Ram (Album)

Occupation

  • Paul McCartney: vocals, bass, keyboards
  • Linda McCartney: vocals
  • Denny Seiwell: Drums
  • Dave Spinoza: Guitar
  • Hugh McCracken: Guitar
  • Marvin tribe: flugelhorn ( 5)

Studios

  • Columbia Studios, New York City
  • A & R Recording Studios, New York City
  • Sound Recording Studios, Los Angeles

Ram is the second solo album by Paul McCartney. It was released on May 17, 1971 in the U.S. and on May 28, 1971 in the UK. The album named Linda McCartney as equal co- performer. She was also named as a co -producer and co- composer of six of the twelve tracks on the album.

  • 5.1 Another Day
  • 5.2 Uncle Albert / Admiral Halsey
  • 5.3 The Back Seat of My Car
  • 5.5 Further single releases

The making of the album

In contrast to Paul McCartney's first solo album, which was created with other simple means and almost entirely without the participation, Ram was a much more elaborate production. The majority of the recordings took place in November and December 1970 in the Columbia studios in New York. Unlike the first solo album, McCartney dedicated this time studio musicians to support him. He had different drummer and guitarist play it and opted for Denny Seiwell as drummer and Dave Spinoza as a guitarist. The latter was later replaced by Hugh McCracken, because Spinoza was new date bound otherwise. With these musicians backing tracks were recorded.

After a break for Christmas and New Year celebrations Paul and Linda McCartney attended the work in January 1971 again. In the overdub process vocal tracks have been added. In addition, dedicated Paul McCartney some musician of the New York Philharmonic to take string and wind parts for the pieces Uncle Albert / Admiral Halsey, Long Haired Lady and Back Seat of My Car.

The final work is found from February to April 1971 in the Sound Recording Studios in Los Angeles. Paul McCartney added last instrumental and vocal recordings and finally took before the final mixing of the album. In addition to the twelve published on the album songs, Paul and Linda McCartney took on another title, as published previously in February 1971, the commercially successful single, Another Day with the B-side Oh Woman, Oh Why. The song Another Day was already rehearsed in an unfinished version in January 1969 with the Beatles during the Get Back sessions. Other songs recorded were: Little Woman Love ( released as a single B-side from Mary Had a Little Lamb in May 1972), Dear Friend ( The song was finished during the Wildlife recordings and also on the album released in December 1971 ), Get on the Right Thing and Little Lamb Dragonfly ( were released on the album Red Rose Speedway in May 1973), a Love for You (first published in June 2003 on the soundtrack album Music from the Motion Picture the In- Laws in a different mix ) Hey Diddle as well, Great Cock and Seagull Race, Rode All Night and Sunshine Sometime that were only published in May 2012.

The name and the cover

According to Paul McCartney decided to use the title of Ram, because it was a good word that can have two meanings. As a verb, to ram it can " push forward " mean, and as a noun it is the name for a male sheep, which produced a direct reference to McCartney's rural farm life in Scotland. The cover showed to fit on the front of Paul McCartney, who holds a ram on its horns. On the back there were two photos. One was a family picture of McCartney, the other two beetles during copulation. His former bandmate John Lennon was to record as a mockery of the cover a photo of himself and a pig in a similar pose. The relationship between the two was marred at this time by personal, financial and lasting effect creative differences.

Title list

Page 1

Page 2

Information about individual songs

Too Many People is a felt of three songs on the album that John Lennon as addressed to himself. The others were Dear Boy and The Back Seat Of My Car.

The name for the title Uncle Albert / Admiral Halsey is as follows: One of Paul McCartney's uncles was named Albert. By Admiral Halsey is meant William Frederick " Bull" Halsey, Jr..

Ram on contains a short fragment of the piece Big Barn Bed, which later appeared on the album Red Rose Speedway.

The Back Seat of My Car was first recorded in January 1969 during the Get Back sessions with the Beatles, still unfinished.

Single releases

Another Day

On February 19, 1971, the single Another Day / Oh Woman, Oh Why, but it was not included on the album Ram, although the two songs were recorded during the sessions appeared. In Mexico, an EP was released with the following songs: Another Day / junk / Oh Woman, Oh Why / Valentine Day ( Junk Day and Valentine comes from the album McCartney ).

Uncle Albert / Admiral Halsey

On 2 August 1971, two months after the album's release, Uncle Albert / Admiral Halsey was - released as a single in the U.S. - with the song Too Many People as a B-side. The single was awarded a " Gold Record " and received a Grammy Award for "Best Vocal Arrangement". Furthermore, Uncle Albert / Admiral Halsey became the first number-one hit for Paul McCartney in the United States.

The Back Seat of My Car

In the UK, they decided on the extraction of The Back Seat of My Car with the Heart of the Country B - side that was released on August 13.

In Germany and other continental European countries, Japan and New Zealand, it was decided to Eat at Home with Smile Away the B-side.

Other single releases

In Mexico, appeared in August 1971 an EP Monkberry Moon Delight / Dear Boy / Uncle Albert - Admiral Halsey / Heart of the Country.

In December 1980, following single was re-released in the U.S. on Columbia Records: Uncle Albert - Admiral Halsey / Jet.

Music videos were shot by the songs Heart of the Country and 3 legs, but not of the single A - sides.

Chart positions

The re- release of the CD from the year 2011 reached # 24 on the charts in the UK and number 41 in the U.S..

Reissues

  • On April 27, 1987, the album was first released on CD.
  • In April 1993, the CD was released in a remastered version, as bonus tracks, the songs Another Day and Oh Woman, Oh Why additionally contained.
  • The CD was released in June 1993 by Steve Hoffman remastered DCC Compact Classics in the edition.
  • In May 2007, the album was released in download format.
  • In May 2012, Ram has been remastered for the third time, published by the music label, Hear Music / Concord Music Group as part of the The Paul McCartney Archive Collection. It was released in the following formats:
  • Standard Edition The original 12 - track album
  • Special Edition Two CDs: The original 12 - track album with a bonus CD that contains the following, some previously unreleased songs:
  • Deluxe Edition The original 12 - track album with the aforementioned bonus CD, in addition to two other CDs ( " Remastered Mono Album" and " Thrillington " ( instrumental version of Ram, started in June 1971) ), a DVD and a 112 -page bound book, a 32-page booklet with pictures and notes, a little book ("A small Book of Sheeps " ) with 38 photos, eight handwritten lyrics as facsimile and five glossy photos, still the issue includes a code to download the album with the bonus titles. The entire content is in a hinged box. The DVD contains the following:
  • Digital Download Edition release with same contents as the double CD with two exclusive bonus tracks:
  • The album was also a vinyl version as a double LP (new remastered ) published including eight bonus tracks.
  • The album was also released as a vinyl mono version with a redesigned white cover.

Criticism

The album met with a large part of the critic 's approval. A particularly scathing criticism found in the magazine Rolling Stone, Jon Landau where it mattered as a low point in the disintegration of the rock music of the sixties. Despite the numerous negative reviews to Ram sold awarded, reaching both in the U.S. and UK number one in the album charts. In the U.S., the album was awarded on June 9, 1971, a gold record.

Even McCartney's former band mates commented on Ram. John Lennon found it after the first listen "terrible". In his opinion, the first solo album was any better, it would have at least a few songs included.

" The first time I heard it I thought it was awful, and then the second time, ahem, I fixed the record player a bit and it sounded better. I enjoyed a couple like ' My Dog 's Got It Three Legs ' or something, and the intro to ' Uncle Albert. "... In general I think the other album he did was better in a way. At least there were some songs on it. "

" When I heard it for the first time, I thought it was terrible, the second time I had the turntable set something different and it sounded better. I liked a few songs like ' My Dog 's Got It Three Legs ' or whatever it's called and the introduction of' Uncle Albert. "... All in all I think its another album was somehow better. Since at least had it a couple of songs. "

Ringo Starr said she was disappointed by the result.

" I believe that Paul has not all introduced in this album of what it can do. Ram is just a series of technical tricks. "

George Martin stated simply that Linda was in no way a replacement for John Lennon.

Over time, the critics opinion changed on this album in the contrary direction. Allmusic writes, for example, " ... in retrospect it looks like nothing so much as the first indie pop album, a record did celebrates small pleasures with big melodies", the Music Express called it both as a " masterpiece" ( with the evaluation six out of six stars ).

Dispute about Linda McCartney's participation

Already in the previously published single Another Day Linda McCartney had been named as a co-author, what songs or their new owners ATV Music encountered skepticism by Musikverlag Northern. They doubted that a photographer had suddenly matured Composer and looked into their entries rather the attempt, the publisher withhold royalties. Paul McCartney's lawyers clarified the matter, however, in his favor .. After the publication of Ram himself ATV Music Linda McCartney refused to pay royalties. The dispute lasted until 1973 when Paul McCartney a TV show under the title James Paul McCartney produced in favor of ATV.

Promotion Publications

Two unusual albums were distributed to radio stations for advertising purposes; as 1971 ( Catalogue Number: Apple MAS - 3375 ) were in the year 1000 copies of a special Mono mixing from the album Ram made ​​. Only in May 2012 was able to purchase this album as a vinyl LP to a wider audience, a publication in CD format was made in May 2012 as a supplement to Deluxe edition of the album Ram. The second specially recorded album brung to ewe by ( Catalogue Number: Apple SPRO -6210 ) contains fifteen different spots, between thirty to sixty seconds, to serve as introductions to the individual songs on the album Ram. The album also contains a brief be spieltes song titled: Now hear this song of mine. Parts of this album can be heard as an introduction to the DVD, which was published as a supplement to Deluxe edition of the album Ram. The promotional single Uncle Albert - Admiral Halsey / Too Many People was published in USA in mono.

Thrillington

Shortly after the release of Ram mandated arranger Richard Hewson Paul McCartney trying to write an orchestral version of the album and record them. However, the finished album appeared only on 29 April 1977 in the UK (May 16, 1977 in the U.S.) under the title Thrillington.

The Single Uncle Albert / Admiral Halsey / Eat at Home was released in the UK on April 22 In 1977, who could not place in the charts.

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