What's the best Paul McCartney album?

Not my favorite but Band On The Run is the answer.

I prefer Rushes.

 

Band On The Run was my vote, really enjoy listening to Flamie Pie, Chaos & Creation and Flowers in the Dirt some great times with family and friends around all three of those albums so those are spinning again lately!

 

Band on the Run might be his most conplete.
Ram, McCartney and Chaos are great too.

Most of the others suffer from filler along with great songs. So I just combine tracks from 2 albums released close to each other to make one really good album.

 

Wow. I love those two songs. Definitely in the top half of songs on BOTR. And "Mamunia" might make my Macca Top 10 solo songs list.

 

Run Devil Run

 

piece of cake-Ram

By the votes I feel I need to give "Chaos and Creation in the Backyard" more time.
I like Jason Falkner and only gave the album a listen when I heard he was on it.
from this:
INTERVIEW: JASON FALKNER

 

Wings Over America

 

It's on disc 2 of the deluxe remaster.

 

BOTR...

 

No brainier thread.

A piano up my nose.

 

Band on the run ( second place )
It's was McCartney's defining statement all through the seventies and deservedly received all the praise and accolades.

 

Band On The Run (UK, i.e. no Helen Wheels). It was the first Beatles solo album I got. It just edges out Ram for me. And I love the front and back cover images too.

 

Cover looks more dated than Ram.
But, agree on Helen Wheels. Something about the production on that 45rpm that seems harsh compared with the other BOTR tracks.

 

A different but related thread:
Band on the Run was McCartney's best post-Beatles album: agree or disagree?
It's interesting to see how the voting differs between the two polls.

 

The first one gets my vote, with Ram and BOTR tied for second.
To me, the fact that McCartney sounds homemade and half-finished is a big part of its charm. It's a rustic kind of album for when I'm in a rustic mood. I remember listening to it a lot in high school (early '90s) and - knowing the story behind it up to a point - getting a sense of "this is how you cope with a bad patch in your life as an adult". To me, it sounded like that's what Paul was doing even before I knew it really was just that. So it has a lot of sentimental value to me, and has also aged remarkably well since then.

 

Costing over a 100 bucks RAM (super deluxe 5 CDs/DVD) is a well packaged and a treat for McCartney fans. If only the Beatles product got this lavish treatment in the future. Guess SGt Pepper was a start. Also have DCC Ram gold cd, now that's ear candy, a sonic keeper.

 

Brilliant post, great advice. RAM is really so impressive once you drop preconceived notions.

Different strokes, indeed. Dear Boy gives me chills sometimes. That insistent piano. Those dark harmonies. Phew.

To me, Ram is as cohesive as the back half of Abbey Road. It is uninhibited and stylistically varied, though I see these as two of Paul’s greatest musical qualities. Ram is what I would call ‘quirky,’ but in the best way. It certainly does not appeal to everyone, which is why I believe it shares space on the mountaintop with it’s more commercialized (though still very strong) sibling. But if you were to ask me to pick one Album which I felt represented Paul best musically, artistically, and/or personally, I would choose Ram without hesitation. For me BOTR loses out because it lacks a personal grounding and focuses more on just having fun. Nothing wrong with that of course, but Ram gives you that and then some.

Back to the Egg has a lot of positive charm too! And London Town!

 

Agreed. Mono and Thrillington versions also. Beautiful faux photographic paper envelopes full of goodies.

I know, I know, I just have a fondness for it, to me seems 'frozen in time' in keeping with the concept. The back is all Ipcress File esque, dossiers and rubber stamps, which to me hold an archaic charm. Even if Macca's pullover doesn't!

 

Ipcress File, never noticed that before.
Funny with BOTR always reminds of eating Cadbury's chocolate. I have a feeling he had this idea for a reformed Beatles album cover.

I'm sure a few fans would have liked the Ram super deluxe in their xmas stocking ( well stretched).

 

These polls always generate some silly results - like Flowers being the first album without a single vote. And with the local obsession with Macca generates new polls rather frequently. (Yes, it is Ram or Band on the Run. The third one is where the fun begins.)

 

MAF
Are you have a laugh?

Deserves some poll action !!!

 

Some truly fantastic albums on that list!

For me it's...
Wings Over America
Flaming Pie
Memory Almost Full
New
Band On The Run
Unplugged
Run Devil Run
Chaos
I could name others, but these are some at the top.

 

WOA CDs super deluxe I'm on the lookout for, tasty packaging I must admit.

 

Can't choose between McCartney or Ram. One of those.

 

Or, alternatively, Dear Boy is one of his greatest arrangements and something that Brian Wilson at his peak would have been proud of. The stuff going on in that song is immense, and anything but lame.