Paul McCartney’s recharged ‘Ram’ rolls out May 22

As a child waking up on Saturday mornings I could count on two things: If my mother got to the stereo first I would be coaxed out of bed by the operatic voice of Mario Lanzo. If my brother beat her to it, I would be yanked out of sleep by the sound of the Beatles. I preferred the lads from Liverpool. All of us did. Even my sister-in-law's brood were Beatles' fans, including her father who turned me on to “Mull of Kintyre” -- an obscure tune brimming with bagpipes. The song was written in tribute to the picturesque Kintyre peninsula in Scotland, where Paul McCartney has owned a farm since 1966, and to its headland, the Mull of Kintyre. It was there against the backdrop of sheep lowing in the green fields that McCartney and his first wife Linda collaborated on the album RAM - which will be rereleased as part of the deluxe Paul McCartney Archive Collection on May 22.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this is an album from a long, long time ago, when the world was different. This is an album that is part of my history - it goes back to the wee hills of Scotland where it was formed. It reminds me of my hippie days and the free attitude with which it was created. I hope you're going to like it, because I do," said McCartney, in a report released to the press.

The ultimate collector's package comes with a standard album or deluxe edition box set with four CDs, bonus songs, a DVD, a 112-page book, photo prints and handwritten notes and lyrics. There's also a limited edition mono vinyl set being released. Price will be somewhere between $69 and $100. If you want an autographed version, like the one selling on eBay, be prepared to shell out $1,799.

Among the favorite songs on the standard tracklisting are Too Many People and Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey. The deluxe edition's second disc contains seven bonus tracks including Another Day and Hey Diddle.

McCartney is currently on tour and expected to greet Detroiters at Comerica Park on July 24.

Until then here a few tidbits to hold you:

Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey

Too Many People