The "Ram" Remaster Thread
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CMackbird:
Michelley:
maccascruff:
We should get a refund!
I don't have any buyer's remorse. Expecially not over $5.
So Michelley, how did Ram sound after your long absence from it? I am loving it, I hadn't listened to it since Christmas last year but I think you hadn't listened to it for longer than that eh?
: : : : : : : : I've been pretty much listening to it non-stop and I've heard things I hadn't ever heard before, and I've heard other things much more clearly on the record than I've ever heard before. The bass line on Eat at Home, which I'd never much noticed before, is fantastic. On Ram On, I'd never much noticed Linda's vocals (I was always focused on Paul's voice) and I hear them now. On Smile Away, that droning sound throughout that carries the song and makes it sound rough and dirty (in a good way) is something I can hear so clearly now. It was worth the wait. And I also recommend setting an album aside for a good long period and coming to it fresh. You never know -- when you do that -- whether it will grab you like it did before or whether you'll think, "What was I thinking?" But Ram definitely did impress me all over again. How about you?
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Michelley:
CMackbird:
Michelley:
maccascruff:
We should get a refund!
I don't have any buyer's remorse. Expecially not over $5.
So Michelley, how did Ram sound after your long absence from it? I am loving it, I hadn't listened to it since Christmas last year but I think you hadn't listened to it for longer than that eh?
: : : : : : : : I've been pretty much listening to it non-stop and I've heard things I hadn't ever heard before, and I've heard other things much more clearly on the record than I've ever heard before. The bass line on Eat at Home, which I'd never much noticed before, is fantastic. On Ram On, I'd never much noticed Linda's vocals (I was always focused on Paul's voice) and I hear them now. On Smile Away, that droning sound throughout that carries the song and makes it sound rough and dirty (in a good way) is something I can hear so clearly now. It was worth the wait. And I also recommend setting an album aside for a good long period and coming to it fresh. You never know -- when you do that -- whether it will grab you like it did before or whether you'll think, "What was I thinking?" But Ram definitely did impress me all over again. How about you?
Very true. Great points, Linda's vocals on Ram on are superb and something I myself hadn't noticed properly before. Same view on Eat at Home and Smile Away. The biggest turn around for me came with Back Seat. I mean I know everyone loves it and i always thought it was a good song but was never really mad on it. But coming back to it after so long, it's completely blown me away. Musically it is exquisite and just complete perfection. Such a powerful and beautiful song and his vocals are just mind blowing. This has always been my fave record from Paul or any artist and I never thought it could improve on perfection but somehow it has got even better I'm definitely staying away from Venus & Mars and WATSOS until they are remastered.
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Confession time: I am not amongst the Ram-initiated. Over the years, I've had a couple of friends and co-workers sing its praises. However, all this recent, high critical regard and widespread coverage of the remaster is making it harder and harder for me to continue blissfully skipping along through my life without experiencing the apparent majesty that is this album.
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Triplets Love Paul:
Nancy R:
Almost forgot to mention, I got mine thru Amazon and the 2 bonus songs Eat at Home/Smile Away and UA Jam are included as digital downloads!
Hi Nancy, were the two bonus songs included with the high resolution audio download redemption card or with a separate download redemption card? I purchased from Amazon, but have not yet downloaded the high resolution audio. The book and product details list do not mention the two bonus songs.
Not on a separate card--included with the one regular card!
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Nancy R:
Triplets Love Paul:
Nancy R:
Almost forgot to mention, I got mine thru Amazon and the 2 bonus songs Eat at Home/Smile Away and UA Jam are included as digital downloads!
Hi Nancy, were the two bonus songs included with the high resolution audio download redemption card or with a separate download redemption card? I purchased from Amazon, but have not yet downloaded the high resolution audio. The book and product details list do not mention the two bonus songs.
Not on a separate card--included with the one regular card!
Thanks so much for the reply, Nancy! Happy to learn that I do not have to purchase these from iTunes. Hope you are enjoying RAM as much as we are! Thanks again!
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One of the most famous musicians in Demark called Tim Christensen, has just reviewed Ram for a major Danish Music site. He gave it 6 out of 6 stars. http://gaffa.dk/anmeldelse/61309 (in Danish) He will also perform the entire Ram album at a venue in Copenhagen on 18 June to celebrate Paul's 70th Birthday. He will play selected solo songs from Paul's career in the extra set..
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Danish Macca:
One of the most famous musicians in Demark called Tim Christensen, has just reviewed Ram for a major Danish Music site. He gave it 6 out of 6 stars. http://gaffa.dk/anmeldelse/61309 (in Danish) He will also perform the entire Ram album at a venue in Copenhagen on 18 June to celebrate Paul's 70th Birthday. He will play selected solo songs from Paul's career in the extra set..
That's great news, wish I could read Danish. What does everyone think of the Mono version? Biggest change I have noticed is Monkberry Moon , the vocals sound as he is sinking down deep inside a cave. Very different from the stereo.
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Michelley:
CMackbird:
Michelley:
maccascruff:
We should get a refund!
I don't have any buyer's remorse. Expecially not over $5.
So Michelley, how did Ram sound after your long absence from it? I am loving it, I hadn't listened to it since Christmas last year but I think you hadn't listened to it for longer than that eh?
: : : : : : : : I've been pretty much listening to it non-stop and I've heard things I hadn't ever heard before, and I've heard other things much more clearly on the record than I've ever heard before. The bass line on Eat at Home, which I'd never much noticed before, is fantastic. On Ram On, I'd never much noticed Linda's vocals (I was always focused on Paul's voice) and I hear them now. On Smile Away, that droning sound throughout that carries the song and makes it sound rough and dirty (in a good way) is something I can hear so clearly now. It was worth the wait. And I also recommend setting an album aside for a good long period and coming to it fresh. You never know -- when you do that -- whether it will grab you like it did before or whether you'll think, "What was I thinking?" But Ram definitely did impress me all over again. How about you?
Well, I certainly came at it fresh....I hadn't listened to it since its release in '71. After it was trashed by Rolling Stone, I let the review totally influence me (young and stupid)...and I played it twice and then put it away. So....it sounds so good, and adventurous, and interesting, and varied. Paul had zillions of musical ideas in his head. It's a totally new album to me. Love it!!!!
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So I got a surprise when I finally decided to open my big ram book last night. there was a smaller really cool book enclosed inside of it slid between the pages. awesome!
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Michelley:
Fyi, for those who are still thinking about buying it, the price on the Ram deluxe edition has dropped to $85 -- that's the lowest I've seen it. http://www.amazon.com/RAM-Deluxe-Book-Edition-1DVD/dp/B007L96VG0/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1338733567&sr=1-1
"While this item is available from other marketplace sellers on this page, it is not currently offered by Amazon.com because customers have told us there may be something wrong with our inventory of the item, the way we are shipping it, or the way it's described here".
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Just received this set today - it's so beautiful I got a little bit emotional because I remember my dad use to tell me that this is the album to hear from McCartney - and I didn't get a chance to pick up an old record or cd and just sit back and listen to it with him. Never got the chance and now I'm finally understanding what he was talking about. Now I'm burning the Hi-Res tracks to 2 cds and then a separate cd with just the two download only tracks. And I'm making a dvd of the promo youtube videos leading up to the release of the set. And once I'm finished with my own various mixes of the Rude Studio tracks I'll be put that do dvd. So I'll be complimenting this set pretty well soon.
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Can someone tell me the difference between Unlimited and Limited? I downloaded both, but just wondered.
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Nancy R:
Can someone tell me the difference between Unlimited and Limited? I downloaded both, but just wondered.
When the deluxe edition of BOTR was released this explanation of limited and unlimited was provided by Allan Rouse (Abbey Road Studios):
The audio industry has seen many technical innovations since Band on the Run was first released on vinyl in 1973, the most notable being digital recording. However, with the introduction of CD came two advances, ?de-noising? and ?peak limiting? which have become increasingly unpopular within certain areas of the music industry and amongst audiophiles. De-noising was introduced to remove the inherent sound, or hiss, associated with analogue tape. The amount of processing used to remove tape noise can be varied, but when used excessively, many believe that it also has a detrimental effect on elements of the musical sound. Peak limiting is a process that increases the loudness of music. It is achieved by holding the loudest peaks down and raising the overall level of the music. Much depends on the amount of limiting applied, but at its most extreme the result can be a serious reduction in the dynamic range and often audible distortion. The release of The Beatles? remasters in 2009 saw a marked change in attitudes towards these issues, where both noise reduction and limiting were used sparingly with the aim of representing the master tapes more accurately. Such is the case with the newly remastered CD of Band on the Run: tape noise reduction has scarcely been used and the degree of limiting is subtle. In addition digital technology has advanced with the ability now to offer recordings in 24 bit/96kHz. The high resolution version is being made available via download and is being offered in two formats: limited, which is comparable in volume to the remastered CD, and un-limited, which in comparison with the limited version will sound quieter, but retain the dynamic range of the original master recording. Allan Rouse Abbey Road Studios
http://store.paulmccartney.com/bandontherun/usd.php Hope this helps.
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Thanks Anita! I am downloading BOTR right now. Topspin sent me a new DL code since the first one I had didn't work.
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Nancy R:
Thanks Anita! I am downloading BOTR right now. Topspin sent me a new DL code since the first one I had didn't work.
You're welcome, Nancy! Good news about the new BOTR code!
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audi:
Confession time: I am not amongst the Ram-initiated. Over the years, I've had a couple of friends and co-workers sing its praises. However, all this recent, high critical regard and widespread coverage of the remaster is making it harder and harder for me to continue blissfully skipping along through my life without experiencing the apparent majesty that is this album.
Audi... we all show up in the confession booth from time to time.. even the non-Catholics
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FYI, just saw this week's Billboard charts. Ram is still in the top 100, which surprises me. It's at No. 58 (down from No. 24 last week). Ram is at No. 2 on Billboard's Catalog chart And Kisses on the Bottom continues at No. 7 on the Jazz chart
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Michelley:
FYI, just saw this week's Billboard charts. Ram is still in the top 100, which surprises me. It's at No. 58 (down from No. 24 last week). Ram is at No. 2 on Billboard's Catalog chart And Kisses on the Bottom continues at No. 7 on the Jazz chart
wow. I didn't know KOTB was still in the charts and so high. way to go, Paul!
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Kathryn O:
Michelley:
FYI, just saw this week's Billboard charts. Ram is still in the top 100, which surprises me. It's at No. 58 (down from No. 24 last week). Ram is at No. 2 on Billboard's Catalog chart And Kisses on the Bottom continues at No. 7 on the Jazz chart
wow. I didn't know KOTB was still in the charts and so high. way to go, Paul!
Well it's just the jazz chart, meaning we're talking very small sales numbers here. But it's good that it's hanging around in the top 10 of this Jazz chart. It could rack up decent sales if it sticks around the chart for a long while. Slow steady sales.
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Folks, I just read a terrific interview with Paul on Pitchfork: http://pitchfork.com/features/interviews/8854-paul-mccartney/ It's all about Ram, and for once, he mentions the Beatles only very rarely, and focuses on the album. The interviewer asks good questions and mostly talks about the spirit of the album, its motivations, his life in Scotland, and Linda. It's Paul just chattering away. A bit about art. A bit about sheep. And about beards. Enjoy!