Paul McCartney - "RAM" Special Edition CD Review

STREAM: Paul McCartney - "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey" (from RAM)

When reviewing deluxe reissues, I generally don’t attempt to review the original album as, most often, there is little to add to the hundreds of reviews that have already been written. That being said, I don’t think I had heard Paul McCartney’s second solo LP RAM (originally released in 1971) before and was taken aback by how well this disc stacks up against today’s indie-pop music. It seems such a contradiction in terms to mention Sir Paul and “indie-pop” in the same sentence but…there are definitely elements on this disc (layered production, orchestral elements) that are heard on modern releases from bands like Arcade Fire and Of Montreal.



To provide some background on the original recording of RAM, Paul composed the songs (with input from Linda) while on an extended holiday on McCartney’s farm on the Mull of Kintyre, Scotland. A number of the videos on the bonus DVD were filmed on the McCartney’s farm during this period. RAM was recorded in New York and Los Angeles and the McCartneys’ backing band was recruited via open auditions. The RAM sessions were prolific and a number of the songs not included on the original 12-track disc ended up as b-sides and on later Wings’ releases.

According to the online “Paul McCartney Sessionography”, twenty-three tracks were recorded:

The "RAM" Sessions (Late January - Late February 1970)

Released as a Single in Advance of RAM but Not Included on the Original LP
Another Day (RAM bonus track)
Oh Woman, Oh Why (RAM bonus track)

Original Issue of RAM
Too Many People
3 Legs
Ram On
Dear Boy
Uncle Albert-Admiral Halsey
Smile Away
Heart of the Country
Monkberry Moon Delight
Eat at Home
Long Haired Lady
RAM On (Reprise)
The Back Seat Of My Car

RAM Bonus Tracks
A Love for You
Sunshine, Sometime (also on Rupert the Bear soundtrack)
Hey Diddle
Rode All Night

Unreleased Tracks from the RAM Sessions
Dear Friend
Little Lamb Dragonfly
Get On The Right Thing
Now Hear This Song Of Mine
When The Wind Is Blowing

Musicians:
Paul McCartney - Vocals, guitar, bass, piano, keyboards
Linda McCartney - Vocals, keyboards
Dave Spinoza - Guitars
Hugh McCracken - Guitars
Denny Seiwell - Drums, percussion

The remaining two bonus tracks – “Great Cock and Seagull Race” and “Little Woman Love” – were respectively recorded at the Wild Life sessions in 1971 and “The First Singles Session” in Spring 1972.



My review copy came with bonus DVD from the Deluxe Edition (and this set includes 2 extra CDs - the remastered Mono edition of RAM and the Thrillington CD along with a 112 page book). The playing time on the DVD runs about 25 minutes. While I would have like more material, the likely reality is that the footage used is all that exists from this time period as Macca didn’t tour until 1972 with Wings.

The features on the bonus DVD are:

1 – Ramming – The Story of the Album: This is a current-day audio interview with Macca (backed by studio shots of the recording session which are presumably were shot by Linda) where he reflects on working with Linda in the studio, hiring the band and he also talks about the impetus behind some of the songs. (Note: Macca states that “Dear Boy” was directed at Linda’s x-husband – not, contrary to popular belief, John Lennon)

2 – “Heart of the Country” & “3 Legs”: Both of these are promo videos which combine video footage of the McCartney family at home (and at play) in Scotland with the studio versions of these songs.

3 – “Hey Diddle”: This is an “impromptu” acoustic live performance of Paul and Linda sitting outside of their farmhouse singing this song, backed by Paul’s acoustic guitar.

4 – “Eat at Home” On Tour: This is an early promo video that combines live footage (from Wings 1972 tour) interspersed with tour bus and ‘day in the life’ footage of the band



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Paul McCartney Played "My Valentine" at The Grammys / Posts Video from "Kisses On the Bottom" Photo Shoot

(Photographer: Mary McCartney)
Earlier this month, Paul McCartney released his first new disc in five years, Kisses on the Bottom. The disc takes its name from a lyric in the Fats Waller song “I’m Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter” and McCartney’s cover of this song serves as the lead-off track on his new disc. This new disc is predominately comprised of little-heard cover songs and Paul’s approach to this disc is similar to his 1999 disc Run Devil Run on which he covered 50’s rock and roll songs and wrote some originals in the style of that era.

Paul played "My Valentine" from the new album on The Grammys earlier this week (along with a medley of his back catalogue hits) and posted a video from the Kisses On the Bottom photo shoot.







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Paul McCartney - "Kisses on the Bottom" CD Review (Hear Music)

“I always thought artists like Fred Astaire were very cool. Writers like Harold Arlen, Cole Porter, all of those guys - I just thought the songs were magical. And then, as I got to be a songwriter I thought it’s beautiful, the way they made those songs.” – Paul McCartney

(Photographer: Mary McCartney)
On Feb. 7th, Paul McCartney is releasing his first new disc in five years, Kisses on the Bottom. The disc takes its name from a lyric in the Fats Waller song “I’m Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter” and McCartney’s cover of this song serves as the lead-off track on his new disc. This new disc is predominately comprised of little-heard cover songs and Paul’s approach to this disc is similar to his 1999 disc Run Devil Run on which he covered 50’s rock and roll songs and wrote some originals in the style of that era. The fourteen tracks on Kisses on the Bottom offer a glimpse into “the songs which inspired the songs”; twelve songs are Tin Pin Alley era covers and Macca wrote two new originals that fit perfectly with the music of that era. The impetus for this release is that Paul believes it is about time “the songs me and John based quite a few of our things on” received the recognition they deserve.

On Kisses on the Bottom, McCartney is backed by Diana Krall and her band and orchestral accompaniments are added to some songs courtesy of the London Symphony Orchestra. All of the songs have a soft jazz flair that is accentuated by Tommy LiPuma’s open-sounding and organic production. This disc marks the first time that Paul performed exclusively in the vocal booth without any instruments and his warm and lo-key vocals set the emotional tone for each song. Macca described this album as “very tender, very intimate…an album you listen to at home after work, with a glass of wine or a cup of tea.”

Songs range from the bouncy jazz of “I’m Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter” and “My Very Good Friend the Milkmen” to the orchestral “Bye Bye Blackbird” to smoky jazz torch songs ( Irving Berlin’s “Always” and “Home (When Shadows Fall)”). Macca stays true to the original versions of the twelve cover tunes and the stellar production brings out the piano, brushed drums and open bass notes. For the two originals, Eric Clapton adds some blues riffs and an understated solo to “My Valentine” and Stevie Wonder plays soulful harmonica on “Only Our Hearts”.



While I prefer McCartney’s rock numbers (and am waiting impatiently for more of the Wings’ reissues), kudos to Macca for pulling off such a stylistic leap without it sounding dated or “retro”.

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Paul McCartney Releases First Single, "My Valentine", From Forthcoming Album

My Valentine - Paul McCartney by PaulMcCartney

While many a musician is often asked about the tunes that have influenced their songwriting, it is not a question Paul McCartney ordinarily gets to answer – until now. Paul is about to offer a glimpse into “the songs which inspired the songs” with the upcoming release of a brand new album of those standards he grew up listening to in his childhood—plus two brand new McCartney compositions: the album, which is currently untitled, will be released on Hear Music/Concord Records on February 7th 2012.

With the help of Grammy Award-winning producer Tommy LiPuma and Diana Krall and her band—as well as guest appearances from Eric Clapton and Stevie Wonder, McCartney’s new album is a deeply personal journey through classic American compositions that, in some cases, a young Paul first heard his father perform on piano at home. As authentic and daring a musical statement as he could make, this is the album Paul has been thinking about making for more than 20 years - and probably the last thing his fans are expecting. “In the end it was ‘Look, if I don’t do it now, I’ll never do it,” he says. In short, Paul believes it is about time “the songs me and John based quite a few of our things on” received the recognition they deserve. Moreover, the record also features a couple of new original McCartney compositions in the spirit of those classics.

“When I kind of got into songwriting, I realised how well structured these songs were and I think I took a lot of my lessons from them,” Paul explains. “I always thought artists like Fred Astaire were very cool. Writers like Harold Arlen, Cole Porter, all of those guys - I just thought the songs were magical. And then, as I got to be a songwriter I thought it’s beautiful, the way they made those song’.”

Determined to approach the record in a new and unique manner, Paul enlisted the help of LiPuma and Krall and her band—who delivered ultra-high quality musicianship and were completely in tune with Paul’s restraint and feel for the music. In the studio, the recording of this album was also a new challenge for Paul who, for the first time ever, performed exclusively in the vocal booth without no instrument – no guitar, no bass, no piano - which led to a vocal performance like no other in his career.

Paul said, “It was very spontaneous, kind of organic, which then reminded me of the way we’d work with The Beatles. We’d bring a song in, kick it around, when we found a way to do it we’d say ‘Okay, let's do a take now’ and by the time everyone kind of had an idea of what they were doing, we’d learnt the song. So that’s what we did, we did the take live in the studio. It was important for me to keep away from the more obvious song choices so, many of the classic standards will be unfamiliar to some people. I hope they are in for a pleasant surprise.”

The album was recorded at the legendary Capitol Studios in Los Angeles, New York and London throughout 2011. It also features guest musicians Eric Clapton and Stevie Wonder, respectively, on the original compositions "My Valentine" and "Only Our Hearts".

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The Cars - "Move Like This" CD Review (Hear Music)

I remember liking The Cars in junior high as they were a welcome change from bands like Supertramp and Journey who seemed to dominate rock radio at the time. My interest in the band waned as the band seemed to lose their edge with each subsequent album as they went after a more mainstream sound. Ric Ocasek produced some brilliant punk albums in the early 80’s (Suicide’s second disc and Bad Brains’ Rock For Light) so I kept thinking there was something about the band that I was missing but, by the time I got to college, throwaway pop (and the accompanying “cheeseball” videos) like “You Might Think” finally made me write off the band completely. My opinion of the band has changed though as with their new disc, Move Like This, as I can finally hear the link to the jagged synth-punk of bands like Suicide.

Move Like This is The Cars’ first new disc since 1987’s Door To Door. After “The New Cars” debacle, it is probably important to start by noting that all surviving members have returned with uber-producer Jackknife Lee stepping in for Ben Orr (who passed away in 2000). Across this disc, The Cars don’t stray far from their roots (which is both a good and bad thing) as the material ranges from the edgy new wave sound of the band’s early days to the commercial pop of their late 80’s records. There are small snippets of riffs and musical structures that sound like they were lifted straight out of the band’s back catalogue but the overall tone seems darker and more moodily introspective than I ever remember The Cars sounding.

The disc starts out strong with "Blue Tip" (the disc's second single) which has the quirky rhythms, bleeping keyboards and taut guitar lines of the early Cars material. The disc's first single "Sad Songs" borrows ever so slightly from "My Best Friend's Girl" but takes the music in a different direction so that the tune is nostalgic without being derivative. On a similar note, "Free" brings back memories of "Bye Bye Love" (from The Cars' first disc). Staying within the framework of The Cars' sound, "Keep on Knocking" is a harder-edged piece that is driven by Elliot Easton's crunchy power chords. The disc falls a bit short when it take an ill advised turn into the 80's-style new wave ballads: “Soon” is being compared to “Drive” but unfortunately falls short and "Take Another Look" is a "Top Gun soundtrack" style cheese ballad.

Some of Ocasek’s obtuse stream of conscious lyrics may not lend themselves to easy interpretation and/or sing-alongs but (he isn’t trying to be Bono) this is a case where the textures of the music hold more weight than the lyrics.

There are some nice guitar licks on some of the songs but the heavy use of a variety of keyboard / synthesizer sounds and crisp drumming are a predominate part of most of this disc. As tight as the drums sound, it is hard to believe that David Robinson said in a recent interview (with Consequence of Sound‘s Cap Blackard) that he hadn’t played since 1987.

In the weeks leading up to the album’s release, what’s life been like?

We’re getting ready to tour and I haven’t played drums since 1987. So what we’re doing is relearning everything and I’m practicing to relearn how to play, basically. Also, we are doing a lot of stuff electronically; we aren’t going to use a bass player, so we have to program either bass parts or keyboard parts to play on stage and that requires click tracks that I play along with and percussion tracks and stuff like that. So, it’s a lot of work.

There is no mistaking that this new disc is a Cars album through-and-through. While some of the songs worked for me and some didn’t, this disc proved that The Cars aren’t back for a “greatest hits tour” cash-in and their new music is very relevant within today’s musical landscape.

On a related note, it is worth making a point of picking up the “Best Buy” edition of this release for the three bonus tracks:
- “Rocket USA” (Demo): A blistering Suicide cover
- “Hits Me” (Demo): Much looser and rawer than the "studio" version; I actually like this version better
- "One By One" (Demo): Previously unreleased and in the same style as "Hits Me" (Demo)



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