Paul McCartney Archive Collection - Tug Of War & Pipes Of Peace coming! (Part Two)

That's because there was ONE previously unreleased track back in '93. Remember which one?

No soup for you if you can't guess it right!

 

I'm equally fascinated that so many people have been so keen to pay an additional £50 for the privilege of owning five prints. I mean, I decided long, long ago that I would always buy the most expensive/complete edition and cost be damned but even I'm leaving that one on the shelf.

 

Twice In A Lifetime, sir. I perhaps used the wrong word (by, nary, I meant hardly...)

 

I thought, looking at the videos posted earlier, that the books looked more photo-rich and less texty than the earlier books. Which is maybe okay, as I have some fond memories of the Tug of War LP (was it the first I ever bought for myself? maybe! I was soon 14 and started to have a little spending money in Spring 1982). I remember opening up the LP and checking out the sleeve and marveling at the photos - and then, years later, I recall the specific dismay of buying the Tug of War CD and seeing the shrinkage of the photos in the CD age. On the other hand, I have dearly appreciated the texts of the earlier books.

A different point: I am a little embarrassed to admit that the announcements have overcome my earlier disappointments in the Pipes of Peace bonus tracks. Why? It's completely irrational; I won't try to defend myself. It's true: a sucker is born every day, and back in 1968, I was one of them...

 

Thats cause the internet wasn't so widely accessed in '93!

 

Carnival of Light?

 

You left out the slipcase. I hear it's acrylic.

 

Bear Family does it all the time. One cd in the Tennessee Ernie Ford box lasts over 90 minutes!

 

doesn't seem to be on Amazon.com yet for the Colonies!!

 

Maybe the mix was made on digital and analogue tape simultaneously, like Kate Bush's "The Red Shoes" or Roger Waters' "Amused To Death".

 

No, "Carnival of Light" was only issued as the b-side to the Syrian cd-single "Tropic Island Hum".

 

I do, Paul.
And these two remixes are somehow historic for the fact it was the very first time ever that Paul released remixes of his songs on a 12" single (previous 12" singles only had the standard versions of songs). Also, the 'long' version contains some instrumentation and even vocal passages by Mac 'n' Jack that absent from the LP/single version.

By the way, somebody wrote here that no one had ever heard a single second of the finished version of "Blackpool"... I had a long telephone conversation tonight with one fellow who from time to time posts exclusive information on Macca here, and he confirmed to me that he had heard a fragment of it himself, among other unheard things, a few years ago, played to him over the telephone by someone from the McCartney camp. He confirmed it definitely featured what he could distinguish as being a brass arrangement.

 

1) The justification for it
2) Whether it might be faithful to the original or not (heck, we've speculated on everything else)
3) What might be changed if it isn't faithfull
4) Whether it might replace the original mix in one's affections (see Double Fantasy for previous example)
5) Whether McCartney took his inspiration from said Double Fantasy remix
6) Whether people like the idea of the original mix being made obsolete a la Help and Rubber Soul

So much to talk about and so little time!

 

The 'goal' is largely defined by the medium, As soon as you decide to release a deluxe edition, an archival reissue, then there are certain conventions and rules that come into play that you ignore at your peril. No one has written these 'rules' down, but rightly or wrongly they have been forged and shaped by audience expectations. Audiences that have bought other reissues over the years and decades. When these are blatantly disregarded, such as with Peter Gabriel's "So" deluxe which didn't include any remixes or B-sides, or Cyndi Lauper's woeful "She's So Unusual" anniversary reissue, you can see what happens. The audience reacts very negatively.

Macca's 'goal' should have been to please the audience or meet their expectations. Don't know what their expectations are? No problem, look around you and see what others are doing. Best practise and all that. The Pipes of Peace deluxe isn't far off, that's what's frustrating. I can't believe Paul's goal is to give the audience 90% of what they want but then annoy them by holding out on the last 10%. I don't believe Paul has some 'different' goal AT ALL, I just think he doesn't know what he's doing when it comes to compiling reissues.

 

There's always one

 

???

 

Great, now I want it more....

 

Anyone up for a record shopping trip to Syria?

 

Great extended mix BTW!

 

Paul, any thoughts on my suggestion earlier (not a a complaint, but an observation), that nowhere does it mention the "original mix" of Tug Of War as being remastered. Every other disc in the series so far does, yet this one doesn't. Interested in your thoughts.

 

yeah I have that Goodnight Tonight single, long version is dope.

 

The long version of "Goodnight Tonight" is not at remix. It's the actual song as it was recorded. The 7" single version is an edit of the 12" version. Paul's one-man-band demo of "Goodnight Tonight", which is available out there, is even longer than Wings' 12" version.

 

I for one hopes it puts even more presence (for lack of better term) on his wonderful vocals throughout "War".

 

This is, of course, utterly reasonable. But then, at the risk of being laughed out of the room, I'd ask: if your expectations are regularly being frustrated doesn't it suggest that, perhaps, they're being set too high, if for no other reason than you're emotional well-being?

All I'm trying to say, really, is that only ONE of the sets so far has included what anyone would reasonably say is "the complete collection" (McCartney II) and even that is a guess based on what had previously been booted. For all we know, there's an entire tape of further recordings that never made it onto that mythic "lost" double album.

And, going forward, if it's the case that EVERY set has been a disappointment, we don't need the Met Office to forecast what's likely to happen when future tracklistings come out (assuming there are any after this massive backlash ). So why keep banging your head against the wall? Why not just accept that this process isn't going to deliver what you (or I) had hoped it would, and just go with the flow, enjoy the ride, enjoy what new music we do get and hope that, somewhere down the line, the gaps will be filled in?

 

Nah, that was the full recording, not a remix. The single was an edit.

Edit: I see I was more eloquently beaten to it.