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Ram by Paul and Linda McCartney (Vinyl record album review)

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Record basics

  • Album name: Ram
  • Artist name: Paul McCartney, Linda McCartney
  • Year: 1971
  • Number of discs: one
  • Label: Apple Records
  • Collection: Selman
  • Distinguishing characteristics:
    • Sticker on lower left of album cover: “M” (for McCartney)
    • Scratched into side one of LP: 5MAS-1-3375-Z1 #5 EW/N
    • Scratched into side two of LP: 5MAS-2-3375-F16 #2
  • Buy it on Amazon: $36.13

Ram by Paul and Linda McCartney

My review

Level of familiarity before listening

I’ve never listened to this record before, but it will be sixth post-Beatles McCartney record that I’ve reviewed (chronologically the second):

What I expected

I have not been particularly impressed with what McCartney has done after 1969, but there does seem to be a trend that I’ve liked his work in the first few years after the Beatles broke up more than what he did later.

What it was actually like

I didn’t hate this at all! It was nowhere near as bad as it could have been and, while I wouldn’t listen again, I do think it was fine to listen once, and it certainly has redeeming value. I did not care at all for the backing vocals, though.

The worst song was probably Long Haired Lady, a classic case of Fauls’s granny shit, as was Heart of the Country.

Monkberry Moon Delight was quite Oompa Loompa and had some weird vocals, but was not that bad.

Dear Boy was the most Beatles-sounding of the songs, but would have been one of the worst Beatles songs. Smile Away also sounded like it could have been one of the worst songs on, probably, Abbey Road, and used an electric wall sound effect.

On the subject of sound effects, Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey was full of them and they were pretty dumb, but the second part was way better than the first.

I liked the electric guitar solo on Too Many People, and the blues rock song 3 Legs was the best on the record.

Grade

3/5: interesting, but not for me

The Golden Age of Comedy, narrated by George Burns (Vinyl record album review)

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Record basics

  • Album name: The Golden Age of Comedy: 50 Years of Great Humor… From Vaudeville to Video
  • Narrator: George Burns
  • Artist names: Various, including Eddie Cantor, Bert Gordon, W.C. Fields, Edgar Bergen, Charlie McCarthy, Tallulah Bankhead, Fred Allen, Ed Wynn, George Burns, Gracie Allen, Carl Reiner, Mel Brooks, Fanny Brice, Hanley Stafford, Red Skelton, Allan Sherman, Milton Berle, Dick Gregory
  • Year: 1971
  • Number of discs: five
  • Label: Longines Symphonette Society
  • Collection: Selman
  • Buy it on Amazon: $26.97

The Golden Age of Comedy: 50 Years of Great Humor... From Vaudeville to Video

My review

Level of familiarity before listening

I’ve never heard of this compilation, and doubt that I’ve heard any of the comedy routines (or sketches?) on it, but I have heard of many of the comedians, though only in the context of comedians who might have been popular among my grandparents’ generation.

What I expected

I guess mid-century comedy, maybe with some puns?

What it was actually like

I actually recognized one of these bits! It was the novelty song Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh (A Letter from Camp) on side 2, by Allan Sherman. I was not really a “camp” person, but this song was definitely something that I knew from my childhood, and even knew to associate it with the Velveeta commercial that was set to the same melody.

Another thing that I did not quite recognize, but had at least heard of, was “The Bickersons,” because my parents used to refer to that bit when my brother and I would argue.

This compilation had a whole lot of accent humor, because apparently other nationalities and ethnicities were considered hilarious – especially the French, blacks, Jews, Italians, southerners, Brooklynites, Germans, and immigrants of all origins.

There were lot of slapstick moments, sound effects, goofy voices, and canned laughter. A whole series of bits had to do with husbands and wives fighting.

The bit on side 6 where they spliced some fake reporter questions into an Eisenhower press conference, to get him to say the opposite of what he actually meant, directly anticipated The Altered Nixon Speech, and part of it was even about Nixon.

Overall, this compilation, at ten sides (five LPs) was extremely long, and I can hardly believe that I (sort of) listened to all of it. Nothing about it was funny.

Grade

2/5: bad, but I was able to listen to the whole thing

Hunky Dory by David Bowie (Vinyl record album review)

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Record basics

  • Album name: Hunky Dory
  • Artist name: David Bowie
  • Year: 1971
  • Number of discs: one
  • Label: RCA Records
  • Distinguishing characteristics:
    • “APRS-5947-35-A3E” and “R” scratched into side 1 of LP
    • “APRS-5948-35-A21” and “R” scratched into side 2 of LP
  • Collection: Selman
  • Buy it on Amazon: $49.99

Hunky Dory by David Bowie

My review

Level of familiarity before listening

I’ve never really gotten into David Bowie at all and never listened to any of his records, but I do know the song Changes that’s the first track on this record, and expect to recognize one or two others, as well.

What I expected

Bowie changed his musical style a lot, so I’m not really sure what kind of music he was making in 1971. Maybe soft rock?

What it was actually like

There was a lot of piano in this record, and it reminded me of Elton John (not in a good way).

Changes was about as I remembered it, which is sort of a piano-driven lounge-inspired pop-rock pop. Its piano and vocal parts are pretty distinctive and I guess it’s representative of David Bowie to me. One thing I realized about it, listening to it now closely for the first time, was that it’s really just a chorus that’s repeated a few times, punctuated by some totally useless verses.

That pattern of a song having quite a strong chorus, but very weak verses, was repeated a few times throughout the record, such as on Oh! You Pretty Things and on Andy Warhol, which also was a generally good acoustic guitar folk rock song.

Eight Line Poem was essentially just rambling with some piano chords, and Quicksand was similarly meandering.

Kooks sounded like Faul’s granny shit, and Fill Your Heart was in that same category, and was also a bit Oompa-Loompa, and had some terrible saxophone.

Song for Bob Dylan did have some Dylan style vocals, but with too much piano, and also not enough melody. The Bewlay Brothers had a bit of that same vocal style as well.

Queen Bitch was almost proto-punk, and I thought it was the best on the record.

Besides Changes, the only other song I recognized was Life On Mars?, from this television series. It was a pretty bad song, and more or less had zero musical value.

Grade

3/5: interesting, but not for me

Tapestry by Carole King (Vinyl record album review)

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Record basics

  • Album name: Tapestry
  • Artist name: Carole King
  • Year: 1971
  • Number of discs: one
  • Label: Ode Records
  • Collection: Brenner / Gessner
  • Distinguishing characteristics: “G” written on inside of album sleeve, indicating that my father owned it (but my mother also had a copy)
  • Buy it on Amazon: $22.98

Tapestry by Carole King

My review

Level of familiarity before listening

I don’t think I’ve ever listened to this record before, but I’ve heard of it because I’ve always known people who cited it as a favorite. My parents also said that this was a record that everyone owned.

What I expected

Folk rock. My mother said that I might like it.

What it was actually like

Carole King had a fine voice and I guess she was a pretty good piano player, too, but I mostly didn’t care for this record.

Most of the songs on it were pretty boring and slow: So Far Away, which was ruined by the flute at the end; Way Over Yonder, which was not helped by the saxophone; Home Again; You’ve Got a Friend; and Tapestry, the title track.

It turned out, though, that I actually did recognize a bunch of the songs from various sources.

For example, I knew I Feel the Earth Move, a blues song with lots of piano and some electric guitar, and by the end of it, I was confident that King was an excellent blues vocalist.

I also had heard It’s Too Late before, but it was kind of easy listening, and I hated the saxophone.

Beautiful was one that I might have heard in the past, but parts of it were slightly Oompa Loompa.

I recognized Where You Lead because it was the theme song of a television program called Gilmore Girls, and I had watched around 5-10 episodes of that (after learning that I may have met one of the actresses in it, since we had evidently lived in the same freshman dorm at NYU).

Will You Love Me Tomorrow was a great take on the classic Shirelles song – but very slow, much sadder and more wistful, with just piano and a little backing guitar behind the vocals. The Aretha Franklin song (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman was another in a similar style.

Smackwater Jack was the most lively song, on the record and the best by far, and most different from all the others, with a faster tempo, and closer to the electric blues.

Grade

3/5: interesting, but not for me

Songs of Love and Hate by Leonard Cohen (Vinyl record album review)

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Record basics

  • Album name: Songs of Love and Hate
  • Artist name: Leonard Cohen
  • Year: 1971
  • Number of discs: one
  • Label: Columbia Records
  • Collection: Brenner / Gessner
  • Who owned it: I thought this would have been my mother’s, but my father was into Leonard Cohen too, so it could have belonged to either of them
  • Buy it on Amazon: $43.99

Songs of Love and Hate by Leonard Cohen

My review

Level of familiarity before listening

I’ve only listened to one Leonard Cohen record before this, Songs of Leonard Cohen (1967) in July, and I liked it!

What I expected

More mumbly, morose folk rock.

What it was actually like

This record was pretty boring, and I mostly didn’t like it.

The two songs I liked the best were the first tracks on each side, Avalanche on side one and Love Calls You by Your Name on side two. They both used a classical style guitar, and I especially liked how the former started the record with a dark tone and how the guitar built tension throughout the song.

Diamonds in the Mine was the weirdest son on the record, with a sort of reggae type beat, and terrible vocals that were half yelling, half growling.

Dress Rehearsal Rag was also an un-favorite since it sounded rather atonal, with vocals that were kind of proto-punk or proto-rap.

Joan of Arc made me think of The Smiths’ Bigmouth Strikes Again, but it didn’t sound like that at all.

Grade

2/5: weak, but I was able to listen to the whole thing