Paul McCartney
Ram

It's 1971, and the Beatles as a group have not existed for some time. The "4 boys who shocked the world," drunk on fame and money, strive to orient themselves and follow their instincts in the boundless sea that opens before each of them. Sir. Paul McCartney, already a legend and icon of world music at 28, finds himself publishing music without the comfort of confrontation, of competition, of the intertwining of the individual geniuses of his companions from that dazzling adventure recently concluded.

RAM tells us that McCartney is a volcano of musical ideas, eclecticism, artistic exuberance, and a desire to amaze again. Paul pours into this project ideas and intentions sufficient to make 4 LPs of decent quality, but he does so by choosing to play all the instruments, recording at home, without real guidance, perhaps for the first time since he started earning his keep strumming away. And it shows.

THUMBS DOWN: The start is almost embarrassing, and the song (the first one) that should prove to the world that McCartney deserves to be a legend struggles to stand on its own. "Smile away" tells of horrid and redundant choruses and a tasteless text. "Eat at Home" doesn't convince me either, with falsettos thrown in and a truly artisanal production. With the starting chorus of "Long Haired Lady," we hit rock bottom. No one else in the world would have entrusted all vocal supports to such Linda, an improvised backing vocalist so off-key that she appears tone-deaf. The refrain that echoes the title is repulsive. The 4-minute finale, repeated to exhaustion and entrusted to Linda, screams for vengeance. Unlistenable.

But the McCartney who knows how to turn heads for myself and several other millions of people over 50 years, is there, oh yes. See "3 Legs," which Linda can't manage to ruin. Simple and engaging musical structure, with classy instrumental embellishments, rhythms alternated intelligently, a finale with a key change for the connoisseurs. Similar in its aims is "Heart of the Country," truly pleasant and surprising in the alternation of intentions and some instrumental breaks that embellish a piece, overall, truly successful.  

"Ram On" starts eccentrically, but a ukulele immediately recalls you to a melodic world where you feel at home and nod along happily, accompanied by the knowing voice of a guy who knows how to invent melodies like few others. "Dear Boy" is a gem of vocal harmonization and has a chord structure creating a constant crescendo of rare intensity. A pearl, one that never tires and satisfies all ears, even the most demanding. "Monkberry Moon Delight" is a scream of anger (deliberately ironic) that would deprive any ordinary mortal of their voice for days. Linda spoils the atmosphere only partly, as the persistent guitars below balance everything out.

"Unkle Albert\Admiral Halsey" is a joke, a rather useless cartoon intro that, in the second part, showcases the author's vocal and compositional eclecticism, truly over the top and at ease in all genres. Curious.

But the best things come out, paradoxically, from songs I would reject, like "Long Haired Lady" and "Back Seat of my Car." The two songs, shaky, to say the least, contain melodic passages of such intensity and class that they force you to pull your hair and scream: what a waste! And that is (alas), emblematic of a phenomenon that in King Paul's long and prolific solo career will occur quite frequently: the lack of guidance undermines a potential that probably has no comparison.

Solo Paul McCartney, in short, is "The most precious rough diamond in the world," as I defined him elsewhere... and this album is, in my opinion, proof of that.

Trivia: the L.I.L.Y. acronym hidden on the cover means: Linda I love you. How sweet Paul... but having chosen her among millions of suitors, in my opinion, was enough. As a backing vocalist, I would have looked elsewhere.