March-April, 1971
"Ram" sessions (Sound Recorders Studio, Los Angeles)
Last updated on April 16, 2023
March-April, 1971
Last updated on April 16, 2023
Recording studio: Sunset Sound Recorders Studio, Los Angeles, USA
Previous session Feb 23, 1971 • Recording "The Great Cock And Seagull Race"
Article Feb 27, 1971 • Rumours of negotiations between Paul McCartney and Robert Stigwood are denied
Article Mar 01, 1971 • The trial for the dissolution of The Beatles’ contractual partnership – Day 7
Session March-April, 1971 • "Ram" sessions (Sound Recorders Studio, Los Angeles)
Session Mar 01, 1971 • Recording "Dear Boy", "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey"
Session Mar 03, 1971 • Mixing "Brung To Ewe By" radio jingles
Some of the songs worked on during this session were first released on the "Ram" LP.
From Fab: An Intimate Life of Paul McCartney, by Howard Sounes:
Paul and Linda flew to Los Angeles to complete Ram. Despite the good work done in New York, Paul had become bogged down in indecision, unable to select between the 20 or so songs he had recorded. To try and help his brother-in-law finish the record, John Eastman introduced Paul to the fashionable producer Jim Guercio, a fellow Eastman & Eastman client who’d won a Grammy for his work with Blood, Sweat and Tears. Guercio was so keen to produce Paul that he cancelled his honeymoon to help out with Ram, laying down a new track, ‘Dear Boy’, and working to make a final selection from the songs Paul already had in the bag. It was clear McCartney felt under pressure to do better than his début album, partly in answer to Lennon’s criticism of McCartney as Engelbert Humperdinck music. Yet the pressure had a paralysing effect on the star. Instead of finishing Ram in LA, Paul kept fiddling with it, block-booking a Hollywood studio and insisting Guercio was there every day from 10:00 a.m. so they could record, though Paul rarely showed up before mid-afternoon. Then he’d smoke a joint and jam. Guercio tried to assert some discipline, but could not guide or control his star: ‘Paul is not an artist you can direct or collaborate with. You kind of have [to] support his ideas.’ As weeks passed, and the album was no nearer completion, Guercio gave Paul a suggested track listing and told him the engineers could do what was necessary. He had to go. ‘I think he took offence. I said, “No, no, this isn’t personal, Paul, you don’t need me. I can’t come in here every day. We’ve got to finish … I have other obligations … I gave up my damn honeymoon here!’
When we decided to do the new album, we wanted to make it fun, because it isn’t worth doing anything if you can’t have fun doing it… Ram is real sweaty rock’n’roll… It strikes me as being a hundred times better than the McCartney LP… The McCartney thing was a whole different trip that I needed to go through. This one, though, is really my music, this is really where I am.
Paul McCartney – From “The Beatles: Off The Record 2 – The Dream is Over: Dream Is Over Vol 2” by Keith Badman
Ram is one of those albums that takes a bit of time to get used to. I can imagine the plight of a lonely little reviewer somewhere, sitting in an office, the heating has been turned off and he’s got this record, which he has got to say these wondrous things about. And he’s got to keep his reputation, so a whole load of things come into his mind when he puts it on and I think if it isn’t totally immediate, you do tend to get these not too hot reviews.
Paul McCartney – From “The Beatles: Off The Record 2 – The Dream is Over: Dream Is Over Vol 2” by Keith Badman
When I mixed ‘Long Haired Lady’ he never commented, he was just listening to what I had done. He stood behid me, with his hands on the chair, with his head next to mine, because he wanted to hear exactly what I heard from the speakers when I mixed. And when it finished, I turned around and I saw a tear running down his face. Paul is a very, very sensitive person. Listening to his vocal work with Linda really got him into it. It was amazing.
Eirik Wangberg – From Facebook
Recording "Dear Boy", "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey"
Mar 01, 1971 • Songs recorded during this session appear on Ram
Mixing "Brung To Ewe By" radio jingles
Mar 03, 1971 • Songs recorded during this session appear on Brung To Ewe By
Recording "Dear Boy", "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey"
Mar 09, 1971 • Songs recorded during this session appear on Ram
Recording "Dear Boy", "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey"
Mar 10, 1971 • Songs recorded during this session appear on Ram
Recording "Dear Boy", "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey"
Mar 12, 1971 • Songs recorded during this session appear on Ram
Recording "Dear Boy", "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey"
Apr 07, 1971 • Songs recorded during this session appear on Ram
Written by Paul McCartney, Linda McCartney
Recording
Written by Paul McCartney, Linda McCartney
Recording
Written by Paul McCartney
Recording
Written by Paul McCartney
Recording
Written by Paul McCartney, Linda McCartney
Recording
Written by Paul McCartney, Linda McCartney
Recording
Written by Paul McCartney
Recording
Written by Paul McCartney
Recording
Written by Paul McCartney
Recording
Written by Paul McCartney, Linda McCartney
Recording
Mar 01, 1971 • Recording "Dear Boy", "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey"
Mar 01, 1971 • Recording "Dear Boy", "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey"
'Ram On' And Sheap Noises
Mar 03, 1971 • Mixing "Brung To Ewe By" radio jingles
'Ram' With Sounds Of Sheep
Mar 03, 1971 • Mixing "Brung To Ewe By" radio jingles
Get It Together Man
Mar 03, 1971 • Mixing "Brung To Ewe By" radio jingles
On A Fishing Boat
Mar 03, 1971 • Mixing "Brung To Ewe By" radio jingles
Paul Rambling In Scottish Accent
Mar 03, 1971 • Mixing "Brung To Ewe By" radio jingles
Please Don't Bring My Banjo Back
Mar 03, 1971 • Mixing "Brung To Ewe By" radio jingles
Ram Ram
Mar 03, 1971 • Mixing "Brung To Ewe By" radio jingles
Ram Ram...Boogie
Mar 03, 1971 • Mixing "Brung To Ewe By" radio jingles
Rama Rama...
Mar 03, 1971 • Mixing "Brung To Ewe By" radio jingles
Snatch Of 'Ram On'
Mar 03, 1971 • Mixing "Brung To Ewe By" radio jingles
Snatch Of 'Uncle Albert'
Mar 03, 1971 • Mixing "Brung To Ewe By" radio jingles
Very Short Clips Of Tracks
Mar 03, 1971 • Mixing "Brung To Ewe By" radio jingles
We've Got To Get This Album Together Man
Mar 03, 1971 • Mixing "Brung To Ewe By" radio jingles
What Is This, Paul: This Is Work Woman
Mar 03, 1971 • Mixing "Brung To Ewe By" radio jingles
You Know What I Mean
Mar 03, 1971 • Mixing "Brung To Ewe By" radio jingles
Mar 09, 1971 • Recording "Dear Boy", "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey"
Mar 09, 1971 • Recording "Dear Boy", "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey"
Mar 10, 1971 • Recording "Dear Boy", "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey"
Mar 10, 1971 • Recording "Dear Boy", "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey"
Mar 12, 1971 • Recording "Dear Boy", "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey"
Mar 12, 1971 • Recording "Dear Boy", "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey"
Paul McCartney: Music Is Ideas. The Stories Behind the Songs (Vol. 1) 1970-1989
With 25 albums of pop music, 5 of classical – a total of around 500 songs – released over the course of more than half a century, Paul McCartney's career, on his own and with Wings, boasts an incredible catalogue that's always striving to free itself from the shadow of The Beatles. The stories behind the songs, demos and studio recordings, unreleased tracks, recording dates, musicians, live performances and tours, covers, events: Music Is Ideas Volume 1 traces McCartney's post-Beatles output from 1970 to 1989 in the form of 346 song sheets, filled with details of the recordings and stories behind the sessions. Accompanied by photos, and drawing on interviews and contemporary reviews, this reference book draws the portrait of a musical craftsman who has elevated popular song to an art-form.
Eight Arms to Hold You: The Solo Beatles Compendium
We owe a lot to Chip Madinger and Mark Easter for the creation of those session pages, but you really have to buy this book to get all the details!
Eight Arms To Hold You: The Solo Beatles Compendium is the ultimate look at the careers of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr beyond the Beatles. Every aspect of their professional careers as solo artists is explored, from recording sessions, record releases and tours, to television, film and music videos, including everything in between. From their early film soundtrack work to the officially released retrospectives, all solo efforts by the four men are exhaustively examined.
As the paperback version is out of print, you can buy a PDF version on the authors' website
Maccazine - Volume 40, Issue 3 - RAM Part 1 - Timeline
This very special RAM special is the first in a series. This is a Timeline for 1970 – 1971 when McCartney started writing and planning RAM in the summer of 1970 and ending with the release of the first Wings album WILD LIFE in December 1971. [...] One thing I noted when exploring the material inside the deluxe RAM remaster is that the book contains many mistakes. A couple of dates are completely inaccurate and the story is far from complete. For this reason, I started to compile a Timeline for the 1970/1971 period filling the gaps and correcting the mistakes. The result is this Maccazine special. As the Timeline was way too long for one special, we decided to do a double issue (issue 3, 2012 and issue 1, 2013).
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