Out May 14: half-speed remastered, vinyl 50th anniversary edition of Paul and Linda McCartney's classic RAM album
Details from the news release:
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. You can pre-order it now from independent stores via Record Store Day or on Paul's official site.
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."
Vintage picture sleeve: The Beach Boys' "Girl Don't Tell Me" b/w "Barbara Ann"
Coming Up: The Yardbirds - "Roger The Engineer: Super Deluxe" box set
Out June 18. Order from Amazon now.
Details:
Demon Records is proud to present the ultimate reissue of The Yardbirds' 1966 album Yardbirds,(often known as 'Roger the Engineer'.)
Recorded by the classic line up of Jeff Beck, Keith Relf, Jim McCarty, Chris Dreja and Paul Samwell-Smith, the band began exploring new sonic territories, pushing their blues-rock sound into the realms of the avant-garde, psychedelia and Indian music.
Using original tapes, this super deluxe edition features new and definitive remastering by Phil Kinrade at Alchemy Mastering at AIR, overseen by original album producer Paul Samwell-Smith.
Includes:
- Yardbirds in mono -Remastered from the original British ¼" mono master tapes, newly transferred for this release at Abbey Road Studios. Pressed on audiophile 180g vinyl, housed in a replica of the original British album sleeve.
- Yardbirds in stereo -Considered by producer Paul Samwell-Smith to be the definitive version of the album, the stereo mix has been remastered from the ¼" master tapes which were newly transferred for this release at Alchemy Mastering at AIR. Pressed on audiophile 180g vinyl, housed in a replica of the ultra-rare German sleeve.
- Happenings Ten Years Time Ago 7"-The classic psychedelic single (featuring future Led Zeppelin members Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones) has been newly remastered for this release.
- 3 CDs-Featuring the mono and stereo mixes of the album on CDs 1 and 2 and bonus tracks on CD 3. Highlights on CD 3 include newly remastered non-album singles, rare alternate versions, and a previously unreleased early mix of 'Turn Into Earth' which reveals a searing guitar solo by Jeff Beck.
- 24-page 12" x 12" booklet -Includes rare memorabilia and photographs, an exclusive introduction by Jeff Beck, testimonials by Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore and MC5's Wayne Kramer, plus an extensive essay and track-by-track liner notes by David French based on new interviews with Jimmy Page, Paul Samwell-Smith, Jim McCarty and Simon Napier-Bell.
- Fold-out poster inspired by the original 'Over, Under, Sideways, Down' single release advertisement.
New comics collected editions out this week: Fantastic Four - Antithesis; Green Arrow - 80 Years of the Emerald Archer
Click the links to order from Amazon.
Upcoming DC Comics collected editions: Bronze-Age Batman, JLA, Legion and more
Coming up over the next several months, some nice collections of Bronze-Age DC stuff, with some Golden Age Batman sprinkled in. Click the links to order from Amazon.
Collects Justice League of America #147-181.
Upcoming Marvel Comics collected editions
COLLECTING: Captain America Comics (1941) 13-24
Hot Trax '71: Dionne Warwick, Donny Osmond, Nilsson and more
Forgot last week! New songs on the charts on March 20 and March 27, 1971! Listen to the Hot Trax '71 playlist on Spotify.