Paul and Linda McCartney
Ram
Ram (1971): the UK chart-topper that Rolling Stone hated
Released in the United States on 17 May 1971 by Apple Records, Ram became Paul and Linda McCartney's UK chart-topper and reached number two in the US. Jon Landau's hostile contemporary review in Rolling Stone of 8 July 1971, alongside chart results with their dates.
The verdict at the time
Jon Landau reviewed Ram for Rolling Stone on 8 July 1971. He called the album 'the nadir in the decomposition of Sixties rock thus far', 'incredibly inconsequential' and 'monumentally irrelevant', criticised its lack of intensity and energy, and dismissed it as 'a very bad album from this very talented artist' - while allowing 'Eat at Home' and 'Sitting in the Back Seat of My Car' as the record's two good things.
Chart peaks
European positions are listed by country. Later chart entries are labelled separately.
Sources & context
One critic's opinion, summarised from Jon Landau's original Rolling Stone review of 8 July 1971. Ram is now regarded as one of Paul McCartney's best albums: ranked number 450 on Rolling Stone's 2023 list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time and certified platinum in the US.
