Paul McCartney's classic album, Ram, will soon get the same deluxe treatment recently enjoyed by the Band On the Run,McCartney and McCartney II albums. Its scheduled release date is May 22 in the US.
Ram, which is technically credited to Paul & Linda McCartney, was McCartney's second post-Beatles LP. It was released in May 1971.
"Ladies and gentlemen, this is an album from a long, long time ago, when the world was different," said McCartney in a press release about the reissued album. "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 was created. I hope you're going to like it, because I do!"
The album was written by both McCartneys, mostly at their Scottish farm on the Mull of Kintyre. In the fall 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 session 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 McCartney's first post-Beatles single. Both songs -- and a whole lot more (see below) -- are included in the reissue.
The remastering work was done at Abbey Road Studios using the same team who remastered the complete Beatles' catalog.
Ram will be available across a variety of different formats:
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Standard Edition: 1-CD digipak. Single disc, digitally remastered 12-track standard edition.
Special Edition: 2-CD digipak. Remastered album and 8-track bonus audio CD including rarities, B-sides and the hit single, "Another Day."
Deluxe Edition Box Set: 4-CD/1-DVD box set & download. Remastered album, bonus audio CD, remastered Mono album, Thrillington CD, bonus film DVD, 112-page book, five prints in vintage-style photographic wallet, eight full-size facsimiles of Paul's original handwritten lyric sheets and mini-photographic book of outtakes from the original album cover photo shoot.
Hi-Res: 24bit 96kHz files of the remastered and bonus audio CD, accessed via a download code inserted on a card within the deluxe edition package.
Vinyl: 2LP 180gm, gatefold vinyl with download. Remastered album, bonus audio disc plus digital download of all 20 tracks.
Limited Edition Mono Vinyl: 1LP. Remastered mono album.
Digital: RAM will be available for download across a variation of digital configurations including Mastered for iTunes and High Resolution.
Damian is Editor-in-Chief of Guitar World magazine. In past lives, he was GW’s managing editor and online managing editor. He's written liner notes for major-label releases, including Stevie Ray Vaughan's 'The Complete Epic Recordings Collection' (Sony Legacy) and has interviewed everyone from Yngwie Malmsteen to Kevin Bacon (with a few memorable Eric Clapton chats thrown into the mix). Damian, a former member of Brooklyn's The Gas House Gorillas, was the sole guitarist in Mister Neutron, a trio that toured the U.S. and released three albums. He now plays in two NYC-area bands.
