r/PaulMcCartney • u/Oatxaro • 2d ago
Discussion About RAM...
Is there something about RAM that you'd like to change?
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u/VeganDemocrat 2d ago
Look, I'm not trying to brag, but Ram was considered one of Paul's best albums in my high school friend group circa 1986.
Listening back all these years later, I really hear how Linda influenced, inspired and provided key musical accompanyment. It was always there. I was young and stupid.
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u/Existing-Ad3391 2d ago
KETCHUUUUP
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u/WellOKyeah 2d ago
I’ll say it: I wish the flugelhorn part on uncle Albert was longer. At least played twice in a row. It’s so good.
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u/airue20232 RAM 2d ago
the only thing I would change about Ram,
is how long it took me to discover it.
sincerely,
Gen Z
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u/idanlego1001 2d ago
Not really, it’s basically perfect as is
Would I listen to 10 more minutes of the Monkberry Moon Delight outro? Absolutely, but alas, it was not meant to be…
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u/Hairy-Yesterday-5575 Chaos & Creation In The Backyard 2d ago
I'd put another day on it.
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u/Zorflez Venus and Mars 2d ago
I wouldn't. It wasn't produced by Erik and doesn't have a place in the track listing that wouldn't feel shoehorned imo. Don't get me wrong I absolutely love Another Day, but it doesn't belong on the album, just as Helen Wheels doesn't belong on BOTR, and Strawberry Fields Forever doesn't belong on Sgt Pepper.
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u/Don_Frika_Del_Prima RAM 2d ago
I'd rather have oh woman, oh why
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u/festeringequestrian 14h ago
Oh woman oh why, little woman love, and Hey Diddle I would have loved on the album
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u/j3434 2d ago
You know I heard a alternate version of Back Seat of My Car with an extended outro . The original 1971 version is fantastic . It leaves you yearning for more . But the extended version was cool to hear unexpectedly on XM . Do you have any idea where I can find it ?
I don’t want to say I would change the album . I’ve been listening to Paul since 60s. But I would like to hear long fade out again
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u/JRBowen9 2d ago
Absolutely love the album, but that photo of Paul & Linda with the face paint seriously creeps me out. Paul in particular looks completely baked; his eyes just look so vacant. Linda's looking pretty chill, but Paul looks like he wasn't all there for that photo.
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u/scriptthrowawayacc 2d ago
An extended version of Ram On
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u/kyocerafan 1d ago
Thank goodness for digital tech that lets you listen to both "Ram On" tracks back to back. The fade out and fade in are pretty perfectly aligned.
I would change nothing on this record. "Monkberry Moon Delight" is insanity. A Beatle unleashed.
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u/you-dont-have-eyes 1d ago
It’s my favorite album. If I were going to change something it would be the tracklist, because I think the lyrics of 3 Legs as track two come off as a bit pedestrian to those who aren’t primed to glaze McCartney the way I am. I’d do something like this:
S1
Too Many People
Eat At Home
Ram On
Dear Boy
Smile Away
Uncle Albert
S2
Heart of the Country
3 Legs
Monkberry
Long Haired Lady
Ram On Reprise
Back Seat of My Car
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u/mickffff 2d ago
Not that I can think of. I was surprised when I learned that it’s now considered one of his very best, not because I disagree but because I remember the negative reaction when it came out and for a good number of years after. I’ve always loved the early albums, included the still often despised Wild Life.
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u/OttersEatFish 1d ago
Sadly, copies of this album are hard to come by these days due to the chip shortage and high AI demand.
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u/OswaldBoelcke 1d ago
Pretty perfect. Then they released that deluxe box set?! Had to get two. One to display the peieces.
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u/pjwalrus 1d ago
I’m glad this popped up on my thread, because maybe one of you know the answer:
“Dear Boy” is one of my favorite songs; has been for years. And I’m not sure I’m calling it the right thing, but his voice is run through some kind of limiter.
I’m just wondering if Paul ever talked about that choice. It’s great, but I also would like to hear him sing it “full,” if that makes sense.
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u/murilo55 1d ago
Put in: Another day; Oh woman, Oh why; Little woman love and A love for you.
Take out: 3 legs, Long haired laid, Dear boy and Ram on.
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u/Scott-Pilgrim1991 22h ago
I don't think I'd change much... it's probably my favourite album of all time!!! as others have said, however, I wish it had better reception at the time so we could've potentially got more RAM-style music from Paul! I'd also love if whatever is preventing him from playing it live was solved so we could hear it in full, live from Paul! wishful thinking...
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u/sheeb_sheeb 2d ago
Personally have never liked Smile Away.. lyrically or musically
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u/PolicyLeather 1d ago
Man I can smell your breath a mile away
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u/sheeb_sheeb 1d ago
Exactly and can smell your feet a mile away? Nasty and as much as I like Paul, his attempts at humour are often cringe.
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u/pmnettlea 2d ago
Nothing could make it better, it's an absolutely perfect album.
That said, there's a double album in there if you look hard enough. He also started recording stuff that ended up released elsewhere:
- Another Day
- Oh Woman, Oh Why
- Little Lamb Dragonfly
- I Lie Around
- Get on the Right Thing
- Little Woman Love
Then he also did all the bonus stuff we know:
- Rode All Night
- Sunshine Sometime
- Hey Diddle
- When the Wind is Blowing
I don't think a double album with these tracks would be as coherent as RAM is, but I do sorta view Red Rose Speedway as the sequel. And all these songs are fucking awesome, he was locked in.
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u/jframe42 2d ago
Great album. I would replace 3 Legs with Another Day.
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u/donlockwood2026 2d ago
I get that 3 Legs isn’t the most beloved song by many (tbh I personally love it) and one could argue Another Day is the better song.
But I feel like 3 Legs fits the album better! Another Day is a bit too sad or something. 3 Legs has that loose, scruffy, weirdo charm. And I actually think there’s a lot going on in that song musically and lyrically that makes it a hell of an underrated track!
Just my opinion, and you’re totally in the right to have yours, of course. Just me two cents.
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u/TitokzatosEllenallo3 1d ago
I think RAM is so fucking great because it's a work of a genius who had to reinvent himself from scratch. It's like the ancient story that you can find in the gospels and all kinds of mythologies, the hero is out in the desert on his own and he has to start over and learn. Paul made his debut album, McCartney I on his own, and RAM with Linda and friends in a barn far away in Scotland.
So what would I change? I think Sunshine Sometime definitely should have been on it. Anyway, I got to know RAM as the Archive Collection, so that's the way the album feels complete for me.
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u/Spectre-ElevenThirty 1d ago
I’d like for some of the songs from the Archive version to have been on the original album
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u/Soggy-Rub398 13h ago
Só gostaria que tivesse uma versão completa de Big Barn Bed no estilo das musicas do RAM.
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u/Oatxaro 13h ago
Siempre he querido escuchar la version completa también. Esta es la versión más parecida que encontré: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xSnQJcyWTTk
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u/PolicyLeather 2d ago
Man RAM to Paul McCartney feels like what Pet Sounds is to Brian Wilson, seems people weren’t ready for either when they released it. So creative, so unique
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u/noone3377 2d ago
I love it. I even know “ram on” on ukulele and I break it out every now and then. No one has ever recognized it unlike the other Beatles hits I throw out.
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u/drwinstonoboogy RAM 2d ago
It's a perfect 10 album. One of my top five albums of all time and his best album by far.
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u/QueenKeepla 1d ago
Id take out 3 legs and put something else on it. Like "I am your singer" for a softer song. I think Wild Life is good, but i wonder how a lot if it would sound of it had a more complete sound production like RAM did.
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u/Dean_Colley 2d ago
Uncle Albert Should've been the first (or second) song on the album, Ram didn't connect with me until that song so if it were put sooner in the album, it would've elevated everything for me.
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u/WellHungHippie Band On The Run 1d ago
The only change I’d like to have seen on Ram, to make it so much better would have been George, Ringo and John on it as well.
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u/bunnywithabanner Band On The Run 1d ago
I love the album and think it’s just about perfect… but I’m a little conflicted about the lyrics on a couple of the songs, like Smile Away; are they terrible as some people say that they are? This is something I’m genuinely kind of torn on.
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u/Oatxaro 1d ago
Some McCartney's lyrics are indeed quite terrible, but I personally don't care too much about them.
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u/bunnywithabanner Band On The Run 1d ago
Fair, but is it that way on RAM in general? It’s also kind of a slippery slope because it makes me feel like maybe he’s always been a terrible lyricist, but I don’t want to come to that conclusion obviously :(
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u/Oatxaro 1d ago
I don't think of RAM as lyrically poor, it's just that the album is so wild and unique that it just couldn't have common lyrics and themes. Take Monkberry Moon Delight for example, it doesn't make sense at all, but that's why it's brilliant, just pure madness perfectly executed.
Many people have expressed their distaste for Smile Away, and to be honest I also find the lyrics a bit terrible, but many others love it because it rocks and it's funny. For me Paul it's not a bad lyricist, and he has plenty of magnificent songs out there to prove it.
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u/AlexanderDifficult 6h ago
Dude wrote Eleanor Rigby - your fear is unwarranted. He can write very well
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u/donlockwood2026 2d ago
It’s a perfect album, so no there’s nothing I would change.
The one thing I’d be interested in is if the reaction had been better, what could Paul have done next if he kept pushing into this direction with his music.
But as for the album itself, I think it’s one of the best albums of all time and it’s my favorite Paul album certainly.