3 Categories
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The examples I use and the things I describe are stated with Paul in mind, but this can apply to just about any artist. There are three types of albums. Back to roots, artistic productions, and balanced albums. They tend to go in order of each other. You start with a back to roots album. McCartney. He plays every instrument, lots of acoustics. Simple writing. Then we have Ram. Still very raw, but you can tell there is more production. More complex songs. Ram is more balanced. We have a bit of a relapse with Wild Life. Then RRS begins to add more complexity. The best example is the final medley. Then we get BOTR. Paul's producing at some of its finest, and biggest. That's the top of the 3. That was an artistic production of complicated, occasionally multi movement works. This continues throughout his career. The biggest example of the three examples is most likely Paul's three most recent completey original studio albums. Let's compare Caps with MAF. Back to roots and artistic production at its best. Then new comes out and combines the two. If we think about it, most of Paul's career can be divided into those 3 categories. Any thoughts?
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It does seem that much of Paul's (musical) career can be broken into his boundary-pushing experimentation and polar opposite "back to basics" efforts - and then wading in the wide rang in between. There are exceptions to every rule, but it does appear that Paul generally sticks to these phases. Though I'm not sure if I'd go as far as to say most artists do. Interesting perspective, thanks for sharing
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Oh, come on. The production on Ram in infinitely more complex than that to be found on Red Rose Speedway and Band on the Run. It was recorded in NY using the (then) latest techniques, with the best session men in the business. Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey, Long-Haired Lady, and The Back Seat of my Car all have lush orchestral arrangements. Ram is not a homespun lo-fi record - the songs may be, but the production is not.