Gordon Lightfoot Book, Music and More!

Time has been kind to Ram. When the McCartneys first released the album in 1971, critics savaged it as lightweight and inconsequential. It certainly offered no big artistic statement of the Sgt. Pepper’s variety. Instead, it reflected Paul’s embrace of a simpler life away from the Beatles. Written during his and Linda’s extended holiday in Scotland’s Mull of Kintyre, while the band was in the midst of a bitter legal break up, the songs offer a sense of unbridled joy. Now available in several formats, including a Deluxe Edition Box Set featuring bonus CDs, a DVD and a 112-page book, the reissued Ram is a revelation. Along with hits like “Another Day” and “Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey,” the son...

To mark the 50 years since he joined the Beatles, Ringo has released a sweetly nostalgic tribute to his early musical roots, including skiffle (“Rock Island Line”) and Buddy Holly (“Think It Over”). The album, featuring guests from the Eagles (Joe Walsh), the Heartbreakers (Benmont Tench) and Eurythmics (Dave Stewart), boasts one touching highlight: Ringo’s autobiographical “In Liverpool,” in which he sings “Me and the band/living our fantasies/breaking the rules, acting like fools/that’s how it was for me.”

The most commercially successful songwriter in popular music, Paul McCartney could be forgiven if he chose to rest on his laurels. He has sold an astonishing 100 million solo singles and 700 million albums worldwide. But McCartney, who got engaged to Nancy Shevell on May 6 and turns 69 on June 18, shows no signs of letting up. He has two new albums planned for this year: a rock record and a collection of pop standards. Meanwhile, McCartney has been busy reissuing his past catalogue, including his last year’s re-release of Band on the Run. The latest installments in the Paul McCartney Archive Collection are McCartney and McCartney II, his first and third solo albums respectively. Both come in...

Sir Paul’s most celebrated post-Beatles work is the latest album to get the lavish reissue treatment. Available now as a single, remastered CD, featuring fan favorites like the soaring “Jet,” the slow-burning “Let Me Roll It” and the sweeping epic title track, or special and deluxe edition formats that include audio and DVD bonus material, the reissue reminds us how much the landmark album, recorded in Lagos, Nigeria, was a triumph over adversity—including the knifepoint mugging of Paul and wife Linda.

Don’t feel sorry for Ringo. Although the man born Richard Starkey was always the sad-sack Beatle, the drummer with the large schnoz and puppy-dog eyes, Ringo Starr has always enjoyed a comical presence, coining some of the band’s most memorable phrases and often stealing scenes from John, Paul and George in the movies Help! and A Hard Day’s Night. Ringo’s own career, meanwhile, has been prosperous enough to contradict his image as the least talented member of the Fab Four. In fact, after Paul McCartney, Ringo was the most commercially successful solo Beatle. During the 1970s, he scored seven consecutive Top 10 singles, including “It Don’t Come Easy,” Back Off Boogaloo,” Photograph” and “You’...