To me, Ram is unquestionably Paul's finest solo effort and a good album by any standard. On this one, Paul really sounds like he's meaning it. This is far from the helpless (still somewhat charming) clumsiness of albums like Wild Life, Red Rose Speedway and McCartney 2. Neither is it the cold, forced professionalism of Pipes of Peace, Off the Ground and (unfortunately his emptiest effort to date) Driving Rain. On Ram, Paul sounds like a brave fighter, eager to fill the empty space entailed by the Beatles' break up. This is very good songwriting combined with some of Paul's best singing ever. To me, Ram has just the right combination of roughness and ernesty, counterbalanced with sheer fun. This is the Paul I will always prefer! Paul's later solo efforts did occationally contain glimpses of the quality of this album, but in its totality, inevitably failed to match it. (One song that would easily fit into Ram is Ebony and Ivory's excellent flip side, Rainclouds. If you like Paul, and Ram in particular, make sure to get it, one way or another). All in all, this is perhaps my favorite album by any of the former Beatles, unless perhaps "Plastic Ono Band" from 1969.