Most of Macca's pre-Tug Of War discs are out-of-print in the U.S.. The rumour is his catalog is in the process of a major overhaul. I believe it is more than a rumour as there is no other reason for these discs to be oop.
I has nothing to do with Columbia since Paul owns his masters and they go where he goes. All the US Columbia CDs were reissued on Capitol.
Try to find the mono US 45 promo copy version - the mix is hotter and the gunshots really leap out! GM
"Oh Woman Oh Why" is one of Macca's most underrated songs. I've been searching for the mono promo single for years. I did recently find the mono promo single of "Uncle Albert". Anybody have any idea of what this is worth? The mix doesn't sound any different but it's still pretty cool!
Yes. When the best track on the entire LP wasn't on the LP but on a bonus 7-inch 33 1/3 single that came with it as an afterthought, THAT's a bad album. (That song was the live "Coming Up.") And to think, McCartney II was originally going to be a double album!
I do agree that McCartney II is weak when compared to his other albums (notable exceptions are Coming Up, Waterfalls and Noboby Knows). However, an article I read years ago sticks in my mind till this day: If this album had never been officially released and was bootlegged, fans and critics would praise the album for its daring nature of experimentation and wonder why McCartney couldn't take chances like this on his officially released albums. Even John Lennon praised Paul for at least taking a chance with McCartney II.
With a few exceptions, I rarely listen to an entire Macca album. I made a personal, double CD-R mix that I prefer. I think he made some B-sides that are pretty killer.
"Oh Woman, Oh Why" ... "C Moon" ... "Daytime Nighttime Suffering" ... "Sally G" ... "My Carnival" ... "Mull of Kintyre" ... all of these are very good. (In the UK, "Mull" was the A-side; in the US, Capitol promoted "Girls' School" as the A-side. Ugh.)
Yup. The guy can't win. Granted, "Macca II" really isn't a very good record, but I'd prefer an ambitious failure over a predictable success. BTW, I'd add "Temporary Secretary" to the list of good "Macca II" songs - not a classic, but I've always liked it...
Which leads to another question: Why is there such a "mystique" about unfinished and/or unreleased albums? I think it's often *because* they are unreleased than for any musical qualities those fragments (or bootlegs) we get to hear often have.
Yup again. Unreleased music is just like deleted scenes from movies - they acquire a magic about them. People seem to assume that film directors remove material because of pressures to make flicks more commercial, which is why director's cuts have become such a big deal. Are these usually better than the theatrical versions? No. Sometimes they are - like with the longer version of "The Abyss" - but often the theatrical release proves strongest. The same thing goes with music. Many people assume that "Album X" didn't appear because the Suits didn't like it. Sometimes that's the case, but usually it's because the material isn't very good. Granted, plenty of unreleased gems appear, but the overall level isn't high - Prince proves that again and again. Still, there's a certain mystique about something we can't easily find, and people LOVE to feel like they know something special that others don't...
Don't be sorry. It's a temptation we all face on the internet. People talking about stuff that someone else might not understand the validity of. Thing is, different strokes!
I just pulled out a bunch of the early singles and had a go at the b sides. "The Mess" b side of dare I say it, the sappy, "My Love" (best b side of the lot) "Little Woman Love" b side of "Mary Had A Little Lamb" "Zoo Gang" b side of the UK "Band On The Run" (interesting instrumental that was used as the theme song to a UK TV show of the same name) "Country Dreamer" b side of "Helen Wheels" I wonder if there's enough interesting material from McCartney's 45s here to make a CD-R. I wonder if someone has already done that. Why is there such a "mystique" about unreleased recording? I dunno. Ask the guy who spent a fortune on Prince's - The Black Album. I remember when Warner finally released it, they used in the ad campaign the sory of the person who paid a schwack of money for an original copy. Warner then proceded to tell us we could now buy it for much less. Mike Richards
Another great Macca b-side was the minor hit "Sally G", recorded in Nashville with Chet Atkins and Vassar Clements. As for McCartney II, unfortunately, I think it's mostly crap. I once played "Temporary Secretary" for a friend of mine, and he said, quote, "That's McCartney?"
I like Temporary Secretary myself. The "Zoo Gang" TV show had a short run in the US--I remember watching it. I think it filled in for some cancelled show during the summer or something. Sometime in the mid-70s.
