Paul McCartney Archive Collection - 'Forthcoming Releases' [TBC]

I think a BTTE narrative is much more interesting than Speed of Sound.

"Hey, remember where we were with Venus and Mars? Well, same thing, but now Joe and Linda sing!" That may as well be the narrative. I'm serious.

 

Because the videos, books and ephemera appear to what are bogging down the reissue of these albums, and it really is a travesty when the music takes a backseat to these "trinkets", such was the case with the inexcusable, "Flowers in the Dirt" download debacle.

 

Hurry up and get released so themess can start posting again.

 

"A collection of long-forgotten rock stars" is an exaggeration. The press release can describe them as "members of Led Zeppelin, the Who, and Pink Floyd." They don't have the prestige of Michael Jackson and Stevie Wonder, but they're hardly long-forgotten.

And Rockpile is only represented (by Dave Edmunds and Billy Bremner) on the live version of Rockestra!

 

We got the music (downloads). You wanted more trinkets (CDs).

 

If I recall, the selling point was the discovery of a long-lost electronica gem. It wasn't about the hits (although Coming Up's presence surely helped), it was about telling the story of the break-up of Wings and how it lead McCartney to create an overlooked experimental/electronica masterpiece.

 

Ha! No, I'm bloody not. But that was the story, wasn't it? The book was all about the formation of Wings. So much so, that I recall wondering what on earth they'd have to say when they got round to issuing Wild Life

 

I agree, which is why I think it was issued at the same time as Venus and Mars. There was nothing much to say beyond "here's another album by the utterly wonderful Wings" so they lumped it together with Venus and Mars and hoped that the combination of the warm and cozies over the latter release and the presence of a couple of big hits would do the trick.

Problem with Egg (and the remaining Wings albums) is that they can't sit side by side on the store shelves with a more illustrious sister to soak up any reflected glory.

Seriously, I'm not arguing against a release of these albums, I'm just explaining why I can see why they still haven't been released and what I perceive some of the obstacles to be.

 

Seriously? I mean, I've put forward a whole host of potential reasons why these albums haven't been issued and all you can come back with is your own biased view that the nasty horrible things you don't want are what are denying you all this other booty?

That really does seem to be blinkered and bitter, Darrin, just because you're not getting what you want.

What's the (likely) point of the re-release programme?
1. To make money. Yep, you got it: MPL is a business.
2. To improve the perception of McCartney's solo catalogue.
3. To give McCartney a vehicle for remembering some good times and utilising the incredible archive of photos taken by Linda (I'd suggest that the unnoticed BIG winner from the whole programme has been Linda. Her archive of photos has lit up Paul's albums more than I think anyone expected).

MPL has already issued the albums that achieve these aims to the greatest degree (at least, the first two), so what's left are, by and large, a bunch of albums that didn't sell well the first time round, aren't likely to sell well the fourth time (third in America) and aren't likely to do anything to enhance McCartney's reputation.

I'd suggest that THIS is why there's a hold up not just because it costs a lot of money to make trinkets. If the trinkets were the hold-up, and McCartney was itching to get these remaining albums out, don't you think they'd just go back to the original format of the deluxe editions?

 

Yeah, I know, but I still don't think that's really much of a selling point these days. Just my view. And yes, I stand corrected over Rockpile. I was struggling to remember who the hell played. Just shows that if I don't care enough to remember correctly, then few others will either!

 

I think BTTE could sit by it's illustrious sister London Town. As I recall that album did pretty well for itself. Maybe not the heights of a Band On The Run, but it did have "With A Little Luck" which was #1 in the US & Canada and #5 UK, and most likely bonus track "Mull Of Kintyre" which was the number one selling single ever [apart from the U.S.]...
And London Town even has a narrative... "Hey, we're recording on a boat. And we're downsized to a scrappy threesome again, just like how we did Band On The Run..."

You have a point that there's not much to sell WildLife/RRS beyond, "Hey we're starting a new band". Although the argument could be made for "Hi Hi Hi"/"C Moon", "My Love" and "Live And Let Die" as the start of Wings climbing up the hit parade...

 

Actually, I think "recording in an obscure castle in England" would not be such a bad story...

 

I host of potential reasons that are all based on your own biased opinions. Big deal...so I want what I want...isn't that ultimately what all of this is about. I was not aware that it was some sort of "collective bargaining". I think you just don't like the fact that anybody would dare disagree with your opinion. Aside from the point that your "potential reasons" are based on faulty logic" stating that a "bunch of albums that didn't sell well the first time round" when "London Town" and "BTTE", which were platinum, far outsold "McCartney ll", which only went gold. But I imagine your argument for an archival release will be based on the biased, hyperbole you already stated above, because it's an "overlooked experimental/electronica masterpiece", which the vast majority would disagree with. It's great that you prefer that over the other Wings albums, but it really is blinkered and bitter, Paul, that you chastise others who might prefer these albums, and would appreciate the same archival treatment.

 

Well...that right right there should be justification enough for it never to be rereleased, or see the light of day, ever again.

 

I enjoy the series but bemoan the ridiculous price of the last one. The Flowers box cost me over $100 and what do you get? Some books, plenty of pictures, a few CDs, none of which are anywhere near maxed out in terms of length, and you have to download the last disc. No blu ray, or 5.1 mix like you get with the Wilson boxes. They didn't even give you all of the B-sides released during that era.

 

...which the vast majority of bitter old farts would disagree with. I know a lot of younger folks who rightfully consider "McCartney II" an amazing album.

 

My only distaste with the downloads was not the delivery format, but the fact that the music was not remastered. That bites.

 

Hey...I love "McCartney ll" as much as I love all previous albums, but to keep things in perspective, there is nothing amazing about "Bogey Music". I think to truly appreciate it, one must consider the expanded version, with tracks like "Blue Sway" and "Secret Friend", which are truly transcendent.

 

I think it's weird to think of McCartney archives from the point of view of mass sales. There have probably been very few releases by any artists that were multi-disc reissues/box sets that were huge sellers. And yet they still existed and at least for a while did well enough to continue doing that format.

And this isn't some obscure artist or anything. This is possibly THE single most important figure in popular music of the 20th century (or in the top tier at least).

Who cares what the masses want? Paul will give them that in concert. Who cares that even of his big fans only half of them will be interested. We are still talking about more people than would likely be interested in archive releases from almost anyone else.

But... if they really wanted to maximize their 'sales' potential and mitigate risk by grouping stuff together... they could do that right? I mean if they are so afraid they won't sell Back to the Egg release... then make it a London Town/Back to the Egg/Kampuchea release. Then do a Wild Life/Red Rose Speedway/Live 72/James Paul McCartney Special release.

There is no point in NOT releasing them ever because they don't think they can sell a zillion copies of them. They'll be able to make serious cash on them. I mean... what do they really have to do? In the grand scheme of things... the answer is not much!

 

Maybe it's just me, but I don't need a narrative to want to purchase a super deluxe of an album I love. I'd be fine with a book only filled with photos of the artist during the sessions and some original album artwork/LP labels. Hell, I'd be just fine with the music itself. I think a narrative for these albums is low on my list of what makes me want to purchase a deluxe set with unreleased bonus tracks, and I'm saying that not just for McCartney, but any artist.

Also, I feel like you've been missing around these parts for a while. It's nice to see you again. How's the baby?

 

Nobody knows "a lot of younger folks" who know what McCartney II even is.

 

...or even who McCartney is...oh wait...they might know him as that old guy in that Rihanna video.

 

As for the sales of the de luxe sets, when the first ones were released, my local record shop (a pretty large one in Oslo, Norway) had several dozens for sale. But as for the Flowers de luxe set, they had only one for sale (and I was the one who bought it).

I have all the ten de luxe editions that have been released so far, and I will happily buy alle the de luxe versions of the remaining albums that hopefully will be released in the future!

 

Exactly. Look at Elvis. How many FTD releases have there been? A lot. Look at the recent Jungle Room release. Outside of the most hardcore Elvis fans, who the hell cares? These McCartney albums are more sought after than a random Elvis vault release, of which there are many and are only appreciated by hardcore fans. Elvis and Dylan: doing what they want with their archives and pleasing the fans, mass sales be damned.

Should this even be a conversation about sales? In this streaming age, less and less people purchase music, no matter how much they love the artist. Comparing the success of these Archive releases to box sets purchased seems a bit pointless, right? Yeah, MPL is a business to make money. Got it. However, most people consume music via streaming. I have a friend who is a hipster and recently got into McCartney, and how does he listen? Well, vinyl, but also a lot of streaming. He would never buy one of these Archive deluxe sets, but he enjoys them on Spotify. Most music listeners are that way.

 

Most younger people that I know (I am thinking millennials, teens, and tweens here) do not listen to music on Spotify, Apple Music, Google Play, or Amazon Music—and forget about Tidal, not even a blip. What do they listen to music on instead? YouTube. No lie. And not the YouTube Red version, either. Just the free app.