Interesting that Wingspan used the CD cover with the logo on top, and now we're back to this one. One of the suggestions for the album's failure that I've read is that the cover does not feature Paul prominently enough to be noticed quickly on the shelf; Red Rose Speedway definitely changed that! According to what I've read, it was Paul's decision to cut it down to one because he felt he could focus on less tracks better. Interestingly, it would be the last time he ever worked on a double LP beyond a live album.
From what I've been told by someone who works music retail, three things have been clearly noticed: CD sales are now surpassed by vinyl as vinyl is deemed a more authentic experience, Physical sales continue to drop as buyers get younger and there's more willingness to download, and Higher priced boxed sets sell best at Christmas. The Beatles 50 is locked in the release date by the original — and perfect for Christmas. Imagine and now these releases may get some ancillary connection to The Beatles 50 and lure in some sales, though they will really appeal to the existing fan who wants the material and would pay for them anyway… though now others can buy it for their "fathers." (The term "dad rock" is used too many times.) McCartney timed Egypt Station around this all, so he can promote multiple items when the press comes instead of sticking to one item and then not controlling the narrative. Lucky! For me: Canadian retail is $550 and, after 13% tax, in the neighbourhood of $625. Many of the same people who will pay for this one. Keep in mind that there's a strong desire amongst fans for unreleased material that has been desired for so long and in such quantity. MPL has slowly lifted the price on these sets (and the content value) and likely got close enough sales to keep pushing it upwards. Though the sets would likely be different… Broadstreet CD 1: remastered CD Broadstreet CD 2: vinyl version Broadstreet CD 3: bonus audio, including single remixes, "Lindiana," "We All Stand Together" single, and a few rarities Broadstreet DVD1: the making of the movie Broadstreet DVD2: remastered film with Rupert & The Frog Song intro Broadstreet BR: same as DVD2 in 5.1 & 7.1 Press To Play CD 1: remastered CD Press To Play CD 2: alternate version of the album produced by Phil Ramone Press To Play CD 3: "Spies Like Us," "Yvonne," "Once Upon A Long Ago" plus some recording session outtakes Press To Play CD 4: remixes that appeared on 12" singles Press To Play DVD 1: The Paul McCartney Special Press To Play DVD 2: Once Upon A Video, live appearances 1984-1987 bonus CD: Return To Pepperland (the lost album)
McCartney II didn't start out as a double LP as Red Rose Speedway, it just happened to have enough material that he put it together as one. But I'd accept that as another exception to the rule.
I believe the musical content missing from the 2-disc set includes the rough mixes of several songs, and the studio versions of The Mess and 1882. Since the double-album uses live versions of those last two, you should still be able to compile it from what's included.
I thought it was something along those lines--thanks, Ivan!! It would be nice, I guess, to hear the "double album" as a piece, but, for me, the 2 disc option looks like a perfect fit at a perfect price.
The price for the big box was daunting, but I just ordered it fast and didn't think much about it. Like ripping off a band aid. The content leads me to believe that MPL has been listening. All the singles and b-sides included, no downloads, live content from the era. I get people's various economic situations. I retired and had some discretionary money but nowhere near what I had when working. So, I went back to work when a great opportunity came along. I'm glad that I did because I've bought a lot of music this year that probably would have been out of reach. My 2 cents. YMMV.
??? I guess it really is legal up there. In the US in 2017, vinyl sales were 14% of physical album sales. That means ~85% were CDs. Are things that different in Canada? Physical media was 17% of total sales revenue in 2017 with streaming being 65% and downloads at 15%. 14% of 17% isn't exactly setting the world on fire.
I don't like how I never received an email after ordering the uber box. That probably means they won't email me when it ships.
With the quality of vinyl pressings these days? The braille is probably pressed right on the surface of the record.
The announcement of the first archive reissues since Paul's move back to Capitol, and the fact that they look likely to be wonderful releases, has made me go back and review the previous releases (focusing on the Deluxe Editions). Band On The Run With all of the releases so far, I have very much enjoyed the improved remastered sound; the team in charge have done a wonderful job, and I feel that the reissues are in very safe hands for future releases. That was true from this first release as far as I am concerned; it was great to hear 'Band On The Run' sounding so clear and fresh, it just hammered home what a classic album this still is. The packaging was all very well designed from the start, and the bonus footage of Paul and the others on the African island and shooting the cover was all welcomed, as are the promo and music videos, the downside being that it wasn't as high quality as I would have hoped visually; work should have been done to improve it. Like in all of these reissues, the book is a good reason alone to get this reissue as opposed to the previous anniversary remaster, and between them the books often help improve the understanding and enjoyment I have of these releases. With the original demo tapes stolen in Lagos, I understand that bonus content was always going to be fairly limited, and I get that Paul is trying to have the focus on the studio albums mainly with these releases, so I am not too disappointed with the bonus tracks, although I don't agree that splitting up the 'One Hand Clapping' material made sense; it should all have been released together on this release in my opinion, and probably would have been had Paul been working with the team at Capitol who have helped put the new 'Wild Life' and 'Red Rose Speedway' releases together, back in 2010. It would have made sense to place it all here because of the fact that other bonus material options didn't really exist, apart from my next point. If I am being picky, releasing earlier studio takes or rough mixes, as seen on the new 'Imagine' release and the two December 7th Wings releases, would have helped make up for the relative lack of bonus material and fleshed out these discs. Still, none of this stops me from greatly enjoying this remaster, and it kicked things off well for the archive series. The 'One Hand Clapping' decision is my only real criticism here. McCartney As with the 'BOTR' reissue, the sound is superb, and the album is a joy to listen to, even a couple of the songs that I had previously not had much interest in (I'm looking at you 'Kreen Akrore') and I definitely rate the album from start to finish more now that I can hear it in such high quality. Regarding the video content, Paul's album story is worthwhile, and I enjoy the animations very much, they were a good creative decision. The Beach footage also helps capture the mood of the album and the time at which it was made. After that, the random live footage from Kampuchea and Unplugged doesn't really add anything for me, but I can see why they decided to include it seeing as they didn't have many options available. Not great, but understandable. Like always, the book is very enjoyable and helps shine a light on what it was like for Paul at a troubling time for him, just as the Beatles were disintegrating around him. Finally, getting to the bonus material; as with 'BOTR' and the DVD for this release, it is not great, but for fairly understandable reasons. It doesn't seem like much could have been included here from what we know about, and thus it made sense to include 'Suicide' and 'Women Kind' despite their lack of quality as songs. The only tracks that I was disappointed to see missing specifically were the Chris Thomas mix of 'Every Night', Cavendish Parade and the alternative vocal take of 'Maybe I'm Amazed' that apparently exists. I understand the reasoning behind why the 'One Hand Clapping' performance of 'Amazed' was included, but I still feel that the entirety of that project should have been a bonus with one release, either 'BOTR' or this, and I don't like how it was broken up over several reissues, and the same goes to the 1979 Kampuchea tracks too. I personally would have preferred the alternative vocal if it is sitting in the vaults. The decision to release Rough Mixes of 'Wild Life' on the upcoming reissue should have been taken here to flesh it out as well (something that would have also helped with the 'BOTR' reissue). It seems to be a quirk of the time that not much was left in the vaults from this era, and that is something that Paul couldn't do much about, but releasing alternative studio versions and vocals and rough or stripped mixes should have been considered to help make this release more substantial. As it is, I enjoy the remaster, and some of the footage, but it feels like a slight missed opportunity, especially compared to the album released alongside it in 2011. McCartney 2 This release blew me away at the time, and still does. For years it was the unchallenged reigning champion amongst the reissues for me, because it included so much wonderful bonus content, and yet it was all framed in such a way that it led to a greater appreciation of the studio album itself (I have seen many new fans of the album on this forum as a result of this reissue). The remaster is fantastic; the album has never sounded better, the cold synths really shining through here. Yet again the book is wonderful and a very good read. I was not as impressed with the DVD material as with the the rest of this release, simply because Paul didn't record a new album story for 'McCartney 2' as he did with 'McCartney', but that is only a minor issue, and the 'Tim Rice' interview is fairly interesting to watch and a worthwhile inclusion to see what Paul had to say at the time about this release, as well as for Rice's interesting comments about Paul's post Beatles lyrics. The rest of the material included covers pretty much everything that could be expected, and I am very fond of the wonderful new 'Blue Sway' video. As for the bonus material, what can be said? Paul didn't release literally every single mix and alternative version possible, but that isn't the point of these reissues, and what he did choose to release really adds depth to this release, especially because it allows us to create our own double album fantasy versions, and because many of the longer edits are interesting companions to the studio versions. Not all of the bonus songs are high quality, but together they paint a picture of what the sessions were like, and in any case, no two McCartney fans can ever agree entirely on what is a great song and what is drivel. This was the release that really helped show the impact these issues could have when it came to re-evaluations of the studio albums and of the sessions they were from. The next release is another case in point in that regard. Ram Out of all of these reissues, 'Ram' is the album that has benefitted the most critically, even more so than 'McCartney 2'. Amongst solo McCartney fans, a 'Ram Army' had for decades already helped raise the estimation of this album with those who had only read the initially scathing reviews that it infamously received from some large publications, but this reissue helped see the album have a victory lap of sorts, with many publications praising the album as a precursor to 'Indie Rock', and with the likes of Pitchfork giving it a glowing extremely positive review. As with the other albums, the sound is fantastic, and I went from someone who loved most of 'Ram' to someone who loved every part of it thanks to this release; the beautiful sound through the headphones shone a light on how amazing 'Long Haired Lady' is. Yet again, the book is fantastic, and I enjoy the quirky 'book within a book' package, including the sheep flip book which is in keeping with the feel of the album and Paul's love of animals. As with the 'McCartney' DVD, the DVD here does seem rather skimpy, but it isn't a major issue. The only thing that would have made sense to me would have been for new videos to be made for some of the songs or bonus content (as happened with 'Blue Sway' on the 'McCartney 2' reissue) or for the 'making of the album' part to have been longer and more substantial, maybe by including some of the many fans of the album discussing it (such as James Murphy from LCD Soundsystem). The bonus tracks that we have available on the deluxe are generous; the entire album in Mono, the entire 'Thrillington' release, both sides of the 'Another Day' single and some previously unreleased tracks, including the scorching 'Rode All Night'. I do question why 'Little Woman Love' was included here (especially as it is now also on the 'RRS' release), and 'Hey Diddle (Dixon Van Winkle Mix)' also would have made more sense to me on the 'Wild Life' reissue', but ultimately these are minor issues, and the important thing is that they have been remastered and released. I am also of the opinion that the website download material should have been included in the deluxe edition at least. Finally, it is a shame that the 'Sunshine Sometime' with vocals wasn't included, and that the original 'A Love For You' isn't here. My only real disappointment comes from the rumour that 30 demos of these songs exist; if that is true, they would have been a great addition to some form of even more extensive reissue, and I get the feeling that had Paul already have been back with Capitol we would have had these released (in a similar way to how the Kinfauns demos are being released on the WA Anniversary box). I personally believe that these demos would have added a greater understanding of the album sessions and material than the Mono release and Thrillington, despite my enjoyment of both of those bonus discs. As it is, I rate this release very near the top of the reissues so far; had the supposed demos been included, it would be at no.1. Wings Over America This was a pleasant surprise for me, not one that I expected to come along after 'Ram', but I am very pleased that it did, because it is an amazing live document of the 'Wings' era, and it deserved to be remastered. The sound is yet again fantastic, and as a result I have never listened to this album more than I have since it was reissued; Wings were a fantastic live band in 1976! I love the box and all of the packaging inside, a wonderfully designed set, and I think that all four books were great additions and help make it worth the cost. I am pleased at the inclusion of the 'Wings Over The World' documentary, but feel that regarding the bonus discs, more could have been done. Yet again, the decision to cut up the 'Cow Palace' show doesn't make sense to me; the entire concert should have been included here, even if it was later released as a standalone release (in the same way that the upcoming bundle is including an extra live CD). I also believe that many of the bootlegged tour rehearsals would have made a nice bonus disc and if not here, then where ? So, to recap, I could not be more pleased with the packaging and book content, but I feel that the audio content could have been more generous, especially regarding 'Cow Palace'. A side not about 'Rockshow', also released in 2013; I thought that it was wonderful to watch, but that the remix was shockingly bad when it came to lowering the famous Wings harmonies in the mix. I am currently hoping that someone can sink up the fantastic remastered footage with the original mix; this has been the biggest mistake of all of these releases for me. Venus And Mars I understand that many fans of this album were hoping for a remix as well as a remaster, but I personally never expected that to happen, even though I understand why it was called for, and it wasn't an issue for me like it was for some, because the 'muddy' sound (as I have heard it called) is part of the feel and character of the album to me. As a result, I heard the remaster and was very pleased with it, I personally see it as yet another great job done by the team, and I think that it sounds far superior to the previous CD release, with much more muscle to tracks like 'Letting Go' and clarity of detail to the ballads like 'Treat Her Gently/Lonely Old People' and 'Love In Song'. The album has never sounded better in my mind. The design of the release was very good yet again, a beautiful package. I enjoy the book, the lyric scroll facsimile, the deck pass, etc. My only complaint is that with 'Speed Of Sound', released at the same time, the book saw Paul going through each track one by one, whereas with this book he didn't, so we don't get comments about how he gave songs to John Christie and Peggy Lee. As for the DVD, I feel that 'Wings At Elstree' is interesting, but that far more of the footage should have been released. Regarding bonus content, I was mainly pleased at what was included, but also confused that yet again, some of the content had to be downloaded from the website (a problem that would become bigger on another reissue), especially considering that the downloaded material was interesting and deserved to be heard (especially 'Love My Baby', although that should have been released with the rest of 'One Hand Clapping' as a bonus disc on 'BOTR'). I was also disappointed that some of the quality material 'out there' such as 'Love In Song - Take One', wasn't included here. Had it been, this set could have rivalled 'McCartney 2' for bonus content, because what we did get was often very interesting (4th Of July demo, etc). Also, a few single mixes were missing, which seemed a bit cheap to me (Venus and Mars/Rockshow - Single Edit, Listen To What The Man Said - Single Edit, etc), and you shouldn't have to go to the DVD feature to listen to the 1975 mix of 'My Carnival', which should also have been on the bonus disc. So in summary, even though some decisions didn't fully make sense to me, and certain mixes and unreleased tracks were missing, the beautiful design, the wonderful sound and the bonus content that we did get all made it a very decent release. At The Speed Of Sound This album always sounded good, but as a result of the remaster it somehow sounded even better! I even found that I wasn't skipping 'Wino Junko' and 'Cook Of The House' anymore, and I felt that the better sound quality helped to show that this album is much more solid than it was often described as being beforehand, with a core of strong songs recorded beautifully. I listen to both 'Venus And Mars' and 'Speed Of Sound' as whole albums from start to finish far more often thanks to these reissues, and found them to both have more substance than I previously thought. Both albums really benefitted from the remasters, and I can remember how pleased most members were on the thread for these reissues once they had heard them. For the first time, I wasn't especially impressed with the entirety of the book; Paul didn't seem very interested in the new interview with Barry Miles, and misremembered writing 'Let 'Em In' with Ringo in mind (something that he had confirmed in 1976 according to Backseat, and in the book itself, the lyrics of 'Let 'Em In' are shown alongside the lyrics for 'Pure Gold'). Both 'Wings In Venice' and 'Wings Over Wembley' were interesting, but I felt that they could have been a lot more substantive and used in a more creative way, and that live footage from both Wembley and Venice should have been used to fill out the DVD. As it is, it does feel very slight. Many of my comments about 'Venus And Mars' also apply here regarding design and packaging; it is a wonderful item to look at. As for the bonus content, what we do have is very interesting, the sort of demos and alternative versions that I had hoped would appear on some of the other reissues, but the problem is that there aren't many of them, and if anything should have been a download only track, it is 'Message To Joe'. Even just another 3 or 4 alternative studio takes would have helped even the bonus content out between this and the more generous 'V&M' release. Tug Of War The release of this album and 'Pipes Of Peace' at the same time, reminded me very much of how the two previous reissues had been handled ('V&M' and 'Speed Of Sound'), but of course in this case, 'Tug Of War' was also remixed. I personally find the remix enjoyable and listen to it often, although it isn't entirely perfect, but I am very pleased at the decision to also include the original mix of the album, which despite not being remastered, still sounds fantastic, and not at all out of place with the high quality remasters in the reissue series. It is interesting to compare both the original mix and the remaster, and I feel that the team did a clever job of making it different enough to be worthwhile, but also treading a careful line so that it wouldn't sound too different to what fans were used to. If it is true that the master tapes are missing or damaged, then this was the best outcome we could really hope for. This was yet another lovely design and package. The book was yet again very well done, and also following a similar pattern, the DVD release seemed slight because there was no 'making of the album' feature at all, which seemed a shame to me. One thing that disappointed me was that the story of how Paul, Linda and Denny asked George Harrison to record a guitar part for 'Wanderlust' came about was never delved into in the book, and it was also never cleared up why they couldn't have gone back to George's studio another day to record the part, having been too busy recording vocals for George's 'All Those Years Ago' during the first sessions (which turned out to be only sessions). It would have been good to know if Paul had ever asked George to work on his solo music before or after that time. As for bonus content, I was happy to receive what was released, but was also disappointed to see the early track listing in the book mention 'Old Man Loving', but for it not to be included on the reissue. I did very much enjoy the demos of 'Wanderlust' and especially 'Ebony and Ivory', which becomes an almost 'McCartney 2' style track in demo form. Overall, I greatly enjoyed this reissue, and my only complaints are minor ones. Pipes Of Peace The remaster here is yet again absolutely superb, I now rate this as one of the best recorded McCartney albums, up there with 'Wild Life' and 'Speed Of Sound'. I find Martin's production decision's too cloying often on this album and I am not a fan of all of the lyrics, but the songs do now sound wonderful. Between this and 'Tug Of War', the reissues really stayed at a level above the reissues for 'BOTR' and 'McCartney' when it comes to content, keeping up the good work done with 'V&M' and 'Speed of Sound'. Both of those pairings successfully allowed albums widely seen as lesser to piggyback off of their more successful brother albums. The book is very well done (as always), but I feel that the DVD again lacked substance, especially in the form of a 'making of the album' segment. Seeing as 'Blue Sway' received such a creative video, I do feel that Paul missed out on a potential hit had he commissioned a similarly creative new video for 'The Man', one that highlighted him and Michael Jackson. The video for the song that was released is nice to have, but it doesn't really come across as a music video as such. Regarding bonus content, I was very happy to receive what was released, but was disappointed to not see the original 'Say Say Say' demo, and 'Blackpool', which could then have been released as a single in support of the album as the B-Side to 'The Man', mirroring plans that were cancelled in the 80's. I also think the decision to leave out the single 12'' of 'Say Say Say' was a needless mistake. Tracks like 'Simple As That' and 'It's Not On' were wonderful surprises, and make me even more disappointed that songs like 'Old Man Loving' were not included on other reissues, because I have gone back to this bonus disc many times thanks to these songs. I also believe that the demos of the songs released on the studio album included here reveal how much better the album could have been with different production, and if they exist, I am saddened to not see demos for songs like the title song and 'Through Our Love'. Having said all that, I love this bonus disc and listen to it more than the album; the demo of 'Sweetest Little Show' is definitive for me, and I also find that I can enjoy 'Average Person' in demo form. Flowers In The Dirt This reissue is one of the most confusing of all, because with the amount of content included on the deluxe edition, it should have been seen as a major success, but a needlessly cheap decision to make fans download a key part of the release really soured the entire release for many, which is a massive shame, because on the whole, the release may be the best so far. First of all, the remaster sounds truly beautiful; along with 'Venus and Mars', this album has benefitted the most from the remasters so far in my opinion. Although it of course still sounds very late 80's, it now sounds more balanced because of the extra production details shining through. The packaging is my favourite of the series so far (apart from the 'Wild Life', 'Red Rose Speedway' and 'Wings Over Europe' bundle box), and the book is excellent (although would have benefitted from the wonderful interviews with the producers of the album that were published by SDE). I also very much enjoyed the notebook, the catalogue for Linda's exhibition and even the book about the making of the 'This One' video; you can tell that it all means a lot to Paul, especially showing off Linda's wonderful photography work. As Mazzy often says, these releases are for the music, but also for the art work, and this release definitely lived up to that. The DVD content was much more satisfactory on this release, mainly due to the 'Put It There' documentary being included, although a new 'making of the album' release would have been very interesting, especially to hear Paul speak in more detail now about the entire collaboration with Costello. I would also have liked to see a good hour or more of the footage of Paul recording with Costello working on the tracks, a sort of 'Let It Be' for the 'FITD' sessions. As for the bonus content, what can I say? After deciding to give us all of the Costello demos in one place (a great decision, not to split something up for once), and to give us all of the previously unheard and amazing 1988 studio demos, they then decide to make us have to download crucial session tracks like the wonderful 'Back On My Feet', when including one extra CD would have been so easy? Ridiculous. Thankfully it seems like Capitol and Paul have got off to a great start together and learned from these mistakes. I must also say that I was disappointed to see no demo for 'Motor Of Love' and no original 'Good Sign' (I hope that they are being saved for an eventual rarities boxset?). I was also hoping against hope that the Gabriel collaboration 'Politics of Love' may end up here; I am now hoping it will be released on the potential 'Press To Play' reissue (alongside many earlier mixes, alternative studio takes, single mixes and demos). On the whole though, once the songs were downloaded and ripped to a CD to include in the 'FITD' reissue set, I was extremely happy with the release, and wasn't sure if it could be beaten or equalled; little did I know what Paul had in store for us next! Sorry for rambling on !
Imagine my shock to hear of this a few hours ago & already be 27 pages behind !! It seems to say there is a studio version of 1882, something Denny Seiwell told me directly didn't exist. A studio band version. Was he wrong ? Or is it just piano demos ? There are several other track listings that are just as oblique. $400 ? What !
Great writing Agree with most part even though I never was upset about the download thing on Flowers So far I guess McCartney 2, Ram and Flowers are my favorites when it comes to audio presentation and Wings over America my favorite regarding books, pictures etc There has been flawed with the series and it has taken it s time but as a whole it s some remarkable packages
Let em In,Ringo in mind? Ironically, the song was lyrically And musically quoted in Ringo's 2003 song English Garden... I actually made an edit where I put Paul's voice singing it over top of Ringo
Wow! I skimmed this & it looks most excellent. I will read it more deeply for content & enjoyment this weekend, as I have all the archive editions. Thanks much for putting the work in on this! o
Nothing wrong with work. Keeps you sharp, engaged, purposeful. And you seem to be doing really good for yourself and enjoying life. I salute you, sir!
