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Best and worst songs on RAM?
27 July 2012
2.16pm
Ben Ramon
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I’ve been having a big Ram phase recently (well, I always am but as of late it’s been ridiculous) and I find it difficult to choose which songs I like most and least, they’re all so great.

Uncle Albert /Admiral Halsey and Back Seat of My Car seem the obvious candidates for best, beautiful and eccentric “pocket symphonies” in the Brian Wilson vein. But there’s also Too Many People , Dear Boy , Monkberry Moon Delight , Long Haired Lady, Smile Away … I used to feel the weakest was Eat At Home but since then I’ve changed my opinion drastically and now I’m unsure.

Thoughts?

SHUT UP - Paulie's talkin'

27 July 2012
4.32pm
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mithveaen
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Can I make a suggestion?

 

Instead of asking which song is the best or worst from each Beatle and Beatle solo album, why don’t talk in general about it? Because honestly it looks like the forum is becoming Rolling Stones with their best of lists.

 

Just a comment.

Here comes the sun….. Scoobie-doobie……

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Beware of Darkness… 

27 July 2012
8.20pm
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The Walrus
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I agree with Mith, I’m not a big fan of all these threads saying what the best and worst songs on each album are, or ranking them all.

Still, here are my opinions.

Best: Monkberry Moon Delight , Paul is on fire. Sure, the lyrics are meaningless, but who cares when you sing them with that passion? Great tune. Second place would be Too Many People , the only song with any real meaning on the album- “too many people preaching praaaactises!”

Worst: Long Haired Lady. If this was half the length then it might be tolerable, but that outro drags and drags and drags. It doesn’t help that the lyric is “love is loooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooong”. Always gets skipped. Second worst: The Back Seat Of My Car , faux-sentimentality overdrive. It’s sloppy and all over the place, it can’t decide whether it wants to be a poor attempt at The Long And Winding Road or a poor attempt at Monkberry Moon Delight . The lyrics make me cringe. Still, it is listenable.

I told her I didn’t 

27 July 2012
10.17pm
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vonbontee
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Best: Smile Away – I just love when Paul’s in “boogie mode” (Hi Hi Hi , Helen Wheels, etc.)
Worst: Long-Haired Lady – Can’t stand Linda’s petulant singing on this.

GEORGE: In fact, The Detroit Sound. JOHN: In fact, yes. GEORGE: In fact, yeah. Tamla-Motown artists are our favorites. The Miracles. JOHN: We like Marvin Gaye. GEORGE: The Impressions PAUL & GEORGE: Mary Wells. GEORGE: The Exciters. RINGO: Chuck Jackson. JOHN: To name but eighty. 

         offtopic-1.png

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28 July 2012
1.11am
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meanmistermustard
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I far prefer the mono mix so am thoroughly pissed off that i would have to pay a fortune to get it – a fortune i neither have or would be willing to spend.

I think for most people this was a grower lp in that the more you listened to it the better it got, and was slated by many reviewers at the time who have since changed their stance.

And the John fued continued with Too Many People .

Anyway best song either Uncle Albert or Two Many People.

"I told you everything I could about me, Told you everything I could" ('Before Believing' - Emmylou Harris)

28 July 2012
2.39am
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Little Piggy Dragonguy
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Best: Monkberry Moon Delight – I just love everything about this song, and Paul’s vocals on it are amazing. Heart Of The Country comes in second. I don’t know why I like this song so much, it’s just really cute I guess.

Worst: Long Haired Lady – Sometimes I absolutely love this song, but other times it just really annoys me.

All living things must abide by the laws of the shape they inhabit 

28 July 2012
1.15pm
Ben Ramon
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mithveaen said
Can I make a suggestion?

 

Instead of asking which song is the best or worst from each Beatle and Beatle solo album, why don’t talk in general about it? Because honestly it looks like the forum is becoming Rolling Stones with their best of lists.

 

Just a comment.

I never said anything about making lists. The idea of the thread was to discuss in general which were the stronger and weaker songs on the record. It’s a pretty open topic of discussion, and could go in far more directions than if I’d asked people to rank songs, or made a poll.

SHUT UP - Paulie's talkin'

28 July 2012
1.17pm
Ben Ramon
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mithveaen said
Can I make a suggestion?

Instead of asking which song is the best or worst from each Beatle and Beatle solo album, why don’t talk in general about it? Because honestly it looks like the forum is becoming Rolling Stones with their best of lists.

Just a comment.

I never said anything about making lists. The idea of the thread was to discuss in general which were the stronger and weaker songs on the record. It’s a pretty open topic of discussion, and could go in far more directions than if I’d asked people to rank songs, or made a poll. Also the thread title says “best and worst songs” rather than “best and worst song” so you have the option to talk about as many songs as you like rather than just putting one best and one worst.

SHUT UP - Paulie's talkin'

29 July 2012
12.20am
GeorgeTSimpson
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Paris Olympia
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Ram is definitely one of my favourite McCartney albums. I decided to do a poll
[sp_show_poll id=”8″]

Once there was a way to get back homewards. Once there was a way to get back home; sleep pretty darling do not cry. And I will sing a lullaby

29 July 2012
1.26am
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Long John Silver
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I love “Too many people”, “Back seat of my car” and “Uncle Albert “. Not so sure about the weaker songs, I think I will have to re-listen to album tomorrow.

Living is easy with eyes closed, misunderstanding all you see.

29 July 2012
4.32am
mr. Sun king coming together
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George – can we please stop making polls every single time a thread comes up? Polls reduce things to black and white, and these threads and this forum are a place of debate, and debates of black and white issues tend to end with anger, and we aren’t here for that. Can we keep polls out of these threads?

Edit: My objection to polls isn’t absolute, nor fierce. It is however, constant. Why do we need to reduce everything to anonymous data? Here’s what I mean. I love Back Seat of The Car. The Walrus has described it as faux-sentimentality overdrive. It’s sloppy and all over the place, it can’t decide whether it wants to be a poor attempt at The Long And Winding Road or a poor attempt at Monkberry Moon Delight . The lyrics make me cringe. Still, it is listenable.

If we did everything by polls, how would I know this, and have a discussion about why we disagree about it. I think it`s intentionally all over the place, a mini medley, which I like. Debates rely on nuances, and the best of debates bring out the best of people. And threads without debates are threads without a point. Debate (respectful debate) is what makes this place fun, and what keeps me coming back. And, if I may quote Christopher Hitchens, Time spent arguing is, oddly enough, almost never wasted`. Can we return to such a forum, of debates and exchanging ideas, and not this version made of polls and lists? Please?

As if it matters how a man falls down.'

'When the fall's all that's left, it matters a great deal.

29 July 2012
5.59am
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mithveaen
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My point is that it becomes repetitive watching topics named “Best and worst of” or “what’s your favorite…?”

 

But do as you please. I think everybody has the freedom to create topics and the freedom to discuss on it or not. In my case, I’d rather not talk about my “favorite” things because I have no favorite with the Beatles. As simple as that. And it’s kind of restraining trying to “categorize” “best” and “worst”. That was my point.

 

So carry on. heart

Here comes the sun….. Scoobie-doobie……

Something in the way she moves…..attracts me like a cauliflower…

Bop. Bop, cat bop. Go, Johnny, Go.

Beware of Darkness… 

29 July 2012
11.19am
GeorgeTSimpson
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mr. Sun King , you’re right, of course I understand this

Once there was a way to get back homewards. Once there was a way to get back home; sleep pretty darling do not cry. And I will sing a lullaby

1 August 2012
1.40pm
Ben Ramon
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As much as I appreciate the attempt to further the discussion, I made this thread without a poll for a reason. As I said before:

Ben Ramon said
I never said anything about making lists. The idea of the thread was to discuss in general which were the stronger and weaker songs on the record. It’s a pretty open topic of discussion, and could go in far more directions than if I’d asked people to rank songs, or made a poll. Also the thread title says “best and worst songs” rather than “best and worst song” so you have the option to talk about as many songs as you like rather than just putting one best and one worst.

SHUT UP - Paulie's talkin'

12 November 2012
6.45am
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frankdialogue
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Favorites: ‘Dear Boy ‘, ‘Uncle Albert ‘. ‘Too Many People

 

Least Favorite: ‘Long Haired Lady’

It’s amazing that critics ripped this one, especially in comparison to Lennon’s first two, as this album is quite adventurous in comparison…Maybe Paul should have pulled out his prick on the cover…That would have really made it ‘experimental’ and ‘deep’.

12 November 2012
1.21pm
Ben Ramon
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frankdialogue said
Favorites: ‘Dear Boy ‘, ‘Uncle Albert ‘. ‘Too Many People

 

Least Favorite: ‘Long Haired Lady’

It’s amazing that critics ripped this one, especially in comparison to Lennon’s first two, as this album is quite adventurous in comparison…Maybe Paul should have pulled out his prick on the cover…That would have really made it ‘experimental’ and ‘deep’.

Ouch!

I wouldn’t say Ram is any more adventurous than Plastic Ono Band. It’s certainly more florid and elaborate in terms of melody and production, but John’s concept of stripping everything back to a bare minimum musically was pretty groundbreaking. And while I have no problem with any of the lyrics on Ram , and frequently find myself bamboozled by how little merit contemporary critics found in the record, you’ve got to admit that “I was the dreamweaver, but now I’m reborn, I was the walrus, but now I’m John, and so dear friends, you’ll just have to carry on: the dream is over” is more adventurous on a large scale than “Admiral Halsey notified me, he had to have a bath or he couldn’t get to sleep, I had another look and I had a cup of tea and a butter pie.”

SHUT UP - Paulie's talkin'

12 November 2012
5.16pm
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frankdialogue
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Ben Ramon said:

 

Ouch!

I wouldn’t say Ram is any more adventurous than Plastic Ono Band. It’s certainly more florid and elaborate in terms of melody and production, but John’s concept of stripping everything back to a bare minimum musically was pretty groundbreaking. And while I have no problem with any of the lyrics on Ram , and frequently find myself bamboozled by how little merit contemporary critics found in the record, you’ve got to admit that “I was the dreamweaver, but now I’m reborn, I was the walrus, but now I’m John, and so dear friends, you’ll just have to carry on: the dream is over” is more adventurous on a large scale than “Admiral Halsey notified me, he had to have a bath or he couldn’t get to sleep, I had another look and I had a cup of tea and a butter pie.”

 

Well, I liked the ‘Plastic Ono Band’, and it certainly had some good lyrics, but I was primarily commenting on the critics…’POB’ certainly was more direct, and perhaps shocking, if you go for that sort of thing…But many of the lyrics were rather juvenile, especially ‘Working Class Hero ‘, which I always thought was a rather miserable tune, and loaded with hypocrisy at that, as John was the most middle class of all the Beatles in upbringing…But, if an artist falls into the trap of trying to make ‘big statements’, then you will get things like that.

 

Ram ‘ is a record that needs repeated listenings to fully appreciate, and Paul had a few messages in there too, just more subtle…And the music is certainly more interesting….John was certainly listening, as a number of tracks on ‘Imagine ‘ illustrate…But, then again, these are two different writers, and with the collaboration ended, you get a bit more extreme version of each ones writing style, some good stuff, some not so good stuff.

13 November 2012
1.31am
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Funny Paper
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vonbontee said
Worst: Long-Haired Lady – Can’t stand Linda’s petulant singing on this.

 

I think Linda’s voice was cute in a girlish sort of way.  (also cf. “I Am Your Singer” from the Wild Life )

Faded flowers, wait in a jar, till the evening is complete... complete... complete... complete...

13 November 2012
1.33am
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GeorgeTSimpson said
Ram is definitely one of my favourite McCartney albums. I decided to do a poll
[sp_show_poll id=”8″]

Uncle Albert ” being the winner does not surprise me (I voted for that too); but “Dear Boy ” coming in second did.

Faded flowers, wait in a jar, till the evening is complete... complete... complete... complete...

13 November 2012
1.38am
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For those decrying lists and polls, I say:  “Pish posh!”

 

Here’s my ranking of the Ram songs (#1 is best, etc.)

 

1.  Uncle Albert

2.  3 Legs

3.  Too Many People

4.  Heart Of The Country

5.  Ram On

6.  Monkberry Moon Delight

7.  Back Seat of My Car

8.  Dear Boy

9.  Smile Away

10.  Longhaired Lady

Faded flowers, wait in a jar, till the evening is complete... complete... complete... complete...

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