RAM (1971)

Ram (also stylised in all caps) is the only studio album credited to the spousal music duo Paul and Linda McCartney, and the former's second solo album after leaving the Beatles. Released on 17 May 1971 by Apple Records, it was recorded in New York with guitarists David Spinozza and Hugh McCracken, and future Wings drummer Denny Seiwell. Three singles were issued from the album: "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey" (McCartney's first number 1 hit in America without the Beatles), "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 the other former Beatles, and followed his legal action in the United Kingdom's High Court to dissolve the Beatles partnership. John Lennon perceived slights in the lyrics to songs such as "Too Many People", to which he responded with his song "How Do You Sleep?". McCartney felt he had addressed the criticism he received for his 1970 solo debut, McCartney, but Ram elicited a similarly unfavourable reaction from music journalists. It nonetheless topped the national album 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 albums.

In 1971, McCartney produced Thrillington, an instrumental interpretation of Ram released in 1977 under the pseudonym Percy 'Thrills' Thrillington. In 2012, an expanded edition of Ram was reissued (Thrillington included) with over two dozen bonus tracks as part of the Paul McCartney Archive Collection. In 2023, Ram was ranked number 450 on Rolling Stone's list of the greatest albums of all time.

Background

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, some of whom were brought in under the guise of recording a commercial jingle. Auditions were held in an attic on 45th Street for three days, where David Spinozza was recruited as guitarist by Linda, before auditions moved to a Bronx basement, where Denny Seiwell was brought in to play drums. Among the other musicians auditioned, there were Alan Schwarzberg, Donald MacDonald, Herb Lovelle, and David Bromberg. McCartney once said he found Seiwell "lying on a mattress" in the basement. Midway through these sessions, Spinozza became unavailable and was replaced by Hugh McCracken.

Songs and production

The basic tracks for the album were taped at Columbia's Studio B from 12 October to 19 November 1970, with additional vocal sessions on 6–11 December at Columbia's Studio D, before the McCartneys returned to their Scottish farm for the Christmas holidays. Here at A&R Studios, a total of 19 tracks was recorded, including 10 out of 12 that would be included on RAM. Some tracks required many attempts, due to their complicated structure, such as "The Back Seat of My Car", which needed a lot of work to be perfected. Drummer Denny Seiwell told author Luca Perasi: "That song took a little longer than any