McCartney "Ram" Reissue News (Part Three)

dvakman wrote: "For example, I don't think any of us expect him to do this lavish of a set for "Wild Life".(...)"

I do. Maybe not as lavish as Ram, but certainly on a par with the others so far issued in this series. How else is he going to sell it? There must be mountains of material for that album (and every other one) he could use make that album appear more essential.

 

Indeed, I'm not a fan of Wild Life, but bonus tracks intrigue me and could ultimately sell it to me.

 

Does anyone else think that Ram has aged better than any other solo Mccartney album? Even Band on the Run? Each song sounds fresh, cover-art is cool, Macca's singing is great and production seems to just hit the spot...not over-produced but not too raw like McCartney or Wildlife.

 

Count me in as well!

There isn't much known outtake material from "Wild Life", what is circulating are a longer version of "Some People Never Know", a rough mix of "Mumbo" and "Bip Bop" at normal speed, plus 3 piano demos of "Dear Friend".
What also exists is an unreleased single edit of "Love Is Strange".

But theres plenty of visual material that could find a home on the DVD : the ICA rehearsals, the "Give Ireland Back To The Irish" rehearsals filmed in the living room of Paul's Cavendish Avenue home, the various "Mary Had A Little Lamb" promo clips, the "Bruce McMouse Show"...

 

No. Each album has it's own set of production values. Each is valid in its own right (yes, even Press To Play) and each is either liked or not liked depending on the listener's own preference.

If, by "aged" you mean "dated", well, take a listen to the current singles chart and compare. I'd argue that every McCartney album's production has dated because (thankfully) none of it sounds at all modern (apart from, perhaps MAF).

 

Absolutely.

 

FYI: importcds.com now has the various incarnations of Ram available to order. Their prices have been cheaper than elsewhere posted (Deluxe: $79.49, Mono Vinly: $17.49), although they apparently don't ship these items outside of the US, and at least a couple people have posted about not receiving pre-orders from them. I've never had a problem, but thought I should mention it.

 

Thanks for the heads up.

I took the plunge and ordered all 3 previously released remastered Vinyl editions. It's my first time dealing with them so I'm anxious to see how they package and how timely the goods will arrive. Based on that, I may switch out my Amazon pre-order at the last moment if the price doesn't drop any lower. I'll still need to purchase something from the McCartney site to get the bonus songs.

Does anyone know how iTunes quality compares with the MP3's at the McCartney site (that is if they don't off the bonus songs in flac format this time around)?

 

I still think that every album will get a "book" edition, but some might be more scaled back (2 CDs + DVD, book but no trinkets), and others might be more lavish, like the RAM set.

 

Page 1 recap!


http://www.paulmccartney.com/

Paul and Linda McCartney's Legendary Album RAM Set for Deluxe Reissue

UK Release: 21st May 2012
US Release: 22nd May 2012

Paul and Linda McCartney's 1971 album will be released across a variety of formats with new and exclusive content including a beautifully packaged Deluxe Edition Box Set the ultimate collectable.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this is an album from a long, long time ago, when the world was different. This is an album that is part of my history, it goes back to the wee hills of Scotland where it was formed. It's an album called RAM. It reminds me of my hippie days and the free attitude with which it was created. I hope you're going to like it, because I do!"
Paul McCartney, 2012

Following the announcement last month that RAM is to be the latest album from Paul's iconic back catalogue to get the deluxe Paul McCartney Archive Collection treatment, today the full tracklisting of the album is announced.

As with the previous releases in the series, Paul has personally overseen every aspect of the project and the result is spectacular.

Standard Edition: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B007L96VA6
1. Too Many People
2. 3 Legs
3. Ram On
4. Dear Boy
5. Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey
6. Smile Away
7. Heart Of The Country
8. Monkberry Moon Delight
9. Eat At Home
10. Long Haired Lady
11. Ram On
12. The Back Seat Of My Car

In keeping with the reissue campaign to date, the Deluxe Edition Box Set is the ultimate collectable for any fan of this album. Its stunningly presented 112-page book, photo prints, handwritten lyrics and notes, four CDs and a bonus film DVD, tells the full story of a classic album that has gone down in music history as one of the most revered in McCartney's catalogue.

Deluxe Edition: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B007L96VG0

CD 1 - Remastered Album (as listed above)

CD 2 - Bonus Audio
1. Another Day
2. Oh Woman, Oh Why
3. Little Woman Love
4. A Love For You (Jon Kelly Mix)
5. Hey Diddle (Dixon Van Winkle Mix)
6. Great Cock And Seagull Race (Dixon Van Winkle Mix)
7. Rode All Night
8. Sunshine Sometime (Earliest Mix)

CD 3 - Remastered Mono Album
1. Too Many People
2. 3 Legs
3. Ram On
4. Dear Boy
5. Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey
6. Smile Away
7. Heart Of The Country
8. Monkberry Moon Delight
9. Eat At Home
10. Long Haired Lady
11. Ram On
12. The Back Seat Of My Car

CD 4 - Thrillington - Remastered Album
1. Too Many People
2. 3 Legs
3. Ram On
4. Dear Boy
5. Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey
6. Smile Away
7. Heart Of The Country
8. Monkberry Moon Delight
9. Eat At Home
10. Long Haired Lady
11. The Back Seat Of My Car

DVD - Bonus Film
1. Ramming
2. Heart Of The Country
3. 3 Legs
4. Hey Diddle
5. Eat At Home On Tour
- Menu music features a selection of jingles from the promo disc Brung To Ewe By

Other content:
112-page book with 32 page scrapboook, 5 photo prints, wallet including facsimiles of Paul's handwritten lyrics and notes, mini-photographic book of outtakes from the album cover photo shoot, plus digital-only premium membership to paulmccartney.com.
(Digital Membership will only include access to a premium account, the members pack and digital downloads are not included)

RAM, originally released in May of 1971, is the only album to be credited to both Paul and Linda McCartney and was Paul's second post-Beatles LP. It was overshadowed at the time by the drama of the dissolution of The Beatles, as played out in the world's media. The album topped the charts hitting #1 in the UK and #2 in the US. While RAM polarized critics upon its release, music fans and critics alike since have overwhelmingly embraced it, with Rolling Stone, for example, revising their original review up to 4 stars. Recently RAM has enjoyed even further re-appraisal and acknowledgement including a number of tribute albums.

RAM was written by Paul and Linda, mostly at their Scottish farm on the Mull of Kintyre. In the autumn of 1970 they flew to New York to start the recording process. Without a band in place they auditioned and drafted musicians, who included future Wings drummer Denny Seiwell and guitarists David Spinozza and Hugh McCracken.

The band completed the album in early 1971 along with non-album tracks 'Another Day' and 'Oh Woman, Oh Why' which were released together as Paul's first post-Beatles single ahead of the release of RAM and became a Top 5 global hit. The multi-disc editions of the RAM reissue include both songs as bonus tracks. The album also gave Paul his first post-Beatles US number 1 single with 'Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey' and a Grammy win for Best Arrangement Accompanying Vocalists.

RAM was also issued in mono with alternate mixes, which were only made available to radio stations at the time. This version has gone on to become one of the most sought after McCartney collectables. It will now be commercially available for the first time ever on CD as part of the Deluxe Edition as well as a limited run on vinyl.

1977 saw the release of Thrillington, an instrumental interpretation of RAM, which was originally recorded in 1971 at London's Abbey Road Studios and was arranged by Richard Hewson. It was released under the pseudonym Percy 'Thrills' Thrillington, an unknown eccentric socialite who often cropped up in mysterious newspaper classifieds. In reality Percy was a character devised by Paul and Linda. The idea behind it was simply to have some fun and the concept of doing a full orchestral album was an ambition long held by Paul.

The additional film content features previously unreleased and exclusive content including the brand-new documentary, "Ramming" narrated by Paul, as well as the original music videos for "Heart Of The Country" and "3 Legs".

The remastering work was done at Abbey Road using the same team who recently remastered the complete Beatles' catalogue.

Available across a variety of different formats, the additional format tracklistings are as follows:

Special Edition: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B007L96VCY
CD 1 - Remastered Album
1. Too Many People
2. 3 Legs
3. Ram On
4. Dear Boy
5. Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey
6. Smile Away
7. Heart Of The Country
8. Monkberry Moon Delight
9. Eat At Home
10. Long Haired Lady
11. Ram On
12. The Back Seat Of My Car

CD 2 - Bonus Audio
1. Another Day
2. Oh Woman, Oh Why
3. Little Woman Love
4. A Love For You (Jon Kelly Mix)
5. Hey Diddle (Dixon Van Winkle Mix)
6. Great Cock And Seagull Race (Dixon Van Winkle Mix)
7. Rode All Night
8. Sunshine Sometime (Earliest Mix)

Vinyl: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B007L96VHY
Disc 1 - Side A
1. Too Many People
2. 3 Legs
3. Ram On
4. Dear Boy
5. Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey
6. Smile Away

Disc 1 - Side B
1. Heart Of The Country
2. Monkberry Moon Delight
3. Eat At Home
4. Long Haired Lady
5. Ram On
6. The Back Seat Of My Car

Disc 1 - Side C
1. Another Day
2. Oh Woman, Oh Why
3. Little Woman Love
4. A Love For You (Jon Kelly Mix)
5. Hey Diddle (Dixon Van Winkle Mix)

Disc 1 - Side D
1. Great Cock And Seagull Race (Dixon Van Winkle Mix)
2. Rode All Night
3. Sunshine Sometime (Earliest Mix)

Download
Remastered album & bonus audio disc as high quality MP3s via a download code inserted on a card within the vinyl package

Limited Edition Mono Vinyl: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B007L96VME
Side A
1. Too Many People
2. 3 Legs
3. Ram On
4. Dear Boy
5. Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey
6. Smile Away

Side B
1. Heart Of The Country
2. Monkberry Moon Delight
3. Eat At Home
4. Long Haired Lady
5. Ram On
6. The Back Seat Of My Car

Digital:
RAM will be available for download across a variation of digital configurations
including Mastered for iTunes and High Resolution. Two digital-only bonus
tracks will be available via paulmccartney.com and iTunes:
1. Eat At Home/Smile Away (Live in Groningen, 1972)
2. Uncle Albert Jam

Single:
Limited edition 7" vinyl single as a special release for 'Record Store Day' on 21st April 2012, for independent record stores only

Side A
Another Day

Side B
Oh Woman, Oh Why

 

You know, reading through the details of this release -- and setting aside the usual "we want more outtakes!" complaint -- the only think I really think the left off that they should have included was the mono mixes of the "Another Day" single and b-side. Those were contemporary mixes, released officially (as radio promos) and probably the way a lot of radio listeners remember that single. Fortunately, with the looming launch of the full cloud service, this is the kind of "mistake" that doesn't HAVE to be permanent -- they could change their minds a few months from now, and just release those two tracks in the Macca cloud, and then my RAM collection would be complete.

 

I see your self-imposed abstinence didn't last, Sean!

Or are you counting this as a new thread?

 

I believe you're misinterpreting the term. Dated means it clearly of a specific time. Like most music from the 80's.....anybody who's heard 80's music can identify it as 80's music. It's dated. Not using current popular production techniques doesn't make it dated necessarily.

 

Oh! Ummmm ... that must have been my cat posting under my name!

Shoo, damn you!

 

My point was that I think everything is clearly of a specific time. I can't think of a single period of popular music making that can't be defined by the standard production of the time. If not, what would you consider to be a "timeless" sound? When was music made that could have been made in any era if, by definition, all other eras produced dated sounds?

 

Can someone explain if a recording such as Ram is being remastered from a digital source what would be the sonic advantage of vinyl over cd?
I quite understand the differences when using an analog source.

Also when should someone choose new vinyl over CD for new releases?

 

I'd pick new vinyl in cases where I think the warmer sound inherent in vinyl might knock the sharp edges off. I certainly prefer the vinyl version of MAF to its CD counterpart.

 

I don't believe it. Cost from the distributor is $96 on the deluxe.

 

Is Uncle Albert a reference to Albert Hoffman, the father of LSD?

 

NOT OVER PRODUCED???!!! Possibly the most over-produced album ever. That's why I love it. The closest Paul came to Abbey Road, production-wise. A style he never went back to, once he decided to be a club band, then an arena rocker.

 

You're right, it is a fairly "produced" album, but something about it--I'm not sure quite what--maintains a DIY, lo-fi, barebones, homegrown, quirky kind of feel that seems to go hand in hand with McCartney I.

Or is it just me...?

 

Those who like to gamble might go instead with the pre-order for Deluxe at $90 (currently) at Amazon.com, and hope for a drop before the release date. You can always cancel.

My experience with ImportCDs is that they are pretty good at filling orders, but sketchy if you want to cancel before shipment. Amazon is trivially easy for canceling.

 

I've heard early 70s music, and I can clearly identify Ram as early 70s music. Does that mean Ram is dated?

As almost always here, "dated" = "I hate the 80s."

 

RAM is dated. It doesn't sound like anything on the radio these days, so it must be dated. Doesn't mean it's bad.
Jailhouse Rock sounds dated. Hey Joe sounds dated. Jive Talking sounds dated. But they're still good songs.

RAM is a fantastic album. It's got great songs and great production. It doesn't sound like it was made today, and I don't want to either. It sounds just the way it should sound.



Off topic, I know, but some years ago I bought a Frankie Goes To Hollywood greatest hits cd, and it had some so called "up-dated" remixes of "Relax" and "Two Tribes"......they sounded truly awful. Not at all like they should sound to my ears. One listen, and the cd ended in the trash. I wouldn't even give it away to a charity shop!