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Post by joeyself on Nov 11, 2010 17:06:13 GMT -5
WALLS AND BRIDGES, Side 1 vs. RAM, Side 2
WALLS AND BRIDGES, Side 1
1. "Going Down on Love" – 3:54
2. "Whatever Gets You thru the Night" – 3:28
3. "Old Dirt Road" – 4:11
4. "What You Got" – 3:09
5. "Bless You" – 4:38
6. "Scared" – 4:36
RAM, Side 2
1. "Heart of the Country" 2:21
2. "Monkberry Moon Delight" 5:21
3. "Eat at Home" 3:18
4. "Long Haired Lady" 5:54
5. "Ram On (Reprise)" 0:52
6. "The Back Seat of My Car" 4:26
This one may draw out the best (worst?) of the John/Paul discussions...
JcS
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Joseph McCabe
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A rebel to his last breath ...
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Post by Joseph McCabe on Nov 11, 2010 17:33:52 GMT -5
Ram 2 is the weaker side of the album for me. I like Monkberry, but I can't stand the trio of Eat at Home, Long Haired and Back Seat Of My Car. I know many fans rave about Back Seat, but I think it's a silly song. I have even heard it called "Beatlesque" - but, hey, the Fabs had standards.  It's not Beatlesque in the least. Walls & Bridges 1 - what can I say? The whole LP is much, much better than Mind Games. I like all the songs, on side 1, except the "hit": Whatever Gets You Thru the Night is fairly pedestrian. How it became a hit escapes me. Old Dirt Road and Scared are the standouts. W&B 1 it is then. McCabe
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Post by mikev on Nov 11, 2010 19:07:14 GMT -5
Wow- two of my favs head to head in Round 1
I have to go to a 10 point system for this one.
WALLS AND BRIDGES, Side 1
1. Going Down on Love 8.5
2. Whatever Gets You thru the Night 10
3. Old Dirt Road 9.5
4. What You Got 8
5. Bless You 8.5
6. Scared 9
53.5
RAM, Side 2
1. Heart of the Country 8
2. Monkberry Moon Delight 6.5
3. Eat at Home 9.5 McCartney does Holly
4. Long Haired Lady 9.5 I know its sappy but I've always liked this
5. Ram On (Reprise) 7 nice tune but doesn't need a reprise
6. The Back Seat of My Car 9.5 I think this is a great pop tune with Paul clearly channelling 1966 Brian Wilson
50
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Post by ursamajor on Nov 11, 2010 22:28:12 GMT -5
Walls and Bridges Side 1 for me.
I like the production of it, very modern for 1974 and has some great songs.
RAM I have never really liked, a long time ago when I had people over I had RAM playing in the background, the song was Monkberry Moon Delight and everyone was like what's that ? Put something else on. So RAM is an acquired taste and I guess you have to be a Paul fan to get it. In addition I only like Heart of the Country and Eat At Home on this side.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Nov 12, 2010 3:13:12 GMT -5
WALLS AND BRIDGES, Side 1
This is one of my favourite John albums....
It appeals to me more than Ram
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nine
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Post by nine on Nov 12, 2010 7:38:25 GMT -5
WALLS AND BRIDGES, Side 1 This is one of my favourite John albums.... It appeals to me more than Ram I always had 3 albums that I needed to go back to because they never worked on me after multiple playings. Material World, Sometime In NY, Mind Games and Walls & Bridges. MW still doesn't resonate. Mind Games I still find weak and insipid. Sometime In NYC... crap. Walls & Bridges,,, it took the JL Anthology for me to appreciate his work. It's not perfect but it's great. Love it. As for Ram, I like the album. I love Monkberry and Heart of the Country.... Back Seat is okay too... but JL's effort is just too good. AND... I love the 70's instrumental bit on Bless You... So, Walls it is... PS - My 17 year old self would be violently ill with this assessment. |
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Post by coachbk on Nov 12, 2010 9:48:30 GMT -5
I can't believe W&B is winning. This is an easy no-brainer for me to vote for RAM side 2. I like every song on RAM side 2 and I think "Back Seat Of My Car" is an amazing piece of music. "Eat At Home" has a nice Buddy Holly feel. "Heart Of The Country" could be Paul's theme song for this period in his life. "Monkberry Moon Delight" is fun. "Long Haired Lady" is a little "long" but the round singing is fun. I like the brief "Ram On" reprise.
W&B side 1 just has nothing that gets me as interested as anything on RAM. This was as easy as it gets.
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JCV
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Post by JCV on Nov 12, 2010 12:40:22 GMT -5
WALLS AND BRIDGES, Side 1I like John's side better than Paul's, although Monkberry rocks.  JCV
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Post by acebackwords on Nov 12, 2010 13:41:20 GMT -5
Two good sides of Beatle-esque solo stuff. I gotta go with Ram because its more fun and because I gave it a lot more listens (that counts for something, doesn't it? how much mileage you get out of an album). And Walls & Bridges gives off "an aura of misery" as Lennon put it. Still, I like the hit "Whatever Gets you Through the Night." But stuff like Monkberry Moondelight is so much more fun. It might be nonsense but its cool nonsense.
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Post by joeyself on Nov 13, 2010 8:50:45 GMT -5
I'm still having to think about this one. Side 1 of RAM would be an easy winner here, but Side 2 has "Monkberry" and "Long Haired Lady," neither of which I'm that crazy about. W&B suffers from "Bless You" and "Scared" and little else I like beside the hit single. But I like "Whatever Gets You Through The Night" better than anything on RAM 2.
I see the score is tied, so I'll withhold my vote in case it is needed to break the tie.
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Post by theman on Nov 13, 2010 11:13:18 GMT -5
I created the tie when I voted for Ram, Side 2.
My vote is based more on the fact that I'm just not a big Walls and Bridges fan (although I'm one of those who really loved the John-Elton collaboration on "Whatever Gets You Through the Night." ). I think that the kick-off song on Side 1 of W&B is a very weak, rather pedestrian, JL song. However, IMHO, this side has three solid songs, "Whatever", "What You Got" and "Scared". As a 14 year old at its time of release, I found "Old Dirt Road" and "Bless You" to be quite boring. It's been awhile since I listed to this album, but I wonder if this old codger might feel a little differently about them now on repeated listenings? Hmmm, I might need to go out and buy the remastered version to test this theory
As far as Ram-2, I think the songs are solid to excellent, but also very well sequenced. They are a perfect representation of the different "hats" that Paul wears when it comes to deleving into different musical styles (country to rock to rockabilly to dreamy--and, yes, sappy-- ballads to snippets of ideas and, finally, to the well produced, power pop ballad.
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Post by Joe Karlosi on Nov 13, 2010 12:18:02 GMT -5
I give this one to John.
WALLS AND BRIDGES Side 1.
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Post by John S. Damm on Nov 13, 2010 14:02:54 GMT -5
Ram-2I absolutely love "The Back Seat of My Car," one of my favorite solo Paul songs. On the other hand, I don't like the studio version of "Whatever Gets You Through The Night." I cannot hear John over Elton's wailing. One of my favorite songs in the 1970's was Neil Sedaka's "Bad Blood" and Elton sang harmony vocal there too but he didn't overshadow Neil like he does John on WGYTTN. I like the Lennon Anthology version of WGYTTN with just John's vocal but that is not what we are voting for here. My vote swings on these two songs discussed above. I like about everything else on both album sides.
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Post by stavros on Nov 13, 2010 15:49:04 GMT -5
Well these are certainly two albums that deserve a more in depth examination than some of the tournament challenges. That's just my opinion of course. But they are two albums I have never tired of. Ram Side 2 opens with a pleasant folksy ditty from Paul , follows it up with the quite insane "Monkberry Moon Delight". And I did enjoy it for being complete nonsense but quite a compelling track. There is also a nice contrast in the 2 tracks. "Eat at Home" chugs along nicely but is simply average Macca fodder in the end. "Long Haired Lady" contains some wonderful juxtapositions in the melody but I can't get the idea out of my mind that Linda's vocals sound like something out of Sesame Street in the late 70s.  "Ram On" is nothing but a snippet. But "Back Seat of My Car" is one of Paul's best of the time and wouldn't sound out of place on Abbey Road. So it's looking good for Macca so far. So can John beat him? (I'm listening to the re-master from 2005) "Going Down on Love" has some very Beatley type changes but also mid 70s feel to it. Yes I do like this one a lot. "Whatever Gets You...." well "It's alright" . The overall mood is a good one and it puts a smile on your face. "Old Dirt Road" is a track I've never paid much attention to previously. But it sounds like a White Album track with a slide guitar reminiscent of George. Better than I thought. "What You Get" sounds like a SINYC leftover with a bit of a makeover and better production. It's problem is it's neither funk or punk. But it isn't junk either. "Bless You" does not quite sit right melodically to me. It has a jazzy feel to it but the arrangement doesn't quite work for me. "Scared" is a great closer to the album side. But it left me with a feeling that John should have sang this with a little more venom and menace to make it a true classic. I cannot decide. These two album sides are so close it may take another listen.........or even a Bock or a Guiness as well. No. I opened a Guinness and Ram won as "Back Seat of My Car" is the standout track from both albums |
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Joseph McCabe
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A rebel to his last breath ...
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Post by Joseph McCabe on Nov 13, 2010 17:45:34 GMT -5
But "Back Seat of My Car" is one of Paul's best of the time and wouldn't sound out of place on Abbey Road. No. I opened a Guinness and Ram won as "Back Seat of My Car" is the standout track from both albums Ah, but it saddens me to say it: you must lay of the Guinness, Stavros. It is meant as an aid to thought, not as an addler of thought. You have broken through the barrier that should be avoided - too much of a good thing.  Back Seat the best track of these two albums? Oh, man, that's definitely not so.  We I believe that we I can't be wrong ... ;D McCabe |
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Post by stavros on Nov 13, 2010 18:06:45 GMT -5
But "Back Seat of My Car" is one of Paul's best of the time and wouldn't sound out of place on Abbey Road. No. I opened a Guinness and Ram won as "Back Seat of My Car" is the standout track from both albums Ah, but it saddens me to say it: you must lay of the Guinness, Stavros. It is meant as an aid to thought, not as an addler of thought. You have broken through the barrier that should be avoided - too much of a good thing. Back Seat the best track of these two albums? Oh, man, that's definitely not so. We I believe that we I can't be wrong ... ;D McCabe Respect your point of view as always McCabe. But I did listen to Ram entirely sober on my Walkman for many years before I became of age in the Beatles homeland. And "Back Seat.." is simply a Macca song that took hold of me at a very young age and I cannot let go of that to this day. It's conception lay in the days of the Get Back project. This is one track Paul gave a little breathing space to and re-kindled a couple of years later. I personally think he got it right by adding a glossy production. I really did not enjoy voting against "Walls and Bridges 1" at such an early stage as it is way ahead of most other solo album sides. And having given "Mind Games" and "Walls & Bridges" recent listens I think the re-mixed albums are much better than their original releases. But that's my opinion and I trust you have equal respect for it? |
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Joseph McCabe
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A rebel to his last breath ...
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Post by Joseph McCabe on Nov 13, 2010 19:00:44 GMT -5
------------------------------------------------------------------ But that's my opinion and I trust you have equal respect for it? Of course, man. Do not worry. Cheers, with Guinness - McCabe |
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Post by coachbk on Nov 13, 2010 20:00:07 GMT -5
[quote Back Seat the best track of these two albums? Oh, man, that's definitely not so. We I believe that we I can't be wrong ... ;D McCabe [/quote] Count me among those that believe "Back Seat Of My Car" is the best song on either of these sides. So I believe that you CAN be wrong. On the other hand, I totally agreed with your earlier assessment of "Whatever Gets You Through The Night" as fairly pedestrian. Probably my least favorite #1 hit of any Beatles/solo Beatles recording. I feel it became #1 because it sounds like an Elton John song and Elton was huge in 1974. The followup single "#9 Dream" is much better. I listen to RAM all the time and rarely feel the need to pull out WALLS & BRIDGES. It isn't a bad album, it just doesn't excite me at all beyond "#9 Dream". It is the very definition of a 3 star album (out of 5) whereas RAM is about a 4.5 star album. |
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Post by vectisfabber on Nov 13, 2010 20:15:47 GMT -5
I would have loved to hear What You Got done in a Beatles arrangement rather than soaked in US session saxes.
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Post by coachbk on Nov 15, 2010 19:26:24 GMT -5
I am listening to WALLS & BRIDGES again just to be sure I'm not missing anything. It has definitely confirmed my view of W&B Side 1 as far inferior to RAM side 2. (And I listened to RAM last weekend and loved it as always!)
On the other hand, W&B side 2 is quite good and has a good chance of getting my vote, depending of course on what side it ends up against.
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Post by anyoneanyhow on Nov 21, 2010 20:40:42 GMT -5
W&B1 by a country mile. How is this even close?
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Post by vectisfabber on Nov 21, 2010 20:46:10 GMT -5
Because opinion is fairly evenly divided?
Just a shot in the dark.
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Post by joeyself on Dec 13, 2010 22:46:03 GMT -5
Dead tie at the moment, but I still haven't voted.
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Post by coachbk on Dec 13, 2010 23:56:07 GMT -5
Dead tie at the moment, but I still haven't voted. Just vote for RAM and get it over with. It is ridiculous that this is even close! |
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Post by joeyself on Dec 14, 2010 0:01:12 GMT -5
Dead tie at the moment, but I still haven't voted. Just vote for RAM and get it over with. It is ridiculous that this is even close! None of these are over until about three days after I post the 32nd match, so I'll hold off; I don't want my vote to create a tie, but will use it to break one. JcS |
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Post by joeyself on Dec 21, 2010 12:15:56 GMT -5
Hmmm, looks like Rocko voted, and therefore, I can't, because I'd create a tie. If someone else votes for RAM, then I'll step in and break it; otherwise, W&B 1 will move on. I don't really care that much for either, so no sleep lost...
JcS
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Post by coachbk on Dec 21, 2010 23:26:51 GMT -5
I hope we can get the 2nd round going soon!
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Post by joeyself on Dec 21, 2010 23:32:40 GMT -5
Hey, I DO get to vote in this one, and I pick RAM 2. I'm not THAT crazy about it--"Monkberry" and "Long Haired Lady" are both tiring--but it opens and closes strong. W&B 1 has only the hit single going for it.
Voting this round, in all matches, is now closed.
JcS
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It's not Beatlesque in the least. 
"Ram On" is nothing but a snippet.
