''Ram'' is the only album credited to the husband-and-wife music duo

Paul Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) * Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...

and Linda McCartney, released on 17 May 1971 by

Apple Records Apple Records is a record label founded by the Beatles in 1968 as a division of Apple Corps Ltd. It was initially intended as a creative outlet for the Beatles, both as a group and individually, plus a selection of other artists including Ma ...

. It was recorded in New York with guitarists

David Spinozza David Spinozza is an American guitarist and producer. He worked with former Beatles Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and John Lennon during the 1970s, and had a long collaboration with singer-songwriter James Taylor, producing Taylor's album '' Walkin ...

and

Hugh McCracken Hugh Carmine McCracken (March 31, 1942 – March 28, 2013) was an American rock guitarist and session musician based in New York City, primarily known for his performance on guitar and also as a harmonica player. McCracken was additionally a ...

, and future

Wings A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is expre ...

drummer

Denny Seiwell Denny Seiwell (born July 10, 1943) is an American drummer and a founding member of Wings. He also drummed for Billy Joel and Liza Minnelli and played in the scores for the films ''Waterworld'', '' Grease II'', and ''Vertical Limit''. His d ...

. Three singles were issued from the album: "

Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey" is a song by Paul and Linda McCartney from the album ''Ram''. Released in the United States as a single on 2 August 1971, it reached number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 on 4 September 1971, making it the first o ...

" (Paul's first number 1 hit in America without

the Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developmen ...

), " The Back Seat of My Car" and " Eat at Home". The recording sessions also yielded the non-album single " Another Day". The album's release coincided with a period of acrimony between McCartney and his former Beatles bandmates, and followed his legal action in the United Kingdom's High Court to dissolve the Beatles partnership.

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...

perceived slights in the lyrics to songs such as "

Too Many People "Too Many People" is a song by Paul McCartney from his and his wife Linda McCartney's 1971 album ''Ram''. It was issued as well as the B-side of the "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey" single. It was also included on ''The 7" Singles Box'' in 2022. B ...

". Although McCartney felt that he had addressed the criticisms he received with his 1970 solo debut, '' McCartney'', ''Ram'' elicited a similarly unfavourable reaction from music journalists. It nonetheless topped the national albums charts in the UK, the Netherlands and Canada. Today, ''Ram'' is held in high regard by many music critics and is often ranked as one of McCartney's best solo albums. It has also been recognised as an early

indie pop Indie pop (also typeset as indie-pop or indiepop) is a music genre and subculture that combines guitar pop with DIY ethic in opposition to the style and tone of mainstream pop music. It originated from British post-punk in the late 1970s and su ...

album. In 1971, McCartney produced ''

Thrillington ''Thrillington'' is an album produced by English musician Paul McCartney, under the pseudonym Percy "Thrills" Thrillington. It was released in April 1977 in the UK and in May 1977 in the US. It is an instrumental covers album of Paul and Linda ...

'', an instrumental interpretation of ''Ram'' that was released in 1977 under the pseudonym "Percy 'Thrills' Thrillington". In 2012, an expanded edition of ''Ram'' was reissued with over two dozen bonus tracks as part of the ''

Paul McCartney Archive Collection The Paul McCartney Archive Collection is an ongoing project to remaster and reissue Paul McCartney's solo catalogue, including various albums released with Wings. These editions feature deluxe packaging and bonus rare tracks. Thus far, there have ...

''. In 2020, ''Ram'' was ranked number 450 on ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

''s list of the greatest albums of all time.

Background

Paul McCartney and his family flew to New York City in October 1970 to begin working on the follow-up to '' McCartney''. While the previous album had featured him playing every instrument, for ''Ram'', McCartney decided to hold auditions for musicians,Perone, p. 147. some of whom were brought in under the guise of recording a commercial jingle.Madinger & Easter, p. 157. Auditions were held in an attic on 45th Street for three days, where

was recruited as guitarist by Linda, before auditions moved to a

Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

basement, where Denny Seiwell was brought in to play drums. McCartney once said he found Seiwell "lying on a mattress" in the basement. Midway through these sessions, Spinozza became unavailable and was replaced by

Songs and production

The basic tracks for the album were taped at Columbia's Studio B from 12 October to 20 November 1970 before the McCartneys returned to their Scottish farm for the Christmas holidays. Work continued at Studio B and A&R Recording Studios, New York,Spizer, p. 128. from the second week of January 1971 through to February. Playing guitar or piano and singing at the same time, Paul chose to overdub his bass later on. Although it was a collaborative project, Linda's vocal duties were mostly limited to singing harmonies and backing Paul, who sang almost all of the lead parts. Linda sang co-lead on "Long Haired Lady". The McCartneys' daughter Heather, who had been adopted by Paul the previous year, sang

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are ...

on " Monkberry Moon Delight". "Ram On", from the album's first side, was reprised on the second side, before the album's final track, "The Back Seat of My Car". The

New York Philharmonic The New York Philharmonic, officially the Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York, Inc., globally known as New York Philharmonic Orchestra (NYPO) or New York Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra, is a symphony orchestra based in New York City. It is ...

was brought in by McCartney to play on "

", "Long Haired Lady" and " The Back Seat of My Car", as well as the McCartneys' song " Another Day". "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey" is in a similar vein to the ''Abbey Road'' medley, as the song consisted of several unfinished songs combined into one. Music videos were made for "3 Legs" and "Heart of the Country", from footage that was filmed on 2 January 1971, and edited together five months later, by

Ray Benson Ray Benson (born Ray Benson Seifert, March 16, 1951 - October 31st 2022) i Western swing band Asleep at the Wheel as well as an actor and voice actor. He Death In Car Crash Accident Biography In 1970, Benson, a native of Philadelphia, formed ...

. The project was moved to Sound Recording in Los Angeles, where much of the backing vocals were recorded. Producer

Jim Guercio James William Guercio (born July 18, 1945) is an American music producer, musician, songwriter, and director. He is well known for his work as the producer of Chicago's early albums as well as early recordings of The Buckinghams and Blood, Sweat ...

cancelled his honeymoon to oversee the project, but his direction was not followed by McCartney, and progress stalled. McCartney was unable to choose which of the 20+ recorded songs would be cut from the album. Guercio left the project to honour a previous booking, and Norwegian engineer Eirik Wangberg replaced him, finishing the album over the course of six weeks. McCartney gave Wangberg free rein to mix the songs as he saw fit, and sequence them for the album in any way he chose. Among the creative decisions made by Wangberg was the stitching together of two songs to make "

", and the introduction of thunder sound effects to that song; the thunder was taken from a monaural film clip, recorded by Wangberg onto two tracks with small differences to make artificial stereo. Paul and Linda were very happy upon hearing the final album mix. The recording project also yielded the independent single " Another Day" and its B-side, " Oh Woman, Oh Why", released in mid-February 1971. Session songs dropped from the album sequence includedSounes, p. 290. " Little Woman Love" and tracks later featured on Wings' 1973 album ''

Red Rose Speedway ''Red Rose Speedway'' is the second studio album by the British–American rock band Wings, although credited to "Paul McCartney and Wings". The album was released by Beatles-owned label Apple Records in April 1973, preceded by its lead single, ...

'': " Get on the Right Thing", " Little Lamb Dragonfly"Benitez, p. 45. and " Big Barn Bed". " I Lie Around", issued as the B-side to Wings' 1973 single " Live and Let Die", was taped during these sessions. Also recorded was the first incarnation of "

Seaside Woman "Seaside Woman" is a 1977 single by Wings released under the pseudonym Suzy and the Red Stripes. It charted at #59 in the US and in the UK at #90 in 1986. History "Seaside Woman" was the first song Linda McCartney wrote by herself, in response to ...

". McCartney also recorded "Hey Diddle", "A Love for You", "Great Cock and Seagull Race", "Now Hear This Song of Mine", "Rode All Night", "Sunshine Sometimes" and "When the Wind Is Blowing".

References to the Beatles and others

According to Peter Brown, the Beatles' former business associate, John Lennon believed that several of the songs on ''Ram'' contained personal jibes directed at himself and

Yoko Ono Yoko Ono ( ; ja, 小野洋子, Ono Yōko, usually spelled in katakana ; born February 18, 1933) is a Japanese multimedia artist, singer, songwriter, and peace activist. Her work also encompasses performance art and filmmaking. Ono grew up i ...

, among them " Dear Boy" and, particularly, "

".Brown, p. 351.Perone, p. 148. McCartney later conceded that some of the lyrics of "Too Many People" had been "a little dig at John and Yoko", with "preaching practices" and "you took your lucky break and broke it in two" being direct references to Lennon. Posted at Brown also described the picture of two beetles copulating on the back cover as symbolic of how McCartney felt the other Beatles were treating him. George Harrison and Ringo Starr were said to interpret the track "3 Legs" as an attack on them and Lennon.Badman, p. 22. According to McCartney, "Dear Boy" was directed at Linda's ex-husband, and not Lennon.Perone, p. 149.

Release

"Another Day" / "Oh Woman, Oh Why" was released that February and became a worldwide Top 5 hit. In May, ''Ram'' was unveiled, on 17th in the US and on the 21st in the UK. "The Back Seat of My Car" was excerpted as a UK single that August, only reaching number 39,Ingham, p. 139. but the US release of the ambitious "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey" proved much more successful, giving McCartney his first number 1 single since leaving the Beatles.Perone, p. 150. The album reached number 1 in the UK and number 2 in the US, where it spent over five months in the Top 10 and went platinum. Despite the phasing-out of monaural albums by the late 1960s, ''Ram'' was pressed in mono with unique mixes that differ from the common stereo version. These were only made available to radio stations and are among the most valuable and sought-after of Paul McCartney's solo records. The album has sold over 2 million copies. In July,

Northern Songs Northern Songs Ltd was a limited company founded in 1963, by music publisher Dick James, artist manager Brian Epstein, and songwriters John Lennon and Paul McCartney of the Beatles, to publish songs written by Lennon and McCartney. In 1965, it ...

and

Maclen Music Northern Songs Ltd was a limited company founded in 1963, by music publisher Dick James, artist manager Brian Epstein, and songwriters John Lennon and Paul McCartney of the Beatles, to publish songs written by Lennon and McCartney. In 1965, ...

sued Paul and Linda McCartney for violating an exclusive rights agreement by collaborating on "Another Day". Although six of the eleven songs on ''Ram'' were also co-written with Linda, both parties agreed the issue of royalties for the album could be decided at a later date. In June 1972,

Associated Television Associated Television was the original name of the British broadcaster ATV, part of the Independent Television (ITV) network. It provided a service to London at weekends from 1955 to 1968, to the Midlands on weekdays from 1956 to 1968, and ...

(ATV), which then owned Northern Songs, announced that "all differences between them have been amicably settled" and the McCartneys signed a new seven-year co-publishing contract between ATV and McCartney Music.

Critical reception

Upon its release, ''Ram'' was poorly received by

music critics Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on w ...

. McCartney was particularly hurt by the harsh reviews − especially as he had attempted to address the points raised in criticism of his earlier album, ''McCartney'', by adopting a more professional approach this time around. In his review for ''

'',

Jon Landau Jon Landau (born May 14, 1947) is an American music critic, manager, and record producer. He has worked with Bruce Springsteen in all three capacities. He is the head of the nominating committee for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and re ...

called ''Ram'' "incredibly inconsequential" and "monumentally irrelevant", and criticised its lack of intensity and energy. He added that it exposes McCartney as having "benefited immensely from collaboration" with the Beatles, particularly John Lennon, who "held the reins in on McCartney's cutsie-pie, florid attempts at pure rock

muzak Muzak is an American brand of background music played in retail stores and other public establishments. The name has been in use since 1934, and has been owned by a division or subsidiary of one or another company ever since. In 1981, Westingho ...

" and kept him from "going off the deep end that leads to an album as emotionally vacuous as ''Ram''". ''

Playboy ''Playboy'' is an American men's Lifestyle magazine, lifestyle and entertainment magazine, formerly in print and currently online. It was founded in Chicago in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from H ...

'' accused McCartney of "substituting facility for any real substance", and compared it to "watching someone juggle five guitars: It's fairly impressive, but you keep wondering why he bothers." In ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'', Alan Smith further called it "an excursion into almost unrelieved tedium" and "the worst thing Paul McCartney has ever done." Robert Christgau, writing in ''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newspaper, alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf (publisher), Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, th ...

'', called it "a bad record, a classic form/content mismatch", and felt that McCartney succumbed to " conspicuous consumption" by overworking himself and obscenely producing a style of music meant to be soft and whimsical. In a slightly more positive note, Chris Charlesworth of '' Melody Maker'' found ''Ram'' an overall better record than ''McCartney'', but still found it subpar to the recent releases of Harrison and Lennon. Charlesworth concluded: "A good album by anybody's standards and certainly far better than the majority released by British groups and singers. Trouble is you expect too much from a man like Paul McCartney." Writing four years later,

Roy Carr Roy Carr (1945 – 1 July 2018) was an English music journalist, covering pop, rock and jazz. He joined the '' New Musical Express (NME)'' in the late 1960s, and edited ''NME'', '' Vox'' and '' Melody Maker'' magazines. Biography Born in Bla ...

and

Tony Tyler James Edward Anthony Tyler (31 October 1943 in Bristol – 28 October 2006 in Hastings, East Sussex) was a British writer who authored several books and wrote for the ''NME'','' Macworld'', '' MacUser'', '' PC Pro'' and '' Computer Shopper''. ...

from ''NME'' suggested that "it would be naive to have expected the McCartneys to produce anything other than a mediocre record ... Grisly though this was, McCartney was to sink lower before rescuing his credibility late in 1973." His fellow ex-Beatles, all of whom were riding high in critical favour with their recent releases, were likewise vocal in their negativity. Lennon hated the album, dismissing his former songwriting partner's efforts as "''muzak to my ears''" in his song " How Do You Sleep?" Starr told the UK's '' Melody Maker'': "I feel sad about Paul's albums ... I don't think there's one

ood The Ood are an alien species with telepathic abilities from the long-running science fiction series '' Doctor Who''. In the series' narrative, they live in the distant future (circa 42nd century). The Ood are portrayed as a slave race, natura ...

tune on the last one, ''Ram'' ... he seems to be going strange." In addition to conducting a war of words in the British music press, "

Crippled Inside "Crippled Inside" is a song by British rock musician John Lennon from his 1971 album ''Imagine''. Background Lennon recorded "Crippled Inside" on 26 May 1971 at Ascot Sound Studios, during the sessions for his ''Imagine'' album. Robert Christgau ...

", another track on Lennon's ''

Imagine Imagine may refer to: * Imagination Music Albums * ''Imagine'' (Armin van Buuren album), 2008 * ''Imagine'' (Eva Cassidy album), 2002 * ''Imagine'' (Janice Vidal album), 2012 * ''Imagine'' (John Lennon album), 1971 ** ''Imagine: John Lennon' ...

'' album, was also thought to be directed at McCartney. Early editions of ''Imagine'' included a postcard of Lennon pulling the ears of a pig in a parody of ''Ram''s cover photograph of McCartney holding a ram by the horns.Norman, p. 672.

Retrospect

The 2012 reissue of ''Ram'' received an aggregate score of 86 out of 100 from

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

, based on twelve reviews – a score that the website defines as indicating "universal acclaim". Reviewing this issue, ''

Mojo Mojo may refer to: * Mojo (African-American culture), a magical charm bag used in voodoo Arts, entertainment and media Film and television * MOJO HD, an American television network * ''Mojo'' (play), by Jez Butterworth, made into a 1997 film * ' ...

'' said that "today it sounds quintessentially McCartney".

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

editor Stephen Thomas Erlewine wrote: "in retrospect it looks like nothing so much as the first

album, a record that celebrates small pleasures with big melodies". ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to ...

''s Jayson Greene similarly felt McCartney was "inventing an approach to pop music that would eventually become someone else's indie pop," and called ''Ram'' "a domestic-bliss album, one of the weirdest, earthiest, and most honest ever made". Simon Vozick-Levinson of ''Rolling Stone'' dubbed it a "daffy masterpiece" and "a grand psychedelic ramble full of divine melodies and orchestral frippery".

David Quantick David Quantick (born 14 May 1961) is an English novelist, comedy writer and critic, who has worked as a journalist and screenwriter. A former freelance writer for the music magazine '' NME'', his writing credits have included ''On the Hour'', '' ...

of ''

Uncut Uncut may refer to: * ''Uncut'' (film), a 1997 Canadian docudrama film by John Greyson about censorship * ''Uncut'' (magazine), a monthly British magazine with a focus on music, which began publishing in May 1997 * '' BET: Uncut'', a Black Enter ...

'' felt that, although it is not as "legendary" as publicised, the album is "occasionally brilliant and historically fascinating" as "post-Beatles mish-mash". Steven Hyden, writing for ''

The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...

'', said that the "lightweight" style that was originally panned by critics is "actually (when heard with sympathetic ears) a big part of what makes it so appealing". However, '' Q'' magazine still found ''Ram'' to be "frustratingly uneven". In a retrospective review in 1981, Robert Christgau panned McCartney's songs as pretentious "crotchets ... so lightweight they float away even as Paulie layers them down with caprices".

Reissues

In 1977, McCartney supervised the release of an instrumental interpretation of ''Ram'' (recorded in June 1971 and arranged by

Richard Hewson Richard Anthony Hewson (born 17 November 1943) is an English producer, arranger, conductor and multi-instrumentalist, who created the studio group RAH Band. Career Hewson began in the late 1960s as an arranger, and has worked with musicians s ...

) with the release of ''

'' under the pseudonym of Percy "Thrills" Thrillington. ''Thrillington'' was later released as part of the 2012 super-deluxe release of ''Ram''. ''Ram'', along with McCartney's ''

Wings over America ''Wings over America'' is a triple live album by the British–American rock band Wings, released in December 1976. The album was recorded during the American leg of the band's 1975–76 Wings Over the World tour. It peaked at number 8 on the ...

'' and ''

Tug of War Tug of war (also known as tug o' war, tug war, rope war, rope pulling, or tugging war) is a sport that pits two teams against each other in a test of strength: teams pull on opposite ends of a rope, with the goal being to bring the rope a certa ...

'' albums, was issued in the US on

compact disc The compact disc (CD) is a digital optical disc data storage format that was co-developed by Philips and Sony to store and play digital audio recordings. In August 1982, the first compact disc was manufactured. It was then released in Oc ...

on 18 January 1988. In 1993, the album was remastered and reissued on CD as part of ''

The Paul McCartney Collection ''The Paul McCartney Collection'' is a series of 16 remastered CDs by Paul McCartney of his solo and Wings albums, with most adding bonus tracks. The albums in the collection were released separately, with the first eight released on 7 June 1993 ...

'' series with "Another Day" and "Oh Woman, Oh Why" as bonus tracks.Perone, p. 154. That same year Digital Compact Classics released an audiophile edition prepared by Steve Hoffman. On 21 May 2012 (in the UK) and 22 May (in the US), the album was reissued by McCartney's current label,

Hear Music Hear Music was a record label that was founded in 2007 in a partnership between Concord Music Group and Starbucks. Hear Music began as a catalog company in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1990 before being purchased by Starbucks in 1999. Concep ...

as part of the ''

''. This reissue included the mono mix, which had never been issued previously on compact disc, except by bootleggers. The mono version was also released commercially in 2012, albeit as a limited edition LP. The 2012 reissue was accompanied by the

Record Store Day Record Store Day is an annual event inaugurated in 2007 and held on one Saturday (typically the third) every April and every Black Friday in November to "celebrate the culture of the independently owned record store". The day brings together fa ...

exclusive edition of " Another Day" single.

Tributes

In 2009, two tribute albums featuring all of the songs from the album were put together: * ''Ram On L.A'' was compiled by the website ''

Aquarium Drunkard ''Aquarium Drunkard'' is an online music magazine launched in 2005 by Justin Gage, and based in Los Angeles, California. The name "Aquarium Drunkard" is a play on a lyric by the band Wilco. The website was originally created by Gage to share mu ...

'' and released as a digital download, featuring Los Angeles-based acts. * ''Tom: A Best Show on WFMU Tribute to Ram'' was put together by

WFMU WFMU is a listener-supported, independent community radio station, licensed to East Orange, New Jersey. Since 1998 its studios and operating facilities have been headquartered in Jersey City, New Jersey. It broadcasts locally at 91.1 Mhz FM, i ...

Tom Scharpling Thomas John Giuliano II (born February 9, 1969), known professionally as Tom Scharpling, is an American comedian, television writer, producer, music video director, voice actor, and radio host. He is best known for hosting the weekly Internet r ...

for the New Jersey radio station's annual fundraising marathon as a CD made available exclusively to those who donated to his show. Artists included

Aimee Mann Aimee Elizabeth Mann (born September 8, 1960) is an American singer-songwriter. Over the course of four decades, she has released more than a dozen albums as a solo artist and with other musicians. She is noted for her sardonic and literate lyr ...

Death Cab for Cutie Death Cab for Cutie is an American rock band formed in Bellingham, Washington, in 1997. The band is currently composed of Ben Gibbard (vocals, guitar, piano), Nick Harmer (bass), Dave Depper (guitar, keyboards, backing vocals), Zac Rae (keyb ...

and

Ted Leo Theodore Francis Leo is an American singer and musician. He is the frontman and lead guitarist of the rock group Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, and in 2013, he and Aimee Mann formed the indie rock duo The Both. Early life Born in South Bend, I ...

, among others. In 2012, Danish rock singer/songwriter

Tim Christensen Tim Christensen (born 2 July 1974 in Copenhagen) is a Danish singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He is known both as the singer, guitarist and songwriter of the Danish alternative rock band Dizzy Mizz Lizzy (1988–1998, 2010, 2014–cu ...

, American singer/songwriters

Mike Viola Michael A. Viola is an American producer, musician, songwriter, and singer, best known for his work with Panic! at The Disco, Andrew Bird, Ryan Adams, J.S. Ondara, Mandy Moore, and Jenny Lewis. His original music has been featured on soundtrac ...

and

Tracy Bonham Tracy Bonham (born March 16, 1967) is an American alternative rock musician, best known for her 1996 single "Mother Mother". Raised in Eugene, Oregon, Bonham is a classically trained violinist and pianist, and is also a self-taught guitarist. S ...

, and Christensen's solo band the Damn Crystals did a one-off tribute show, performing ''Ram'' in full length along with other post-Beatles songs,Christensen, Tim (22 January 2013)
"DVD-release: The Pure McCartney-tribute show"
. ''The Official Tim Christensen Blog''. at Vega in Copenhagen, in celebration of McCartney's 70th birthday. In 2013 this tribute concert was released as the DVD/CD and DVD/2-LP album '' Pure McCartney''. In 2021, Denny Seiwell teamed up with

Fernando Perdomo Fernando Jose Perdomo (born August 17, 1980) is an American musician best known for his work as a producer and session bassist and guitarist. Career Fernando started his career as a session guitar player after playing in Miami Bands, Avenging ...

to produce ''Ram On: The 50th Anniversary Tribute to Paul and Linda McCartney's Ram''. The album has over 100 musicians from all over the world creating a new version of ''Ram'' and the single tracks "Another Day" and "Oh Woman, Oh Why". The contributors included Seiwell, Spinozza and Marvin Stamm from the original sessions, along with Davey Johnstone, Will Lee, Joey Santiago of the Pixies, Eric Dover formerly of Jellyfish, and Carnie Wilson. Cherry Red Records released the album on May 17, 2021.

Track listing

Side one # "

" – 4:10 # "3 Legs" – 2:44 # "Ram On" – 2:26 # " Dear Boy" – 2:12 # "

" – 4:49 # "Smile Away" – 3:51 Side two # "

Heart of the Country "Heart of the Country" is a song written by Paul and Linda McCartney from their album ''Ram'' released in 1971. Origins The song has simple acoustic tune with a heavy bass chorus, and an unusually mellow sound to the acoustic guitar that was ach ...

" – 2:21 # " Monkberry Moon Delight" – 5:21 # " Eat at Home" – 3:18 # "Long Haired Lady" – 5:54 # "Ram On (Reprise)" – 0:52 # " The Back Seat of My Car" – 4:26

Archive Collection Reissue

''Ram'' was reissued in several packages: *Standard Edition 1-CD; the original 12-track album *Standard Edition digital download; the original 12-track album *Special Edition 2-CD; the original 12-track album on the first disc, plus 8 bonus tracks on a second disc *Deluxe Edition Box Set 4-CD/1-DVD; the original 12-track album, the bonus tracks disc, the original album in mono, ''Thrillington'', DVD of films (including the documentary 'Ramming' narrated by Paul and directed by

Ben Ib Ben Ib is a computer graphics artist living and working in London. He has directed music videos for Kylie Minogue, Calvin Harris, The Ting Tings, Roni Size, Goldie Lookin Chain, Mr Hudson and Stateless. He has also created live tour visuals fo ...

, as well as the original music videos for "Heart of the Country" and "3 Legs"), 112-page book, 5 prints, 8 facsimiles of lyric sheets, photograph book, and download link to all of the material *Remastered vinyl 2-LP version of the Special Edition and a download link to the material *Remastered mono vinyl limited edition LP of the mono mixes *Remastered (

2012 exclusive) vinyl single of "Another Day" and "Oh Woman, Oh Why" * 50th Anniversary Half-Speed Remaster Vinyl 2021 Disc 1 – The original album The original 12-track album. Disc 2 – Bonus tracks All songs written by Paul McCartney, except "Another Day", "Little Woman Love", and "Hey Diddle", written with Linda McCartney. #" Another Day" – 3:42 #"Oh Woman, Oh Why" – 4:35 #" Little Woman Love" " – 2:08 #"A Love for You" – 4:08 #"Hey Diddle" – 3:49 #"Great Cock and Seagull Race" – 2:35 #"Rode All Night" – 8:44 #"Sunshine Sometime" – 3:20 #:''Tracks 4–8 are previously unreleased'' Disc 3 – ''Ram'' mono The mono version of the original 12-song album. Disc 4 – ''Thrillington'' The ''

'' album. Writing credits correspond to that of the original album. #"Too Many People" – 4:31 #"3 Legs" – 3:41 #"Ram On" – 2:49 #"Dear Boy" – 2:50 #"Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey" – 4:56 #"Smile Away" – 4:39 #"Heart of the Country" – 2:27 #"Monkberry Moon Delight" – 4:36 #"Eat at Home" – 3:28 #"Long Haired Lady" – 5:44 #"The Back Seat of My Car" – 4:51 Disc 5 – DVD #Ramming – 11:15 #:''Making of the album'' #"Heart of the Country" – 2:41 #:''Promo video'' #"3 Legs" – 3:03 #:''Promo video'' #"Hey Diddle" – 2:48 #:''Previously unreleased'' #"Eat at Home" on Tour – 4:31 Digital-only bonus tracks Available only on Paulmccartney.com and iTunes. #"Eat at Home" / "Smile Away" – 8:24 #: ''Performed by Wings'' #"Uncle Albert Jam" – 2:17

Personnel

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...

– lead and harmony vocals, acoustic and electric guitars,

ukulele The ukulele ( ; from haw, ukulele , approximately ), also called Uke, is a member of the lute family of instruments of Portuguese origin and popularized in Hawaii. It generally employs four nylon strings. The tone and volume of the instrumen ...

on "Ram On", bass, piano, keyboards * Linda McCartney – harmony and backing vocals; co-lead vocals on "Long Haired Lady" *

– guitar on "3 Legs", "Eat at Home", "The Back Seat of My Car" and "Another Day" *

– guitar *

– drums *

Heather McCartney Heather Louise McCartney (born Heather Louise See; December 31, 1962) is an American-British potter and artist who is the daughter of Linda McCartney and adopted daughter of Paul McCartney, Sir Paul McCartney. Biography McCartney was born in Tu ...

– backing vocals on "Monkberry Moon Delight" *

Marvin Stamm Marvin Louis Stamm (born May 23, 1939) is an American jazz trumpeter. Career Stamm was born in Memphis, Tennessee, United States. Stamm began on trumpet at age twelve. He attended North Texas State University, where he was a member of the One ...

– flugelhorn on "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey" *

on "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey" and "The Back Seat of My Car"

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

Footnotes Citations

Sources

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ; Further reading *

External links

* {{Authority control 1971 albums Apple Records albums Paul McCartney albums Linda McCartney albums Albums produced by Paul McCartney Albums produced by Linda McCartney Columbia Records albums