"HE SEEMA TO HAVE GONE STRANGE!"

Released on May 17, 1971, Ram was Paul McCartney’s second solo album and his first collaboration with wife Linda. McCartney took early influences such as Keith West’s Excerpt From A Teenage Opera and The Who’s Tommy and rolled with 12 experimental, light-hearted, I’m-in-love-with-Linda tracks, with styles ranging from blues to Buddy Holly, folk to Beach Boys psych-pop, ballads to prog. With ukuleles. And no radio singles. The critics hated it, and his former bandmates joined in, even Ringo stating in Melody Maker that Macca “seems to have gone strange…” But Ram grew in stature over the years and has had influence, particularly on The Beatles’ second-gen fans-turned-musicians. Here’s CR’s pick of the records that join Ram’s odd squad.