Paul McCartney Archive Collection - 'Forthcoming Releases' [2019+]

The double vinyl Red Rose Speedway Reconstructed is very enjoyable.

 

Do we have any idea what legal issues these might be? I’m guessing Rockestra?

 

No doubt much better than the original album!

Here is my definitive listening experience for the album!


Red Pepper Speedway - Paul McCartney, a playlist by Dr. Pepper on Spotify

Side One
1 Night Out - Wings
2 Get On The Right Thing - 2018 Remaster - Wings
3 Mama's Little Girl - Wings
4 I Would Only Smile - Wings
5 One More Kiss - 2018 Remaster - Wings
6 1882 - Live In Berlin/1972 - Wings

Side two
7 My Love - 2018 Remaster - Wings
8 Little Woman Love - 2018 Remaster - Wings
9 Hi, Hi, Hi - 2018 Remaster - Wings
11 Seaside Woman - Wings
12 The Mess - Live At The Hague/1972 - Wings

Side Three
13 When The Night - 2018 Remaster - Wings
14 Tragedy - Wings
15 Big Barn Bed - 2018 Remaster - Wings
16 Jazz Street - Wings
17 Single Pigeon - 2018 Remaster - Wings
18 Best Friend - Live In Antwerp/1972 - Wings

Side four
19 Live And Let Die - 2018 Remaster - Wings
20 I Lie Around - 2018 Remaster - Wings
21 Country Dreamer - 2018 Remaster - Wings
22 Medley: Hold Me Tight/Lazy Dynamite/Hands Of Love/Power Cut - 2018 Remaster - Wings
23 Mary Had A Little Lamb - 2018 Remaster - Wings
24 Little Lamb Dragonfly - 2018 Remaster - Wings
25 Thank You Darling - Wings

 

I don't think so. They are well capable of doing many other boxes and, you know... we are well capable of buying them!

 

This has been an ongoing debate since the series started in 2010 with BOTR. There really has been no official word from MPL as to how long or how many albums that the Archive Series would last. Somebody can correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't there some sort of loosely defined length ( I wanna say 10 years or 10 albums, long time ago) in the initial announcement of the series? I'm sure somebody here remembers. But I think that that thought process has changed over time with the industry success and fan support (or of course, we can say that the sets that were expanded just had more material to include). The initial sets were very thin on bonus tracks and over time, those sets have grown in size and scope. Never really realizing the hopes and dreams of their target audience but still a very nice series. Anyone that is offering a guess is offering only that....a guess.

As far as London Town and Back to the Egg, this information began in 2019 prior to Paul's birthday. Sometime in April or May (I believe) I received info from a very good source that those two sets were next and currently being worked on. On a phone call to Sirius XM (Chris Carter's show) on his birthday, Paul kind of loosely confirms this by saying that his team is currently working on the next sets. I'd say that I next heard that the sets had run into a legal snag prior to their finish in July. Then by Nov/Dec of 19', I was told that Flaming Pie would be released first now which came to fruition of July 2020. Meanwhile, things kind of went dark between the source and of course COVID arriving and now still being here. So I have not heard anything as to whether this legal problem were ever concluded or whether they actually finished the sets. Here we are, still today, and I can't say definitively that whatever the problem was has been solved.

Of course, here on the forum, we go through both extremes.....from a very minimalist view on what will be released to some who think that every album ever made will get the Deluxe treatment and of course, everywhere in between. I can tell you that my thought process is that they wanted to frame Paul's Studio albums so that fans could rediscover those albums and attract those newer fans that may never have purchased those albums. I think the Archive Series has been successful at doing that. I agree with WOA just for the fact that this is Paul at the top of his live performing as a solo artist.

So where does it go from here? Well, I'd offer that when it comes to strictly Studio albums that are completely/or nearly complete ,original written material that the 70's, 80's and 90's now can be tidied up by releasing just 4 more sets. LT/BTTE-70's, PTP-80's and OTG-90's. I would agree that GMRTBS that you can make an argument for as it is partially new, original material (but mostly covers of previously written and released Paul tunes). I rule out the Russian Album and Run Devil Run as they are mostly cover albums. Same reason ruled out GMRTBS. As far as the 90's and beyond Live sets, Classical sets and the Fireman albums....I just doubt that they will happen. Of course, nothing is impossible and it's not that I wouldn't want them if they did come out, I just think realistically that they will not happen. To get these 4 albums that I have highlighted to tidy up 3 decades of Paul's original albums, If likely gets us to 2024/2025 or beyond. At that point, Driving Rain and CACITBY will have as much time between release as Flaming Pie did when it was archived.

There are those that think that DR will never be archived due to the Heather Mills aspect of things. Of course that is purely speculation and nobody knows for sure.....But I think in Paul's mind, the 2000's albums, he does not think of as old or something to archive as of yet. Of course, strictly my opinion there and maybe once the 90's is done, maybe it ends there for awhile. But eventually, Paul's estate will be making these decisions under the guidance of MPL and the record label and who knows what they will decide. Another thing that could end it abruptly is that the physical sets are no longer produced. I'd guess they'd go digital but who knows for sure

Either way, time will tell. If any surprise is scheduled for year end, we should start hearing rumors rather quickly. But with as much product as has been pushed this year, I'd reckon that we'll have to wait until 2022.

So not to excite or deflate anyone.....this post is strictly my opinion so take it with the grain of salt that it is offered as. I look forward to other's thoughts

 

Not much to disagree with there, @maccawings. I think your assessment is on the money.

 

Those will be in 2022. We're talking Q4 of 2021 here. Keep up!

 

Only one other piece to add from a basis of fact . . .

Hasn't Laurence Juber publicly stated in some capacity that he has been contacted regarding Back To The Egg in the last couple years?

Can't begin to think where I read that on here.

I would surmise it was interviews for the archive book but he never said why he was contacted if I remember correctly.

 

Given the various musicians involved that's a strong possibility.
Personally though my money is on 'The Broadcast' and the 'Spoken excerpts: 1 "The Sport of Kings" by Ian Hay. Copyright Samuel French Ltd & 2 "The Little Man" by John Galsworthy by permission of The Society of Authors on behalf of the John Galsworthy Estate.'

I suspect that those permissions are now being denied.

 

These legal disputes really grind my gears.

If it relates to Rockestra, what's the issue? Putting myself in someone's shoes who played on the original track, what reason would I have to block it's release on an Archive set? Is it all down to money?

Assuming The Broadcast is the bone of contention, and on the basis it is (to me) the weakest song on Egg, they could find a way round it. For example, they could make it an instrumental, or narrate something else in it's place.

 

Apparently the hold up is from the John Bonham estate. John apparently was none too happy when he found out that the Rockestra session had been filmed "secretly" and hence stopped it from being shown. The same arguments are what are apparently still stopping it's release and hence the BTTE box set release. Hope they can sort it all out soon.

 

They could easily do that. When re-issuing Aerial, Kate Bush had Rolf Harris's narration on 'The Painters Link' removed and replaced by her son,Bertie's spoken words. The alteration of the original track didn't in anyway mar the album.

 

Just what I was thinking.

 

Tried googling this but can't find any reference to it. I thought the film of the recording was officially released?

 

Why are they so adamant on releasing BTTE and London Town simultaneously?
They might as well release London Town alone if there's so much trouble around BTTE.

 

I wonder if the legal snag regards the fact that “Did We Meet Somewhere Before” was sold to the movie Rock’n’Roll High School for something like only $500 for whatever reason at the time. Maybe the struggle is getting the rights back from whoever owned/owns it. Possible?

 

This is all too complicated.

Just move on to Press To Play and Off The Ground, Paul.

 

I love that song and movie. I can't imagine that this would be the legal hold up. It's possible... but I think that usually when a song is in a movie they don't sell the exclusive rights to the recording, they license the song to be in the movie. So the $500 would be for the license which sounds reasonable. If they commissioned a song for the movie then it might be different or if they had arranged for the song to appear exclusively on the soundtrack (but it wasn't on the released album anyway).

I thought maybe it might be something related to Denny Laine as "Again and Again and Again" is the only song that I know of officially released exclusively written by Denny (and there was a video for it too). But I guess the Red Rose Speedway had "I Would Only Smile" so that's probably not it.

It has to be the Rockestra stuff. I can imagine any extra stuff might be hard to get clearance on just because of the amount of people with contracts, etc. to untangle.

 

Great overview!

I'd also just like to add the "Linda factor". This series has been brilliant at highlighting Linda's contribution to Paul's story. I'd say that the lack of Linda is almost as much of a reason as the presence of Heather, for Paul maybe not doing a Driving Rain archive. It feels like while Paul is around and in charge, it might not go beyond Flaming Pie chronologically.

All opinion and no knowledge from me there!

 

With all my passionate love to this Archive Series I sincerely hope no new item comes before the end of this busy year.

 

That's a lot of apparentlys.

Paul McCartney made a joke 42 years ago about John Bonham suing him. Some fans who didn't get the joke are now applying that story to Bonham's estate. (Apparently.)

 

Not so sure that they need to be tethered together. The initial info that I got did not include a live set attached. Think it was just what they wanted but personally, wouldn’t be all that surprised if LT came out by itself if the BTTE issues are not meted out by the time they are ready

 

"They" aren't adamant about combining London Town and Egg, we (the fans) are -- based (apparently) on the fact that Paul combined Wild Life and RRS into the "Big Barn Box" a couple of years ago. It does make sense -- the first two Wings albums and the last two Wings albums, each with a bonus concert CD. Also, you combine two "lesser" albums and make them seem like something special. But I don't think this plan has ever been confirmed.

 

As is popular on this forum, once an artist releases a specific release, all future releases are seen/speculated on from that point of view/configuration.

 

Thanks for that great post. Both thoughtful and quite reasonable...

To add my 2 cents... I think by the time those "prime 4" get released and the calendar moved up to 2025, it does seem more likely that MPL will move into the 2000s, I would guess with CACITBY first, then MAF and/or DR... as you point out, those albums will be at or around 20 years old by then and as Paul points out [in 3-2-1], we tend remember the good things and forget the bad...

Yes, for the post 1999 albums there will be a lack of Linda, but Linda's children are then in adulthood and his youngest daughter was conceived/born... lots family memories can be tied in..

But as you said, it's all speculation for now...