RAM 2012 Archive Collection - Could be better

Originally released in 1971, Paul McCartney's "RAM" is one of my favorite albums. I love the loose, bluesy, 50s' rock & roll feel of it, the melodies and harmonies, and all the radical changes McCartney puts in his music that seem to work out as if mother nature were in charge. Another non-band effort, RAM is credited only to Paul and Linda, who went to New York in the fall of 1970 to record some written songs with the idea of forming a band. They auditioned many drummers, selected Denny Seiwell, and added some session players Hugh McCracken, Dave Spinozza, strings, horns, etc. Recorded (at least mostly) at Columbia Studios, New York, there are no less than six sound engineers credited on the album, including the famous Phil Ramone (Phil and I were on a panel together several years ago). The album was mixed by Erik Wangberg.

The 2012 re-issue is about 7 dB louder than the 1993 Japanese EMI/Odeon Cat: TOCP-3125 (The Paul McCartney Collection series). The dynamic range found in "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey" was 25.8 dB on the 1993 cd, and only 18.4 dB on the 2012. This is a 7.4 dB loss. In addition, the sound is different. When playing back the two discs at the same loudness level (see graphs below), the 2012 (Paul McCartney Archive Collection series) is edgy and fatiguing at the top end and has less body in many of the voices. Note the vocal and acoustic guitar in "3 Legs", the vibraphone in "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey", the cowbell in "Too Many People". In addition, the 2012 release sounds a little flatter in the depth of the sound stage, not quite the delineation in the layering of the recordings. The 1993 "Digitally Remastered" cd sounds more like what I imagine the master tape would sound like, smoother and more present. And even though it sounds easier on the ears, the rock and roll grit and gut cuts through more. I thought that I had read somewhere at the time that Geoff Emerick did the remastering for this collection, but I have not been able to verify this anywhere, and non of my "Paul McCartney Collection" cds credit anyone for remastering.

The 2012 re-inssue is available in 12, count 'em, twelve versions, including 180 gram vinyl LP in stereo and the mono mix (different mix). All of these (when ordered online at paulmccartney.com) come with two digital only bonus tracks:

1. "Eat at Home" / "Smile Away (Live in Groningen, 1972)" – 8:24
2. "Uncle Albert Jam" – 2:17

All versions (except the "standard" single cd version) come with a disc that includes eight bonus tracks (33:06 minutes). This bonus material adds three more sound engineers, including Geoff Emerick to the mix. "Another Day", Oh, Woman, Oh Why" and "Little Woman Love" have been previously issued, but five tracks have not: "A Love For You", Hey Diddle", Great Cock and Seagull Race", "Rode All Night", and "Sunshine Sometime". These five tracks are not "must have" recordings in my opinion. I would have really enjoyed some alternate takes of the original material instead!

The version I have reviewed here is the 2 CD Digipak. I don't like the way you have to handle the cds to get them in and out. It's hard to avoid pulling them out by placing your thumb on one side and your index finger on the "read" side of the disc. I also feel like I'm going to scratch the discs as I remove and return them to their cardboard sleeves. The Digipak also includes song lyrics and a booklet that contains thirteen new photographs taken by Linda McCartney, many of which were taken during the recording sessions.

 

Cat: Hear Music B007L96VCY
Format: Stereo CD
Re-mastereded by: Guy Massey, Steve Rooke and Simon Gibson at Abbey Road

Sound Quality: 3 of 5  Should be better
Content: 4 of 5  Classic rock
Extras: 2 of 5  Was hoping for more