Paul and Linda McCartney’s RAM was always one of my favorite old LPs to pluck from my parents’ record collection growing up. Later, when I read about the reviews it had gotten back in 1971 (including Jon Landau’s legendarily vicious pan in RS), I remember being baffled. How could an album with so many sweet melodies and gorgeous arrangements, so rich in sunshine and love, be so hated? Critics eventually came around, and now most seem to agree that RAM rules. I did my part with a short take on a lovely new box set reissue of the album. Now, off for a leisurely stroll through Hampstead Heath, which is about as close to the heart of the country as one can get in London.