My Amazon Reviews: Paul & Linda McCartney "Ram"

McCartney's Solo Masterpiece
5 Out Of 5 Stars

Finally. In the slow trickle of Paul McCartney reissues, we get the second of his masterstrokes as a solo artist. "Band On The Run" marked his finest work under the Wings banner, but it was "Ram" that set the bar so very high for his work after the demise of the Beatles. Since 1971, "Ram" has only gained in stature, remaining the most Beatles-like of his solo albums, and is the lone album Paul and Linda McCartney are credited on as artists together.

"Ram" is something of a wedding album, with Linda's presence as songwriter and prominent back-up vocalist. It's also a continuation of McCartney's one-man-show albums, with guest players credited but not attributed to any particular songs. The songs themselves are freewheeling odes to love ("Backseat of My Car"), life ("Heart of the Country") and proving to those who doubted that he could both rock ("Monkberry Moon Delight") or knock-off an appropriately Beatles-sounding single without any help from his former teammates ("Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey").

Something else the re-issue does is prove McCartney's ear for good sound; the remastering makes you wish more of the current flock of producers/engineers gave a whit about the spaces between the notes and the atmosphere of your recording. Just the strummed opening and Paul's "hey hey hey" opening are enough to give you goosebumps. The whole album does what not many can do in this day and age, and that's make an album that holds together as a full piece. Even if the album before this (McCartney) seemed ramshackle and rambling, "Ram" erased all doubts that Paul was capable of delivering an album that both lived up to his prior work and would establish him as an artist on his own.

     

My Amazon Reviews: Various Artists "Come and Get It: The Best of Apple Records"

Apple to The Core  
3.5 Stars Out Of 5

This delightful sampler of The Beatles' very own label is a lot of fun, if also loaded with plenty of trifles. It pulls a whole batch of lost 45's and gathers them onto one 21 songs salute. It's also a bit of a history lesson as to where The Beatles themselves thought music would head. They where often spot on, with the discovery of Badfinger (3 singles), James Taylor (the original version of "Carolina On My Mind") and Billy Preston (two singles). There's a few misses who should have been bigger (Mary Hopkin, with her classic "Those Were The Days") and Chris Hodge, whose near hit in the USA, "We're On Our Way" was one of the last Apple Singles.

Also plenty of fun stuff in the middle, like British Star Jackie Lomax's Harrison penned "Sour Milk Sea" and a novelty TV theme for a Brit Comedy "Thingumybob," written by McCartney and played by The Black Dyke Mills Band (allegedly the "most famous brass band in the world). The goofiest of these is the rarity "King of Fuh," by Brute Force, who was a member of The Tokens (of all groups!). Reportedly only 1,000 copies were ever pressed and its obscene double-entendre ("All hail the Fuh King") had factory workers at EMI refusing to handle it.

There's a handful of duds, as well. Hot Chocolate eventually became a hit-making pop band ("Emma" and "Every #1's a Miracle"), but their reggae-ed version of "Give Peace a Chance" is forgettable. Lennon's early foray into political singles, "God Save Us," is overbearing. "Golden Slumbers-Carry That Weight" by Trash was a sneak peak at The Beatles' "Abbey Road," and won't make you forget the more famous version. It's very telling to hear how many of these artists were "Applized," with different members of The Beatles writing, playing or producing these acts in their own image. Compare Taylor's Apple "Carolina On My Mind" to the more famous version; it's obvious he was being pushed to a sound that wasn't a completely natural fit.

Overall, however, "Come And Get It" is a treasure trove of lost singles that Pop History buffs will thrilled to have. Beatlemaniacs will find it a must own, and plenty of folks who'd listen to old AM radios will likely discover forgotten songs buried in the back of their aural memories.