Paul McCartney’s ‘Ram’ Box Set Details Revealed
As we alluded in our previous update, Paul McCartney’s 1971 ‘Ram’ will be expanded in a big way with releases in several different formats, including a deluxe edition that will be available as a massive five disc set.
Superdeluxeedition reports that the upgraded ‘Ram’ will be released on May 22 in the U.S. (which matches the Amazon listing for the product), with a U.K. release coming around that same time.
McCartney will preview the contents of the release on Record Store Day with a reproduction of the 1971 ‘Another Day’ single, but that’s just the smallest taste of what you can look forward to when the full reissue lands in May.
The deluxe edition box set will of course have a fresh remaster of the album, accompanied by a 128 page linen-bound book, similar to the other recent McCartney reissues. Several different art prints, photos of McCartney’s original lyric sheets and alternate shots from the cover photo sessions will also be included.
The second bonus disc adds 8 tracks covering outtakes from the period, b-sides and non-album tracks. Among those bonus tracks will be ‘A Love For You,’ which was previously only available on the soundtrack for ‘The In-Laws.’ The contents of the disc don’t appear to clear the vaults of the material reportedly recorded during the ‘Ram’ sessions, but it presents a hefty chunk.
Disc three presents the mono mix of ‘Ram’ (the audiophiles are starting to salivate now) which was available as a not-for-sale promo when ‘Ram’ was originally released. This will be the first commercial issue of the mono mixes, which have been heavily sought by both fans and collectors for years.
The fourth disc brings ‘Thrillington,’ an instrumental version of the ‘Ram’ material, released for the first time ever as a Paul McCartney release. Previous editions released were attributed to the alias of Percy ‘Thrills’ Thrillington.
A DVD will be the fifth disc rounding out the set and it appears that it will include home movie footage set to ‘Ram’ tracks as well as a brand-new documentary, “Ramming” narrated by Paul, and the original music videos for “Heart Of The Country” and “3 Legs. All audio will also be available as both high resolution and normal downloads.
McCartney will get his own tribute with an upcoming album featuring an interesting assortment of artists presenting their own versions of McCartney’s work with the Beatles, Wings and as a solo artist. Alice Cooper, Billy Joel, Kiss and Steve Miller are just a few of the names set to tackle McCartney’s music.