Paul McCartney - RAM Half Speed Remaster - May 14, 2021

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by jlf, Mar 31, 2021.

  1. jlf

    jlf Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    United States
    [​IMG]

    To celebrate the 50th anniversary of Paul and Linda McCartney's 1971 masterpiece RAM, the album will be reissued May 14, 2021, as a limited-edition half-speed mastered vinyl pressing via UMe.

    Paul's most recent release, the #1 album McCartney III, recorded in "Rockdown" last year, saw a return to the homespun, lo-fi style of the earliest days of his solo career. The eclectic charm and intimacy of 1970's McCartney and 1971's RAM found Paul redefining his post-Beatles creative identity, while unconsciously rewriting the rules of pop music and creating new genres along the way—or as Pitchfork would later describe RAM's sustained influence on generations of fans and musicians alike, "inventing an approach to pop music that would eventually become someone else's indie-pop."

    The only album to be credited to both Paul and Linda McCartney, RAM was created mostly at Paul and Linda's farm in Scotland (following initial, more traditional studio sessions in New York). Unlike the completely solo sessions that resulted in Paul's eponymous debut album, the recording of RAM found Paul and Linda enlisting a number of musicians, including Denny Seiwell, who would become a founding member of Wings, Paul's next musical adventure.

    The RAM sessions were completed in early 1971, also yielding the standalone single Another Day, a worldwide hit that preceded RAM's May 1971 release.

    RAM's singular sonic palette was unlike its predecessor—or anything else for that matter—and has grown exponentially in stature and influence over the decades. Critically polarizing at the time, the album was instantly beloved by fans, hitting #1 in the UK and giving Paul his first post-Beatles American #1 single, the GRAMMY-winning Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey. In recent years the record has continued to solidify its standing as one of the most loved in Paul's unparalleled output. Fans and critics alike continue to sing its praises: Rolling Stone has hailed the album as a "masterpiece" and "a grand psychedelic ramble full of divine melodies," Pitchfork has praised it as "a domestic-bliss album, one of the weirdest, earthiest, and most honest ever made," and Mojo, perhaps most accurately of all, has deemed RAM "quintessentially McCartney."
     
    John Bliss, DK Pete, Sean and 10 others like this.
  2. BeatleJWOL

    BeatleJWOL Senior Member

    [​IMG]

    (great record. is a vinyl remaster really high on anybody's priority list?)
     
    John Bliss, supermd, Larry L and 3 others like this.
  3. maccawings

    maccawings Senior Member

    There it is!
     
    Larry L, Sean, marklamb and 4 others like this.
  4. al05

    al05 Well-Known Member

    Location:
    UK
    Does anyone know if there has been any note if there’ll be a brick and mortar release for this. Or is it gonna be online only?
     
    Jonpd and MarshallMan like this.
  5. MemoInPR

    MemoInPR Señor Memo

  6. maccawings

    maccawings Senior Member



    50th Ram as well 5/14
     
  7. mrjinks

    mrjinks Optimistically Challenged

    Location:
    Boise, ID.
    Figures this pops up a week after the 30% off UMe coupons expired...
     
    Sean and ToEhrIsHuman like this.
  8. foreverrock

    foreverrock Forum Resident

    Location:
    Seattle-ish
    Do I need another copy of RAM.? No.

    Did I still order it? Yes.
     
  9. Tommyboy

    Tommyboy Senior Member

    Location:
    New York
    For the same price, one can probably buy a clean UK reissue that’s all analog and will sound better than the half speed master.
     
  10. Pretty.Odd.

    Pretty.Odd. Guess I'm Dumb

    Location:
    Montclair, NJ
    Hoping Bull Moose puts up a preorder for it
     
  11. tug_of_war

    tug_of_war Unable to tolerate bass solos

    I'm in!

    That said; the lives of non-obsessive Beatles fans will never be easy with those releases yielding new threads all the time.

    Hahaha! Suffer, you non believers! :evil:
     
    John Bliss, JDeanB, Jerquee and 2 others like this.
  12. empirelvr

    empirelvr "That's *just* the way it IS!" - Paul Anka

    Location:
    Virginia, USA
    I don't see what the point is as all copies of Ram (from first UK/US LP issue to the deluxe set from some years back) are sourced from a master tape that was copied sloppily with poor azimuth. Seriously...try listening to "Ram" in mono. The highs just mush up, degrade and waver from poor or no azimuth adjustments somewhere between mixing and final two-track stereo master for the majority of the album.

    It makes sense why a dedicated mono mix of the LP for radio was made: the stereo mix won't fold properly because of the problem.

    They would be better off attempting a new remix from the multis and fixing the problem once and for all.
     
  13. jlf

    jlf Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    United States
    They’re an independent retailer so they will. This title is exclusive to...

    the Paul McCartney Store,

    Universal Music Group’s direct-to-consumer shops like UDiscover Music,

    and perhaps most importantly during these times, local record shops - find yours here.
     
    John Bliss and Mister Charlie like this.
  14. Goldy

    Goldy Failed to load

    Location:
    Ukraine
    Exactly same here, except that I will order later.
     
    foreverrock and tug_of_war like this.
  15. tug_of_war

    tug_of_war Unable to tolerate bass solos

    Why do all the singers sound like they had inhaled helium gas? :D
     
    mradmack and maccawings like this.
  16. Octavian

    Octavian Forum Resident

    Location:
    Louisiana
    I snagged one off of Discogs for $10. I'm all good on RAM.
     
    Rickchick and Tommyboy like this.
  17. calluses

    calluses Forum Resident

    Waiting for this to pop up for Canadian retailers.

    Also, disappointed that there is no 8-track reissue ;)
     
    Rickchick and Solly Bridgetower like this.
  18. akmonday

    akmonday Forum Resident

    Location:
    berkeley, ca
    pointless
     
    Paul H, supermd, ted321 and 2 others like this.
  19. Tracey

    Tracey Forum Resident

    Location:
    Alberta, Canada
  20. calluses

    calluses Forum Resident

    Thanks! I'm bitter towards MusicVaultz because they cancelled my yellow McCartney III. I think they'll be able to fulfill the order this time around, but I'd rather try to buy it from a local record store or even Amazon...
     
    AppleCorp3 and foreverrock like this.
  21. Tommyboy

    Tommyboy Senior Member

    Location:
    New York
    There you go! Probably cut by Harry T Moss. You’re all set.
     
    Bingo Bongo likes this.
  22. happysunshine

    happysunshine Tillverkningen av Salubrin startades 1893

    Location:
    Earth
    Is Harry father of Kate? I have a Swedish copy of Ram with HTM in the dead wax. It sounds like a sheep’s bladder. Love it!
     
  23. alexpop

    alexpop Power pop + other bad habits....

    Sacd maybe.

    Stick with my DCC GOLD.
     
  24. Tommyboy

    Tommyboy Senior Member

    Location:
    New York
    Ha ha

    No, Harry T Moss was a long time mastering engineer at Abbey Road Studios. He cut all of the Beatles albums and countless others.
     
  25. happysunshine

    happysunshine Tillverkningen av Salubrin startades 1893

    Location:
    Earth
    You’re a living encyclopedia, Tommyboy! :love: I wonder how a half-speed mastered ”Ram” would sound if cut by Kate Moss... Thin?
     

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