and condense it down to one album at this point. McCartney makes amazing music with just voices, writes songs of all different styles of music, and then he makes these songs with 3 or 4 songs inside them, because he has so many melodies bouncing around inside that genius of a melon that he has.
This was my favourite Paul McCartney album from 1970s. I thought it covered the various "McCartney" songwriting styles from the last 3-4 years of The Beatles. The album also benefited from the inclusion of some top New York session musicians (missing from the first McCartney solo album). Perhaps this was not lost on John Lennon who went in to record with the two guitarists (David Spinozza and Hugh McCracken) who featured on this album.
@@Sweetish_Jeff_ another critically panned album with some great songs and production, though Paul went with little rehearsal to give it a live feel. It was recorded in about a week-2 weeks like the beatles early albums. I think you have to listen to Wild Life several times to really appreciate it. Critics were ready to pann it before they opened the album!
Hey Crystal! Ram has been a favorite of mine since it came out in 1971. I was hoping you were going to get to it eventually because I knew you would love it!
Crystal, I was 14 years old when Zeppelin came on the scene, their music was a shock to an entire generation because nothing like this has ever been heard before.
Paul takes a couple of jabs at John Lennon in Too Many People. The title alone gives it away. The line "Too many people preaching practices" is a jab at John and Yoko and how Paul was dissatisfied with their "peace and love solves everything" ideology. There's a couple of other lines in it that may be directed at John, too. Lennon retorted back with "How Do You Sleep?" which is a not so subtle response. This song also sounds kind of chaotic. I think he was trying to recreate the mood the others were feeling in the last months of The Beatles.
As always, your keen perception roars to life , providing us with a natural, kind, intense and new look at something we thought we already knew. thanks again Chrystal. 8)
This album is jointly credited to Paul and Linda McCartney, not just Paul. All the songwriting credits on the album were attributed to both. The "Americanisms" on it is courtesy of Linda, who is a New Yorker.
That is true but the Beatles used a lot of Americanisms too being their original gig was pretty much doing covers of American music. I recall one of the Beatles said a parent didn't like "yeah, yeah, yeah" because it was too American. I don't think the song would have worked as well singing "she loves you yes, yes, yes" lol.
@@whichgodofthousandsmeansno5306 The "Americanism" here is in reference to Linda's pronunciation of the word water in "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey" which Crystal pointed out as American sounding.
Some (if not all) of the biographers claimed that Paul credited Linda as the co-songwriter to remove some assets from the ongoing Northern Songs legal disputes. If memory serves, this went to court and McCartney won. He argued that it was his prerogative to give someone a writing credit even if they just added a lyric or changed a melodic interval. I think he was right and it was petty to argue the point (but I also think she probably didn't have much to do with the songwriting). The music press often slagged of Linda, but I think her backing vocals are very effective here.
@@TwoOnions275 That was probably true, Macca is a shrewd businessman. However, he can give co-writer's credit to whomever he wants, like he said. Even in the Lennon & McCartney days, there were songs written solely by just one of them and both received credit for it. Just as George may have contributed a line, a phrase or the exquisite guitar on "And I Love Her" and not given credit.
@@rjaraneta913 It was certainly a laudable gentlemen's agreement between Lennon and McCartney, that ultimately made a bunch of lawyers very very rich. Ringo came up with the phrase A Hard Day's Night but he's not credited. But then again, I have a BBC radio documentary which shows that McCartney wrote Don't Pass Me By. Swings and Roundabouts.
Including the digs in some of the songs directed at John, "you took your lucky break and broke it in two", the back cover featured a picture of a beetle f'ng another beetle. John responded on his album "Imagine".
I remember l was so excited when Ram first came out, l road my bike to the record store 4 miles away! The problem was holding on to it on the way home but it was definitely worth it.
Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey was one of the first songs I remember hearing....ever! What an introduction to music this is, probably can't get anything more rich in terms of musical eloquence and diversity. Perhaps this song alone is why I became a musician. Paul's peak as a songwriter is here, musically (lyrically probably those he wrote in the Beatles). Definitely Paul's best solo work and in my top 5 songs of all time on my personal list.
Paul always said Dear Boy was inspired by Brian Wilson’s genius control over hamony. Even the bridge of Back In The USSR with the falsetto “whoooooos” and the low bass “dun dun dub dub” is a direct rip of the exact kind of thing The Beach Boys would do and parodies the lyrics of California Girls. Paul and Brian are my two favorite soungwriters so it’s always great to see these connection points of influence and that’s why Dear Boy is one of my favorites too!
You can hear someone whistle on the studio tapes, as they getting ready to play one of the songs on Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album. It may have been before a take for "Lovely Rira". I wondered if it was Paul on that take. It sounds like the whistle on the Ram album.
Lovely to see you looking radiant and happy. Love this album. Try Odessey and Oracle by The Zombies someday. Think you will love it's tunes and melodies.
Crystal, Too Many People and 3 Legs are Paul's "diss" tracks to John Lennon. He felt John had betrayed him siding with Allen Klein their manager during the breakup who was shady Which John and the other Beatles found out later on that Paul was right about Klein. John responded to Paul's diss tracks here on his Imagine album.
Paul McCartney's post Beatles albums are very underrated IMO.
Paul is the most Beatle.
That's because critics hated him for doing whatever the hell He wanted to do and not sucking up to them. Now he's the richest musician in the world HAHAHAHAHAH
Couldn't agree more. He didn't become a moron when The Beatles ended. Over 50 years yeah there are some great and no-so-great albums, but the entire body of work is just so incredible. I hope some of these series like Crystal is doing will start to expose more people to that fact.
Jann Wenner and Rolling Stone magazine was responsible for a lot of the McCartney hate after The Beatles split, with him taking Lennon's side (when no editor or music journalist should have taken any "side" and should've been impartial) and trashing everything McCartney did. Many others seemed to take his lead on McCartney, which was a huge shame really. But as usual the fans know best!
@@CowmanUK I feel that the music press for a long time was biased towards John and against Paul. Anything John did had wings on it (no pun intended) and anything Paul did was crap.
One thing I adore about this album is the backing vocals. Paul and Linda’s harmony vocals are so unique and beautiful.
You must have ears of STONE. Linda's backing vocals are wretched and were placed there in part to give a faux songwriting credit and more money in their pocket due to the lawsuits going on around Appel/Klein/the other Beatles. It went to court and the court ruled against them.
I'll never forget the first time I heard Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey. I was about 5 years old and my dad and mom took us to my grandparents house but for some reason they weren't home. My dad had the house key so we hung out at their house and my dad put this vinyl record on. My sister and I both started dancing around the living room when Uncle Albert came on. It was so much fun. I discovered that it was Paul McCartney a few years later when I got into the Beatles.
This is my favorite Beatle solo album, with Plastic Ono Band a very, very close second. Both of them together would make an amazing Beatles album, with a few of George's songs from ATMP.
Can't wait to watch your reaction to the second half! Also looking forward to Led Zep II 😊
I hear you
I was 5 years old as well when it came out. The first time I heard it was on the way to swimming lessons in the next town. Early in the morning, freezing cold water. We heard it a lot after that. Other kids said it was The Beatles and I believed that for a couple of years. I'll never forget it.
@@MyXxx77 This is Paul just telling the other three that Abbey Road was not just a one off. :)
You're my favorite album reactor. You really drink it all in. You're a very empathic person. Keep doing what you're doing!
Wow thank you so much! You are very thoughtful!
100% agree. She’s my favorite, too.
@@analogblues i seen her furst ....
@@TheMichaelseymour 🤣
I remember critics used to hate this album. WTF?!
Btw, the title "Ram On" is a play on the name "Ramon." Paul would call himself "Paul Ramon" while the Beatles were gigging as "Long John & the Silver Beatles" in the early 60s.
Also of note, the iconic punk band, The Ramones named themselves after Paul Ramon
The song Smile Away, I hated for ages, but it dawned on me when I heard it the background vocals are saying, “don’t know how to do that” and “learning how to do that”. When you ignore the throwaway lines of smell your feet etc, and you focus on the fact that he doesn’t know how to smile away, but he is learning how to do it, the song transformed for me. I’m sure at this time Paul McCartney after the break up of The Beatles wasn’t in the greatest of places mentally and when you think of that, it really made me change my mind on this song. He is feeling sad but he is trying to put on a smile. Brilliant!
Same story for me, Michael.
It's just a silly, funny rocker; similar to monkberry moon delight. I enjoyed the lyrics about smelly feet, etc...
Also, the lyrics include "Don't, don't, don't" in Linda's scat singing. Hilarious lyrics all around on "Smile Away "!
Yeah actually Paul was really depressed after the Beatles divorce, he actually mentioned about how he was feeling very suicidal but his kids and wife helped him to survive that time
Can't wait to see her reaction when she listen Monkberry Moon Delight, will be so excited.
Paul's "Hey Bulldog". I love it.
This is probably my favorite Paul McCartney solo album. So many great songs on it. I have heard it described as the first "alternative" album and I can totally see where that is coming from. This album is all over the place, you can totally hear Beatles elements but he does his own thing with it. It is a true classic. As much as I like "Too Many People', it apparently is a John Lennon/Yoko Ono diss track. Anyway I am looking forward to your side two listen and hoping to see your first listen to "Band on the Run" which is another great one.
Yes yes and yes. Also, John wrote How Do You Sleep? in response. John and Yoko thought it was funny. They never took that stuff too seriously.
@@rsdemarco Ringo thought John went too far. he refuse o drum on HDYS.
@@rsdemarco there's audio on RUclips of Paul singing how do you sleep, very cool to listen to
I think the first alternative album is 1967 The Velvet Underground & Nico. Ram maybe is the first Indie Rock album.
@@PabloDiaz5DMusic yes. Good point. That was a great album as well
This album was really hammered by critics back in its day, something I never understood. How could anybody miss the sheer majesty of Dear Boy?
Blinded by anger and hate for McCartney whom they blamed for breaking up The Beatles.
Apparently, Jan Wenner of Rolling Stone killed a positive review one of his writers did for the album and forced them to come up with a bad one. He was always a John Lennon sycophant.
@@thomaspappalardo7589 He’s a vile human being. He really is. He’s kept people out of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame out of spite. He and Allen Klein are two peas in a pod.
At the time the world and critics were pissed that the group broke up and McCartney caught the largest portion of the blame when he was first to publicly announce the divorce … even though Lennon had quit the band more than six months previously without telling the media.
You know why the critics panned it... because they were unable to accept the Beatles were done and blamed Paul for it even though it was John who broke them up.
Picture yourself listening to this album for the first time. Paul McCartney is no longer a Beatle, but this album still has remnants of the Beatles sound. Beatles producer, George Martin, did the orchestral arrangements on this album yet remained uncredited for decades.
“Too Many People”-Paul’s opening salvo at John and Yoko. Rarely do we get an angry Paul, but he’s not holding back. John and Yoko would respond on the next album.
“3 Legs”-Nice blues homage from Paul. It could be a reference to John, George, and Ringo, but I love this track especially how each verse gets more intense than the previous.
“Ram On”-Paul’s stage name when they were the Silver Beatles was Paul Ramon. I love the ukulele sound on this and how it becomes so joyous and expansive after “right away…”
4) “Dear Boy”-Paul’s diss track to Linda’s ex-husband. Sadly, he later committed suicide. I love this track, too, and those harmonies would soon become a Wings trademark.
5) “Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey”-I call this song “Tragedy and Comedy”. It starts out on this somber, melancholic tone accompanied by rain and thunder then becomes this majestic, bouncy tune with the sun shining through. LOVE it. My favorite track on the album.
6) “Smile Away”-fun rocker from Paul and Linda. Paul clearly shows he can rock and is more than just silly love songs. BTW, if you ever get a chance, go listen to “Rode All Night” from Paul. It’s a track that almost made the album and IMHO should have. One of his best rockers.
I’m so so so SO happy you listened to this album, Crystal. Just wait until you hear Side 2. 😊🐏
Where did you read about George Martin producing or arranging the strings on Ram?? If so, no wonder this is my favorite sounding Paul solo album
Phil Ramone produced the tracks with the strings as well as the single "Another day" from the same sessions. He would later produce the track "Once upon a long ago".
if you like the jam rode all night you might just enjoy the added bass and lead guitar this user overdubbed right here ruclips.net/video/Fa0f0ywyI0s/видео.html
The "walkie-talkie " you were referring to was Paul mimicking a rotary dial telephone and talking to Uncle Albert.
As a Beatles fan I have been along for the ride in all your Beatles reactions. Glad you are doing solo ones too !! I must say you are enjoyable to watch and listen to and a talented and lovely lady to boot !!! Catch you on side two !! One of my favorite solo albums by the way. Love Paul's London Town and Tug of War and Flowers in the dirt and well all of them!
This has always been my favorite McCartney album. Pure creativity and melodic ear candy. Another one that's grossly underrated that seems a close cousin to this is Red Rose Speedway.
So much fun. Love Linda's backing vocals too. The album "Thrillington" always makes me smile after listening to "Ram".
Yes! Once to learn Ram, check out Thrillington
I Never listen to,that
Under appreciated at the time due to all the bad breakup vibes and misguided anti-McCartney sentiment in the press, RAM has aged into one of his all-time classics. Probably his greatest pop-professor masterpiece. 🐏❤️
I really love this album, especially Dear Boy and Back Seat of My Car, and ... really all of the songs. This was one of favorite records in high school.
It’s funny how the music reviews at the time for Ram were so bad. Even John, George, and Ringo trashed it publicly. It’s now considered a masterpiece. I love it. Heart of the Country on side 2 is my favorite on this record.
It was fashionable then for the music press to trash Paul. Jann Wenner, in particular, has held a vendetta for years against him. Kept him out of the HOF for a long time, forced a “Rolling Stone” writer to change his favorable review of “McCartney” to an unfavorable one. At the time, Paul was largely blamed for breaking up The Beatles.
@@Sweetish_Jeff_ Being blamed for the breakup is his own fault. John was the first to tell the group he wanted to quit and Paul helped convince him to keep it quiet for the time being and then publicly quit himself. I love Paul but that was a straight up asshat move.
@@SorgFamily If you read the press release Paul wrote all he said was he had no plans to record with the beatles. He ddidn't say the beatles were over. He didn't pin it on John who left the band 8 months earlier. The PRSS were the ones to put out headlines saying "I Quit!" Paul did NOT say that. John was angry he didn't get to say it was over and trashed paul for a few years.
I would say Paul really should have run his press release by a real press agent to smooth out the words better that they could not misinterpret.
Monkberry Moon Delight has the greatest vocals on this album. By far my favorite song on the album
Had so much fun following your Beatles journey. So excited you are doing Ram! Always been one of my favorite albums! Enjoy!
There is a vitality and energy about it that is like nothing else. The performances are superb.
Hi Crystal! I love that you are covering this album. Uncle Albert was the first pop song I really loved. I would have been 5 or 6 when it was a radio hit and I actually thought it was the Beatles (lol). The backing vocals & playfulness of Ram On and Dear Boy always give me a Brian Wilson/Beach Boys vibe. Also, when you get to John's Imagine album, remember Too Many People when you listen to How Do You Sleep? John took Too Many People as a dig at him & Yoko and that track is his response. Anyway, girl you made my day again! Best wishes & take care...
Crystal. Excellent review of Ram! So many different things happening on this album. Lot of fun songs!
By the way, I think Linda really makes this album special.
Yes she did. I remember feeling so sad when I first listened to “Run Devil Run”. First album without her and you could definitely feel her absence.
Totally agree I saw her in a Wings concert and she sang very well live. She even had a song she sang and wrote herself.
The Beatles were the soundtrack of my life during elementary school. They hit in the US right before I started kindergarten and broke up when I was in 6th grade. I can't recall a single day when at least one Beatles song was not on the radio (or at least it seems that way). When RAM was released, it was the first album I bought with my own money, so I have a special connection to it and never get tired of listening to it. Thanks for your comments on side one and the work you put into these. I'm looking forward to side two.
At Last. Lovely, lovely Crystal, I've been waiting for this since Let It Be, Excellent.
I'm so happy that people appreciate this wonderful album now.
Also, I enjoyed your reaction very much. You are quite insightful and give much deeper analysis than I'm used to seeing in react videos.
Top 6 albums of all time in order:
The White Album
Abbey Road
Revolver
Ram
Dark Side Of The Moon
OK Computer
That's how good Paul solo is.
I've been watching and enjoying all your Beatles vídeos without commenting, then I found you commented on Ram which is my all time favourite album, I had to watch! And then seeing the empathy with which you were listening to Ram On it delighted me so much! Almost as if I were hearing it for the first time too! Thank u for that!!! A fan from Brazil!
Make no mistake; Too Many People was directed at John. They were going back and forth at each other in song at the time. Such a melodic album, Paul was in a zone musically. Elton John praised the harmonies on Ram. Dear Boy, Ram On and Back Seat of my Car have such creative harmonies. Dear Boy sounds like a vintage Beach Boys song.
This album is essentially an encapsulation of Paul and Linda's love. While John became fully immersed in politics, raw emotions and the avant garde (years after Paul had discovered it), Paul retreated to his farm in Scotland and had a breakdown with Linda and their kids. He slowly emerged with 'McCartney', a wonderfully relaxed and home made album in which he played all the interments himself, creating a loose and unfinished (type) album. He then decided to form a new band and the result is Ram. Linda had absolutely no musical training, but he persuaded her to do backing vocals and learn the keyboard. Despite endless mocking by the press, within a few short years she was playing on stage to record breaking stadium audiences with Wings. Paul and Linda were leading an idyllic life, their new band toured the UK in a small van, with no advance bookings.. They would turn up at random universities and ask if they could play in the student union bars...imagine...running a bar and Paul McCartney turns up asking to play that night with his new band. This evolved into the biggest ever world tour. Footage is so amazing, this young band touring with kids in tow, having fun. Paul just wanted to get back to his roots of playing in front of audiences and being with his family. He and Linda didn't spend a single night apart in almost 30 years apart from a few nights when he was in prison in Japan. And that love story and journey was perfectly encapsulated by this album of domestic bliss, depicting, amongst other things, his happiness living on a farm in Scotland away from it all. And by the way 'Dear Boy' was written about Linda's ex husband, essentially saying you're mad for letting her got you have no idea what you are missing, she is amazing :)
Ram was made pre-Wings, but Paul did use several artists on it including one future Wings member. She was great in concert when i saw Wings in 1976.
@@curtb9567 True - but the seeds were sown here.
My first listen too and definitely going to buy this album when you’ve analysed side 2. Thank you for this great review/analysis your smile and laughter is infectious. Enjoy the rest of your day and have a great weekend sending positive vibes. Take it easy Crystal
One of the first albums I ever bought as a pimple faced young teen. It's a beauty. Can't wait for Crystal's reaction to Monkberry Moon Delight
After his homemade debut solo album, Paul went the full studio route for his second effort, using top studio talent like guitarist David Spinozza (he made Spinozza audition, which the top session man resented). The freeze-out with former partner John Lennon was at its lowest point; Lennon later bitterly attacked Paul in "How Do You Sleep?". John parodied Paul's cover photo with a sheep with one of himself--with a pig.
Hounestly, this is my favorite McCartney album. Memories and stuff. But Paul at his best. Like his over the top singing, love it. Listen to Smile away. Nobody sings nonsense like Mccartney does. Hysterical, brilliant.
The Walrus does
@@hw343434 touché
Thank you for reacting to Ram. Loved the video. Love your channel!!!
Thank you for joining me and allowing for this space to be filled with so much positivity and love of music! ♥️
Even when you were hugely into all those great Beatles classics I suspected you'd really enjoy Uncle Albert! It is so varied and interesting...instant classic.
It is and John Lennon loved it especially the “hands across the water” part.
I have seen all your reactions to the Beatles and now I am seeing these from McCartney, I love each and every one of these songs and I love that you react in each of these videos in such a favorable way towards them, connect with my feelings and empathize with everything what you say. I cannot express how happy I am that you enjoy this music as much (or even more) as I do every time I listen to it.
I'm so happy you feel that way about "Dear Boy". It's an absolute masterpiece.
Great reaction! "Too Many People" was a coy, underhanded message to John Lennon. There were other sly digs directed to John on this album. Lennon responded to Paul with "How Do You Sleep", a direct and obvious knockout punch that had George Harrison playing lead guitar, on his 'Imagine' album. George and Ringo also thought some of the lyrics on "Three Legs" were directed towards them and John. All former Beatles released songs with messages directed toward the others or to one particular Ex-Fab on their early solo recordings.
John read a lot of things into the Ram album (mostly correctly) but he misread one song ('Dear Boy') as being a message to him from Paul, when Paul later revealed that he was actually singing about Linda's ex-husband.
It's a garbage album man. Possibly Sir Paul's worst.
Paul would later respond to John with “Dear Friend” from “Wild Life” and John would later respond and apologize to Paul with “I Know I Know”.from “Mind Games”.
@@Revolver1981 It's critically acclaimed and considered one of his best. Your opinion won't change that.
@@Revolver1981 absolutely wrong opinion to hold.
Crystal, you give the best album commentary by far! Love your breakdowns. Great stuff!
Crystal, You reactions to Ram are the most joyous, most wonderful things I've ever seen on the Internet. I was smiling and laughing right along with you. Love. Love. Love it! And you are terrific. Don't ever let anyone convince you otherwise.
Thank you so very much my kind friend’ 💜 you deserve the most spectacular weekend! I hope you enjoy our newest reaction! ruclips.net/video/K_0wy5iWcKg/видео.htmlsi=Z-MOnH9ZI7E1YLcw
Your reactions are keeping me from sleep. And I don’t care lol. Thank you for being you, Crystal!
Also, consider reacting to Paul’s more recent material. I have suggestions😊
This was the first LP I ever bought, $3.99 in 1971. One of my all-time favorites. Looking forward to your reaction!
The way you dig into this music that I love, seemingly effortlessly! You peel back layer after layer, in ways I've never been able to express, not having the training or vocab. Listening to this is like finally, truly seeing an old friend in a new way.
RAM was an underrated album at the time it was released, but now I can see that peoole in general are giving the importance it deserves. You know what: Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey is still the great song in it with Dear Boy and The Back Seat Of My Car coming pretty close. Three Legs is a really good one: a fly flies in, a fly flies out.
I feel like what he was trying to do on “Uncle Albert” was later perfected in “Band on the Run.”
Great choice for McCartney, Crystal! Another favorite of mine. Keep them coming!
I really enjoy your videos. They're always enjoyable.
Crystal, listening to you go through your excellent description of each song brings tears to my eyes...literally. I feel so much emotion when I listen to someone really appreciate The Beatles' and Paul's music. It is indeed the greatest music ever produced. And remember these artists that you mention, like the Bee Gees, and Pink Floyd came way after The Beatles and were greatly influenced by The Beatles. The Beatles and each member totally changed rock music with each album they released, and you really did have to go through it year after year to be totally shocked with each new sound they came up with, because a lot of it had never been done before. Crystal I love your video's, and I love you for loving The Beatles. Thank you so much. I will now shut up and listen to side two with you. LOVE YOU!
Just watching you listen to Uncle Albert for the first time totally made my day.
This was my favorite part of today. I love seeing people discover my favorite album of all time. Just subscribed
The 'British' accent in Uncle Albert is definitely a joke part, hardly anyone speaks like that, certainly not McCartney. There may have been a similar part from memory in Yellow Submarine.
It is a real accent, think back to the Mary Poppins movie with the old man who floated and the finicky father. But it was surely exaggerated for a bit of humor in the song.
An absolute gem of an album, one of McCartney's best.
And you're a joy as well.
I brought the ram album in '73.At the time it was a bit out of flavor. My friends at the time thought it was very uncool.but I loved it,and still have it to this day.but time has justified my taste as it's nowadays considered a classic. Pleased to see young people today enjoying it(Crystal).Great review 🇳🇿
Thanks for this! I wasn't born until 1975, but I remember a lot of this still on the radio when I was little. Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey was HUGE.
lol as a four year old in the 70's I misheard the chorus as "ants across the water" and colored a (long-lost) picture of a flying ant over the ocean.
Crystal. I'm 68 years old and have been a Beatles, McCartney, Lennon, Harrison and Starr fan my entire life. I listen to a lot of reactions. I especially enjoy younger people discovering their talent. But, no one grasps their talents better than you. Crystal, you make me appreciate John, Paul, George and Ringo more than ever. I didn't think that was possible. Also enjoy your analysis of other bands and artists as well. Keep up the great work and thanks for providing a wonderful source of entertainment and appreciation. Take care.
Love your channel!! I was turning 11 when this came out and remember hearing Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey on the radio. Sublime! It wasn't till 1973 when I turned 13 that I started saving my money to buy Beatle and solo Beatle albums. This is definitely one of my faves. I think "Heart of the Country" is my fave from this, but I love the whole album!
Wow!! I cant even begin to imagine what that moment must have been like for you, the first time listening to such amazing music on the radio!! You were a bright youngster at 13 to save money for all the right reasons!!! The Beatles reign supreme then, now & forevermore! I can’t wait to get to Heart of the Country on side II!
You are so insightful, beyond your years! 👍
Excellent video and reactions again Crystal! This is my fave McCartney album (though Band On The Run isn't far behind) and is one of my fave albums of all time, of any artist. The creativity exploding in all directions from McCartney is quite breathtaking, tunes within tunes, and a real rollercoaster ride of an album. I look forward eagerly to when you get round to part 2. I'm so pleased you enjoyed the first half. I love your descriptive reactions, I truly do. Take care xx (I might have to watch this reaction vid again tomorrow evening when I can relax with a whisky and have nowhere to go!)
I love "Ram On," it's actually one of my favorite solo McCartney tracks...I agree, it's very dream-like, whimsical. The instrumentation is effective in its simplicity and offbeat...I also love the suspension of the tension from the (I think?) D-flat major seventh and B-flat minor chords and then that tension is released with the C-F-C-F chords...
Dear boy. The classic of all classics.
Glad you got to Ram so quick. I put this and Band on the Run up there with the top Beatles albums. Best part about that to me is that at least 3 or 4 of my top 10 paul songs are not on either. The dude is beyond prolific.
You mentioned after dear boy, but I found the same - you'll hear new things years later sometimes.. so many playful and colourful layers.
"Dear Boy" was written by McCartney at the time as both a realization of how lucky he was to have his wife Linda, and as a troll at Linda's ex-husband on what he lost.
I think it was also a gentle poke at Lennon
@@gergsar really wasn't though.
Loved your wonderful "Hello" greeting, and I can't help but wonder when you're gonna do your own album, especially after you have soaked in all those amazing musical influences that no doubt will show up in your own musical works 🎶🎶🎶🙆♂️🙆♂️🙆♂️👌👌👌👏👏👏
This is a great choice … when it was first it was panned but since them many people gave taken a second look at this album and have said its one of his best solo efforts and i agree with that … second only to the album Band on the Run
Its not a walky talky. They are calling Unkle Albert on the phone and he answers and they make it sound like they are talking on the phone.😊😊😊❤❤❤
Great reaction. Been obsessed with the Beatles since I was about 8 years old. I am 40 now and they never get old. RAM is my all time favorite Paul McCartney album. IMO his absolute pinnacle of creativity. Not to say there aren’t other masterpieces in his canon. Just that if I could I’d give this 6 out of 5 stars. Lol. Want a cool piece of bizarre trivia? The Beatles song that most influenced Smile Away was actually Revolution #9! No kidding. Those backing vocals/chants through the entire song actually originated on a rough mix of Revolution #9! I wouldn’t believe it if I hadn’t heard it for myself but there you go. It almost sounds like they are chanting a phrase ‘come-a-wanna-me-ya’ or something like that. I can’t understand it. But the Beatles use that exact chant in a rough mix of Revolution #9. Thanks for the awesome videos!
Awesome Crystal, I couldn’t wait for you to hear this album ,its absolutely amazing most of the songs were going be Beatles songs , there’s a song called “hey diddle” (1971 Version) that was supposed to be on this album (was left off) another amazing song …just Paul on acoustic
/drums ,singing with Linda. Absolutely love your takes and breakdowns of all the music …keep up the good work👍✌️
Another Day wasn't put on either of his early albums. Nor was Mary Had a Little Lamb which I thought was a sweet non album track single.
As you know I'm sure, Macca wrote "Too Many People" as a dig at his friend, John. The line "Too Many Hungry People Losing Weight" was a reference to just how thin John had become. Then there were the lines "Too Many People Breaching Practices" which Paul said that John was always saying during practice " Do this, do that, do this, do that!" and the most obvious line in the song, "You Took Your Lucky Break And Broke It In Two" meaning how he just decided to leave the Beatles. I love your reviews, thank you very much. Looking forward to the next one. I'm now an official lover of your channel. By the way, not many people know that McCartney played every single instrument himself, and that includes the obvious ones like bass, piano, drums, acoustic, electric and steel guitars and keyboards. But he also played the mellotron, wine glasses, percussion, handclaps, and even the bow & arrow. Talk about a multi-instrumentalist!
Pretty sure it’s “Preaching practices”…….
“I was looking at my second solo album, Ram, the other day and I remember there was one tiny little reference to John in the whole thing. He'd been doing a lot of preaching, and it got up my nose a little bit. In one song, I wrote, "Too many people preaching practices", I think is the line. I mean, that was a little dig at John and Yoko. There wasn't anything else on it that was about them. Oh, there was "You took your lucky break and broke it in two"
- Paul McCartney, Playboy, 1984
Don’t think it had anything to do with band practice. If anything Paul was the one who told people how to play on his songs.
@@SorgFamily Never trust Paul's cannabis infected memory.
@@SorgFamily I guess we read two different McCartney stories. Well, it's not all that important to me if I got some wrong. Thanks though, I enjoyed your review!!
Por fin ! La obra maestra de Paul y Linda!
Why not find a moment for his next album and first with Wings: Wild Life (love it) 😇
Great album very underrated, probably the first garage album. Thanks for introducing this great work to new listeners. Would love you to review Supertramp Crime of the Century. Keep it up.
Thank you for the great reaction! It was great to see your reaction to the brilliance of Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey and the amazing vocals on Dear Boy! Paul’s genius with melody and the fun he has with all of his different vocal styles make RAM an incredible album to listen to!
McCartney (and the Beatles generally) was/is an amazing tunesmith. I think it comes from a deep familiarity with tons & tons of music. Growing up they were exposed to and listened to more music than many of their contemporaries. For example, here is a song from 1956 that McCartney took as the building blocks for Lady Madonna. ruclips.net/video/G5odaPQ0eVo/видео.html (...maybe a little stride piano).
Now I often go back and listen to your reviews before I listen to my records.You have made the best music better. When the Beatles broke up,the world fell into two different camps.JOHN and PAUL and I was with John. I sone realized it's all to good to choose sides. I think Paul said it best with Silly Love Songs and John heard him.We all like happy songs we can sing.Thanks for your refreshing insight to music.
Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey was a No. 1 record in 1971. It was played at least twice an hour on AM radio, in Chicago. I was a sophomore in HS.
My favorite Macca album. He is simply the most versatile and amazing rock singer. He's indulging his silly and surreal side.
I really enjoyed your reaction and analysis once again. You have a way of making music that I've heard repeatedly over the years sound fresh and new. Keep listening.
My favorite McCartney album!!!!!!
Your reactions are pure gold, Crystal, and, as our friend Harri Best would say, "Diamonds in my ears"! I love what you are doing with your LP reactions, and eagerly anticipate each one! The only thing wrong with your channel is that you don't have many more hundreds of thousands of subscribers! You are rapidly becoming one of my very favourite RUclips video reactors!!!!!!!! Don't stop, please!!
I clicked on this one SO fast haha I LOVE this entire record.
This Album ist really a masterpiece. Sounds so colourful and makes Happy.
Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey is in some ways similar to the Abbey Road medley -- a handful of incomplete tunes glued together into something quite special.
Band on the Run is better for me.
Yes! This would become a Paul McCartney trademark in his solo career and with Wings, the medleys.
On the album cover is a a picture of a beetle copulating with a beetle. The Beatles went on tour of Scotland as a backing band. They all changed their names for the tour. Paul became Paul Ramon. Hence the name of the album. And , in recognition of The Beatles being the first punk band, now you know where The Ramones got their name.
Paul is a genius and RAM is one of the greatest albums ever!
As much as it sucked that the Beatles broke up, listening to their initial solo albums makes one realize that there was no way to take the output of the three primary songwriters and condense it down to one album at this point. McCartney makes amazing music with just voices, writes songs of all different styles of music, and then he makes these songs with 3 or 4 songs inside them, because he has so many melodies bouncing around inside that genius of a melon that he has.
Thank you Crystal. I probably haven't heard this album for almost 50 years! 🥰
This was my favourite Paul McCartney album from 1970s. I thought it covered the various "McCartney" songwriting styles from the last 3-4 years of The Beatles. The album also benefited from the inclusion of some top New York session musicians (missing from the first McCartney solo album). Perhaps this was not lost on John Lennon who went in to record with the two guitarists (David Spinozza and Hugh McCracken) who featured on this album.
To me, this is the last remnants of the Beatles sound from Paul. Wings would have their own sound and it started with “Wild Life”.
@@Sweetish_Jeff_ another critically panned album with some great songs and production, though Paul went with little rehearsal to give it a live feel. It was recorded in about a week-2 weeks like the beatles early albums.
I think you have to listen to Wild Life several times to really appreciate it. Critics were ready to pann it before they opened the album!
Hey Crystal! Ram has been a favorite of mine since it came out in 1971. I was hoping you were going to get to it eventually because I knew you would love it!
Crystal, I was 14 years old when Zeppelin came on the scene, their music was a shock to an entire generation because nothing like this has ever been heard before.
Paul takes a couple of jabs at John Lennon in Too Many People. The title alone gives it away.
The line "Too many people preaching practices" is a jab at John and Yoko and how Paul was dissatisfied with their "peace and love solves everything" ideology.
There's a couple of other lines in it that may be directed at John, too. Lennon retorted back with "How Do You Sleep?" which is a not so subtle response.
This song also sounds kind of chaotic. I think he was trying to recreate the mood the others were feeling in the last months of The Beatles.
What a delight! This album and your reaction
As always, your keen perception roars to life , providing us with a natural, kind, intense and new look at something we thought we already knew. thanks again Chrystal. 8)
This album is jointly credited to Paul and Linda McCartney, not just Paul. All the songwriting credits on the album were attributed to both. The "Americanisms" on it is courtesy of Linda, who is a New Yorker.
That is true but the Beatles used a lot of Americanisms too being their original gig was pretty much doing covers of American music. I recall one of the Beatles said a parent didn't like "yeah, yeah, yeah" because it was too American. I don't think the song would have worked as well singing "she loves you yes, yes, yes" lol.
@@whichgodofthousandsmeansno5306 The "Americanism" here is in reference to Linda's pronunciation of the word water in "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey" which Crystal pointed out as American sounding.
Some (if not all) of the biographers claimed that Paul credited Linda as the co-songwriter to remove some assets from the ongoing Northern Songs legal disputes. If memory serves, this went to court and McCartney won. He argued that it was his prerogative to give someone a writing credit even if they just added a lyric or changed a melodic interval. I think he was right and it was petty to argue the point (but I also think she probably didn't have much to do with the songwriting). The music press often slagged of Linda, but I think her backing vocals are very effective here.
@@TwoOnions275 That was probably true, Macca is a shrewd businessman. However, he can give co-writer's credit to whomever he wants, like he said. Even in the Lennon & McCartney days, there were songs written solely by just one of them and both received credit for it. Just as George may have contributed a line, a phrase or the exquisite guitar on "And I Love Her" and not given credit.
@@rjaraneta913 It was certainly a laudable gentlemen's agreement between Lennon and McCartney, that ultimately made a bunch of lawyers very very rich. Ringo came up with the phrase A Hard Day's Night but he's not credited. But then again, I have a BBC radio documentary which shows that McCartney wrote Don't Pass Me By. Swings and Roundabouts.
Including the digs in some of the songs directed at John, "you took your lucky break and broke it in two", the back cover featured a picture of a beetle f'ng another beetle. John responded on his album "Imagine".
Holding the ears of a pig. It got pretty nasty, but thankfully they reconciled and were on good terms before John was murdered.
McCartney (1970), Ram (1971) and Band on the Run (1973) are masterpieces
I remember l was so excited when Ram first came out, l road my bike to the record store 4 miles away! The problem was holding on to it on the way home but it was definitely worth it.
Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey was one of the first songs I remember hearing....ever! What an introduction to music this is, probably can't get anything more rich in terms of musical eloquence and diversity. Perhaps this song alone is why I became a musician. Paul's peak as a songwriter is here, musically (lyrically probably those he wrote in the Beatles). Definitely Paul's best solo work and in my top 5 songs of all time on my personal list.
I didn't remember that for many years, but I have a very old memory about this song! Something powerful!!
Paul always said Dear Boy was inspired by Brian Wilson’s genius control over hamony. Even the bridge of Back In The USSR with the falsetto “whoooooos” and the low bass “dun dun dub dub” is a direct rip of the exact kind of thing The Beach Boys would do and parodies the lyrics of California Girls. Paul and Brian are my two favorite soungwriters so it’s always great to see these connection points of influence and that’s why Dear Boy is one of my favorites too!
And also, your analytical insights are spot on. Nice work!
Ram is simply an amazing album. Imagine how great a 1971 Beatles album could have been with the best songs from those first solo albums.
This album will grow on you like none other
You can hear someone whistle on the studio tapes, as they getting ready to play one of the songs on Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album. It may have been before a take for "Lovely Rira". I wondered if it was Paul on that take. It sounds like the whistle on the Ram album.
Lovely to see you looking radiant and happy. Love this album. Try Odessey and Oracle by The Zombies someday. Think you will love it's tunes and melodies.
Definitely co-sign this recommendation
Wow, thank you kindly Damien! I hope you’d be glad to know that Odessey & Oracle by the Zombies are on our list!!!
Crystal, Too Many People and 3 Legs are Paul's "diss" tracks to John Lennon. He felt John had betrayed him siding with Allen Klein their manager during the breakup who was shady
Which John and the other Beatles found out later on that Paul was right about Klein. John responded to Paul's diss tracks here on his Imagine album.
Thankfully, they reconciled and Paul was vindicated when the others found out that Klein was a con man.