Customer Reviews

Thrillington

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Wow -- I was bowled over by this re-release. First, to correct what I saw in an earlier review, The Macca is all over this cd, not just in the production, but that is clearly his and Linda's voices and instrumentation (including kazoo) at various points of the album. And what an album it is, brimming with joyful, playful, spirited big-band and swing versions of Ram, which remains his solo masterpiece. If you love Ram, get it. If you don't know Ram, get that first, then come over and pick up this loving tribute. A keeper.

I would be pretty sure than paul is playing drums, almost certainly bass, some guitar, piano and probably some band instruments. The strength of this album is that it's different. My favorite McCartney moments are when he's not scared to be someone other than Beatle Paul. He's been there , done that. I mean how can Mick Jagger and the boys continue to do the same thing over and over?
Ram is my favorite album by any artist, ever. These instrumental versions are nothing but fun. As a musician, I can identify trademark styles. Paul is not a great drummer but, boy, was he having fun on this album.
Next time you here this album, assume Paul is playing some of those crazy bass lines and pounding the drums. [With a bit of a glow on, I would think]

This is a cool little production from 1971 that Paul produced only (he doesn't appear on the music) for his album Ram. Paul was so taken with the finished results of Ram that before it was released, he hired Richard Hewson to arrange and conduct instrumental versions of each song. The sessions finally took place over three days in June (only a few weeks after the vinyl release of Ram) but remained shelved until '77. It seems when Paul is hiding behind someone else's name (Thrillington, Country Hams, McGear, Suzy & The Redstripes, Fireman), he's unafraid to take risks and the outcome is always something unique and wondeful. Give this album a spin for nothing more than the joy of Ram set to 'muzak'.

I just heard of this the other day. While I am a big Beatles fan, this one slipped by me.

I love Ram, happen to think it is Paul's best solo album. So I like this instrumental version, done in large part by the guy who did arrangements for Those Were the Days by Mary Hopkin, and Let It Be. Paul asked him to do a big band version of Ram in 1971 when Ram came out, but it wasn't released until 1977.

This big band version is kind of shmaltzy, kind of jazzy, kind of old-time jazzy.

If you like this kind of music and if you like Ram, you will probably like this.

Now if you ask me, and plenty of Paul McCartney fans do now and again, this "secret" side project from 1977 is one of the nicest surprises any ill-informed McCartney fan will ever stumble across. Enough water done passed under the bridge that now a lot of folk have forgotten about this little gem and the folk what work in record shops are probably too young to know that they need to file this here CD in the Paul McCartney bin... so it gets shuffled off to the T section and nobody takes note because nobody knows what it is.

Well, here's the deal see... this is a Paul McCartney album and if you like his music and you want more, then eventually you need to find a way to add this one to your collection. You might be OK to allow this one to ride on the ole' wish list for a while, but eventually you need to take the plunge and go ahead on and buy it because it is truly a wonder to behold and, among all the McCartney album what come out over the years, I have to admit that this one is probably one of Mama's favorites... Junior too. See, we Huckabees like to listen to McCartney in all his various guises and this guise is one of the best because it was, for a long while, a "disguise"! Get it?

The twins don't like this one so much because they still aren't convinced that Paul McCartney actually had anything to do with the album, but I done a little research and some investigation on my own and I can assure you that yes indeed this is a true Paul McCartney album and you need to hear what the man has to say. I'd go ahead on and move this one up a little higher on your wish list so you might could actually get a copy a litter sooner. Sooner better than later... that's what I always say.

Paul McCartney had everything to do with this recording.
He wrote the songs, he got the musicians together, he produced the album. Just because some people are disappointed, that does not mean it is not a McCartney album. This a definately a Paul McCartney album. If you like "Ram", then get "Thrillington".
I am a die hard Beatle music and McCartney music fan.
Don't tell me to pass this recording by. It is a must have for McCartney music fans. Oh yes, it is good music too.
Get this album and enjoy, you will never regret it.
All you need is love.

I truly didn't know what to expect when I bought "Thrillington" but when I played it for the first time I was amazed!! Only Paul McCartney could do something like this!! It's Burt Bacharach meets Martin Denny meets Arthur Feildler over a case of Irish whiskey! It's a demented lounge/bong party! It's so wild that it's truly wonderful!! Put on your smoking jacket and mix yourself a cocktail....make that several cocktails with a healthy dose of Monkberry Moon Delight!! You've been warned!!

Percy "Thrills" Thrillington has done it again. As is Ram wasn't strong enough, he has recorded an instrumental of all the tracks! We all know that Percy, is Sir Paul himself. These tracks add a new freshness to old friends like Admiral Halsey and others. I highly recommend it to all those who appreciate the wonder of Makka.

To correct the poster below, Paul doesn't play or sing on this album recorded in 1971 at all but that shouldn't keep you from discovering this lost gem. Do a search on Google for Thrillington and Hurwitz to find the complete information on Percy. And to read the first hand accounts on the sessions and how Paul only supervised.

I was given to understand that this album was a big-band cover of all the songs in Paul McCartney's "Ram," which has long been one of my favorites (and I'm not a huge McCartney fan at all). But it's not really that. It's more of a lyrics-free version of the same album. You still have the Spectorish ethereal chorus in the background, and guitars, ukeleles, and other instruments that you'd not ordinarily find in either an orchestra or a big band. I think I'd have enjoyed this CD all the more if it had really been an orchestral or band transcription, instead of a neither-fish-nor-fowl as this is.