{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2026}} {{Infobox album | name = Ed Ames | type = studio | artist = [[Ed Ames]] | cover = File:Ed Ames LP by Ed Ames.png | released = {{start date|1972|01}} | studio = RCA's Music Center of the World, [[Hollywood, California]] | genre = [[Pop music|Pop]]<ref name="Billboard Review" /> | length = {{Duration|m=32|s=37}} | label = [[RCA Records|RCA Victor]] | producer = {{hlist|[[Joe Reisman]]}} | prev_title = [[Sings the Songs of Bacharach and David]] | prev_year = 1971 | next_title = [[Remembers Jim Reeves]] | next_year = 1972 | misc = {{Singles | name = Ed Ames | type = studio | single1 = [[And I Love You So (song)|And I Love You So]] | single1date = March 1972 }} }}
'''''Ed Ames''''' is a self-titled [[studio album]] by American singer and actor [[Ed Ames]] released in early 1972. It became his final recorded album for [[RCA Victor Records]]. It contained a total of 10 tracks, including one lead single. The album received a positive critical reception following its release, though it missed the US [[Billboard 200|album charts]].
==Background, recording and content== Ed Ames had been a recording artist for RCA Victor since the 1950s, during his time with the [[Ames Brothers]]. In 1966, his solo career took off with the chart-topping hit "[[My Cup Runneth Over (song)|My Cup Runneth Over]]".<ref name="Pop Songs" /> He continued to have hit singles and best-selling albums, though by the early 1970s, sales had heavily decreased. The self-titled LP was Ames' first to be produced by [[Joe Reisman]], and was recorded at RCA's Music Center of the World, located in [[Hollywood, California]].<ref name="Liner Notes">{{cite AV media |last1=Ames |first1=Ed |title=''Ed Ames'' (Disc Information) |journal=[[RCA Records|RCA Victor]] |date=January 1972 |id=LSP-4634 (Stereo)}}</ref>
''Ed Ames'' consisted of 10 tracks in total.<ref name="Apple">{{cite web |title=''Ed Ames'' album by Ed Ames |url=https://music.apple.com/us/album/ed-ames/1609703576 |website=[[Apple Music]] |access-date=May 26, 2026}}</ref> Selections included recent pop hits like "[[And I Love You So (song)|And I Love You So]]" and "[[I Am... I Said]]", country hits like "[[Take Me Home, Country Roads]]", and musical songs such as the standard "[[Sunrise, Sunset]]" and "[[Summer of '42#Music|Summer of '42]]".<ref name="Liner Notes" /> Other songs included "[[Bless the Beasts and Children (song)|Bless the Beasts & Children]]," "[[Desiderata (Les Crane song)|Desiderata]]," "[[One Tin Soldier]]," and "[[The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down]]", the latter being a big pop hit for singer [[Joan Baez]] during this time.<ref name="Pop Songs">{{cite book |last1=Whitburn |first1=Joel |title=Joel Whitburn, Top Pop Singles 1955-1999 |date=2000 |publisher=Record Research |location=Menomonee Falls, WI |page=various}}</ref>
== Release and singles ==
''Ed Ames'' was originally released in January 1972 by RCA Victor. It was the twenty-first studio album of Ames' career.<ref name="goldmine" /> The label originally offered it as a [[Gramophone record|vinyl LP]], with five songs on "Side A" and five songs on "Side B".<ref name="Liner Notes"/> It was only available in [[stereo]] sound.<ref name="goldmine">{{cite book |last=Kinslow |first=Chris |title=Goldmine Record Album Price Guide |publisher=Penguin |year=2022 |isbn=978-1-68145-973-8 |page=1881 |url=https://www.google.lt/books/edition/Goldmine_Record_Album_Price_Guide/vBVjDwAAQBAJ?hl=lt&gbpv=1&dq=ed+ames+love+of+the+common+people&pg=PA1881&printsec=frontcover |access-date=May 26, 2026}}</ref> Since then, it has been digitized onto streaming platforms in the 2020s as well.<ref name="Apple" />
One lead single was included on ''Ed Ames''. The track "[[And I Love You So (song)|And I Love You So]]" written by [[Don McLean]] was first released by RCA Victor as a single in March 1972.<ref name="othernotes">{{cite AV media |last1=Ames |first1=Ed |title="[[And I Love You So (song)|And I Love You So]]"/"The Ship" (7" vinyl single) |journal=[[RCA Records|RCA Victor]] |date=March 1972 |id=74-0678}}</ref> The flip was a non-album song titled "The Ship".<ref name="othernotes" /> The single was recommended for [[radio stations]] by reviewers from ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' music industry trade magazine at the time.<ref name="Billboard Review2">{{cite magazine |title=''Billboard'' Radio Action and Pick Singles |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |date=March 25, 1972 |volume=84 |issue=12 |page=64 |url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Music/Billboard-Index/IDX/1972/1972-03-25-Billboard-Page-0064.pdf#search=%22ed%20ames%22 |access-date=May 26, 2026 |editor=[[Paul Ackerman]]}}</ref> The single itself failed to reach the charts.<ref name="Pop Songs" />
== Critical reception == {{Music ratings | rev1 = [[Billboard (magazine)|''Billboard'']] | rev1Score = ''Positive'' (Pop Pick)<ref name="Billboard Review" /> }} The album was given a positive review from ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' magazine following its original release. Putting the album in its "Pop" section, the publication stated that "lending his beautiful style and great voice to some of the hits of today, Ed Ames has a package here that will drive a big one for 1972. " They believed that it was a "magnificent LP!" They highlighted the tracks "Bless the Beasts & Children," "Loving Her Was Easier," and "One Tin Soldier."<ref name="Billboard Review">{{cite magazine |title=Album Reviews: Pop Picks |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |date=January 29, 1972 |page=77 |url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Music/Billboard-Index/IDX/1972/1972-01-29-Billboard-Page-0077.pdf#search=%22ed%20ames%22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260526154836/https://www.worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Music/Billboard-Index/IDX/1972/1972-01-29-Billboard-Page-0077.pdf#search=%22ed%20ames%22 |archive-date=May 26, 2026 |access-date=May 26, 2026}}</ref> ''[[The Odessa American]]'' said that Ames' "latest album runs the gamut," and believed that he had a "strong take" on "[[Take Me Home, Country Roads]].<ref name="American">{{cite news |author=<!-- not stated --> |date=February 27, 1972 |title=Review of Ed Ames' Most Recent Album: Ed Ames (RCA Victor) |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/1145313891/?match=5&terms=Circle%20Songs%20from%20%22Lost%20Horizon%22%20and%20Themes%20from%20Other%20Movies |location=[[Odessa, Texas]] |work=[[The Odessa American]] |access-date=May 26, 2026 |page=6 |url-access=subscription |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> {{Clear}}
==Track listing== {{track listing | headline = Side one | total_length = 15:17
| title1 = [[Take Me Home, Country Roads]] | writer1 = {{hlist|[[Bill Danoff]]|[[Taffy Nivert]]|[[John Denver]]}} | length1 = 3:03
| title2 = [[Summer of '42#Music|The Summer Knows]] | writer2 = {{hlist|[[Alan Bergman]]|[[Marilyn Bergman]]|[[Michel Legrand]]}} | length2 = 2:23
| title3 = [[I Am... I Said]] | writer3 = [[Neil Diamond]] | length3 = 3:11
| title4 = Loving Her Was Easier (Than Anything I'll Ever Do Again) | writer4 = [[Kris Kristofferson]] | length4 = 3:06
| title5 = [[One Tin Soldier]] | writer5 = {{hlist|[[Dennis Lambert]]|[[Brian Potter (musician)|Brian Potter]]}} | length5 = 3:34 }}
{{track listing | headline = Side two | total_length = 17:20
| title1 = [[Bless the Beasts and Children (song)|Bless the Beasts & Children]] | writer1 = {{hlist|[[Barry De Vorzon]]|[[Perry Botkin Jr.]]}} | length1 = 2:56
| title2 = [[And I Love You So (song)|And I Love You So]] | writer2 = [[Don McLean]] | length2 = 3:52
| title3 = [[The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down]] | writer3 = [[Robbie Robertson]] | length3 = 3:20
| title4 = [[Sunrise, Sunset]] | writer4 = {{hlist|[[Jerry Bock]]|[[Sheldon Harnick]]}} | length4 = 3:13
| title5 = [[Desiderata (Les Crane song)|Desiderata]] | writer5 = [[Fred Werner]] | length5 = 3:59 }} ==Release history== {|class="wikitable plainrowheaders" |- !scope="col"| Region !scope="col"| Date !scope="col"| Format !scope="col"| Label !scope="col"| Ref. |- ! scope="row" | North America | January 1972 | LP Stereo | [[RCA Victor Records]] | <ref name="Liner Notes"/> |- ! scope="row" | Worldwide | Circa 2020 | {{hlist|Music download|streaming}} | [[Sony Music Entertainment]] | <ref name="Apple"/> |- |}
== Personnel == All credits are adapted from the [[liner notes]] of ''Ed Ames''.<ref name="Liner Notes" />
* [[Ed Ames]] – vocals * [[Perry Botkin Jr.]] – arranger, conductor * [[Joe Reisman]] – producer * Ivan Nagy – photography * Mickey Crofford – recording engineer
==References== {{reflist}}
{{Ed Ames}}
[[Category:1972 albums]] [[Category:Ed Ames albums]] [[Category:RCA Victor albums]]