PAUL & LINDA McCARTNEY "Ram" 1971 UK APPLE 1st PRESS

	£		50
	$		66

  PAUL & LINDA McCARTNEY "Ram" 1971 UK APPLE 1st PRESS -1/-1, FULLY LAMINATED GF, APPLE INNER, SUPERB AUDIO
PAUL & LINDA McCARTNEY
Ram

ORIGINAL UK APPLE (PAS 10003) FIRST PRESSING (May 1971) OF PAUL & LINDA McCARTNEY'S "Ram" - IN GREAT CONDITION (barely played) - SOUNDING PERFECT (ON MY SYSTEM - AT A VERY LOUD VOLUME!) WITH A CLEAN, DEEP, RICH AND BEAUTIFULLY WARM SOUND - IMPRESSIVELY PRODUCED AND RECORDED WITH A NICE LOUD CUT AND HOUSED IN THE HARDER TO FIND FULLY LAMINATED (VARIANT) GATEFOLD COVER - FANTASTIC LP, GREAT COPY

PRESSED ON QUALITY HEAVYWEIGHT VINYL WITH THE FIRST DARK GREEN APPLE LABELS
MATRICES: YEX 837- 1 / YEX 838- 1
MOTHERS/STAMPERS: 1 (crossed out with a 4 stamped underneath)/A and 2/MT
THE ALBUM IS HOUSED IN THE ORIGINAL GATEFOLD SLEEVE BEAUTIFULLY LAMINATED ON BOTH THE INSIDE AND OUTSIDE with "Printed and made in England", "An Apple Record - An EMI Recording" AND "© McCartney Productions Inc. 1971." STATEMENTS
AND IT COMES COMPLETE WITH THE ORIGINAL APPLE INNER SLEEVE

After the breakup, Beatles fans expected major statements from the three chief songwriters in the Fab Four.
John and George fulfilled those expectations -- Lennon with his lacerating, confessional John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band, Harrison with his triple-LP All Things Must Pass -- but Paul McCartney certainly didn't, turning toward the modest charms of McCartney, and then crediting his wife Linda as a full-fledged collaborator on its 1971 follow-up, Ram.
Where McCartney was homemade, sounding deliberately ragged in parts, Ram had a fuller production yet retained that ramshackle feel, sounding as if it were recorded in a shack out back, not far from the farm where the cover photo of Paul holding the ram by the horns was taken.
It's filled with songs that feel tossed off, filled with songs that are cheerfully, incessantly melodic; it turns the monumental symphonic sweep of Abbey Road into a cheeky slice of whimsy on the two-part suite "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey."
All this made Ram an object of scorn and derision upon its release (and for years afterward, in fact), but in retrospect it looks like nothing so much as the first indie pop album, a record that celebrates small pleasures with big melodies, a record that's guileless and unembarrassed to be cutesy. But McCartney never was quite the sap of his reputation, and even here, on possibly his most precious record, there's some ripping rock & roll in the mock-apocalyptic goof "Monkberry Moon Delight," the joyfully noisy "Smile Away," where his feet can be smelled a mile away, and "Eat at Home," a rollicking, winking sex song.
All three of these are songs filled with good humour, and their foundation in old-time rock & roll makes it easy to overlook how inventive these productions are, but on the more obviously tuneful and gentle numbers -- the ones that are more quintessentially McCartney-esque -- it's plain to see how imaginative and gorgeous the arrangements are, especially on the sad, soaring finale, "Back of My Car," but even on its humble opposite, the sweet "Heart of the Country."
These songs may not be self-styled major statements, but they are endearing and enduring, as is Ram itself, which seems like a more unique, exquisite pleasure with each passing year.

Track Listing:
Side 1: TOO MANY PEOPLE / 3 LEGS / RAM ON / DEAR BOY / UNCLE ALBERT-ADMIRAL HALSEY / SMILE AWAY
Side 2: HEART OF THE COUNTRY / MONKBERRY MOON DELIGHT / EAT AT HOME / LONG HAIRED LADY / RAM ON / THE BACK SEAT OF MY CAR

LABELS: The labels are clean and bright with no marks/unwanted writing and only two/three light spindles evident - this copy has clearly seen little play
VINYL Visual: The surfaces retain their original deep, glossy sheen. Side One is practically unmarked (save for a few light, non-consequential sleeve removal hairlines), Side Two has a few more prominent (but still superficial) marks and I have played through these sections several times but the marks have no audio consequence - the playback is superb
VINYL Audio: Outstanding audio on this first pressing - a beautifully recorded album with a very deep, very rich and detailed and incredibly warm sound - gorgeous audio reproduction and on playback at a loud volume (which is how I always listen to my records prior to listing and its always a great pleasure to return to this one) there are no scratches, no jumps/sticks, no surface noise and no clicks/pops. The whole album plays throughout to a very high standard with great clarity, no groove-wear, no distortion, sounds really sensational and is critically graded EXCELLENT++ for audio (if not better as it plays perfectly) - great copy
SLEEVE: The fully laminated gatefold cover is in stunning condition - looks like it was made yesterday. The surfaces have a beautiful deep, deep, glass-like gloss and the edges are crisp and square with no wear to speak of (just a minor little 'knock' to one corner) and the sharp spine displays all text clear and bold - beautiful sleeve - NEAR MINT
and the Apple inner sleeve is in EXCELLENT condition - clean and unmarked with no splits, just some light evidence of handling (The LP is now housed - and will be posted in - a new inner to prevent any 'knifing' damage to the original during transit)

PLEASE HAVE A LOOK AT MY PICTURES - I USUALLY TAKE QUITE A FEW SO YOU CAN GET A CLEAR INDICATION OF EVERY DETAIL OF THE ITEM
I HAVE UPLOADED AS MANY AS I CAN BUT I WOULD BE MORE THAN HAPPY TO SUPPLY ANY ADDITIONAL PHOTOS ON REQUEST
SUPERB UK FIRST PRESSING OF PAUL McCARTNEY'S WARM, AFFECTIONATE "RAM" IN A BEAUTIFUL FULLY LAMINATED EXAMPLE OF THE ORIGINAL GATEFOLD - HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
AS WITH ALL MY RECORDS THIS HAS A LOW START PRICE AND NO RESERVE
PLEASE CHECK OUT MY OTHER AUCTIONS FOR MORE RARE AND COLLECTABLE VINYL
AND PLEASE DO NOT HESITATE TO CONTACT ME WITH ANY QUERIES YOU MAY HAVE
THANKS FOR LOOKING, CHEERS

PLEASE REFER TO MY 'ABOUT ME' PAGE FOR MORE DETAILED INFO ON MY PLAY-GRADING, EQUIPMENT USED, P&P etc

POST & PACKING
UK: 1st Class: FREE or £1.00 (recorded delivery)
EUROPE: Airmail: £5.50 or £10.00 (International Signed For delivery with tracking)
INTERNATIONAL: Airmail: £9.50 or £14.00 (International Signed For delivery with tracking)
***Any record (or combination of records) which sells for more than £40 MUST be sent by a trackable method ie INTERNATIONAL SIGNED FOR or RECORDED (UK)

UK bidders: PayPal or Cheque
INTERNATIONAL bidders: PayPal ONLY

REDUCED POSTAGE FOR MULTIPLE ITEMS (EACH ADDITIONAL LP: EUROPE & INTERNATIONAL £2.00)
I will combine postage for items purchased within any 10 day period. However, at the end of each 10 day period, all outstanding items will need to be paid for in full and will be posted to you. Any items purchased after payment will be included in the next 10 period. I am continually adding new items which may be of interest to you and it is impractical for me to allow payment to be postponed indefinitely in the expectation that you might wish to bid on future items. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation
Guarantee: I try to be as accurate and honest as possible when describing the condition of any LP but of course if you feel that I am mistaken and the description is inaccurate I will offer a complete, no quibble refund (through Paypal) upon return of the item
IMPORTANT NOTE: Due to a recent spate of bidders with no feedback not paying for records I must insist that all bidders with 0 feedback contact me first before bidding to confirm their genuine intention to buy the record otherwise their bid will be cancelled and they will be blocked. Sorry to sound so authoritarian but non payers are a real waste of not only my time but genuine eBayers

ALL RECORDS ARE PROFESSIONALLY CLEANED BEFORE DISPATCH AND PACKAGED WITH THE VINYL OUTSIDE OF THE SLEEVE TO PREVENT ANY 'KNIFING' DURING TRANSIT.
A PROTECTIVE POLY SLEEVE, QUALITY WRAPRO MAILER AND STIFFENERS ARE ALWAYS USED TO ENSURE THAT YOUR RECORD ARRIVES SAFELY I will email you when payment has been received to let you know when the item will be posted. Please leave feedback upon receipt of the item so that I know you have received it safely. Any problems please email me. Thanks