Exactly one month ago, the Paul McCartney Archive Collection grew with the release of the remastered albums, McCartney and McCartney II with bonus audio content!
I absolutely love the booklets for McCartney and McCartney II, full of lyrics (though not including the bonus tracks) and photos of both Paul & Linda McCartney. Of all of the instrumentals on McCartney, I could listen to “Singalong” endlessly and be completely satisfied. It’s also great to hear not only the re-mastered version of “Maybe I’m Amazed” but a live 1979 recording of the hit! The live version of “Every Night” is also a pretty great listen. I haven’t had the opportunity to see McCartney live, so listening to this live version along with watching the Good Evening NYC DVD (read my review of that here) will suffice. The arrangement of the rare tracks on the second disc is perfect but doesn’t compare to the depth of the songs on McCartney II.
Jumping 10 years ahead to 1980, McCartney II is a much more upbeat and spunky or experimental collection compared to McCartney… and I like it a lot! Why do I love the music of “Temporary Secretary” so much? There are also two tracks on the bonus disc that run at just over 10 minutes long… and every minute is worth listening to. And can there be an Across the Universe 2 just so I can hear the cast sing their own version of “Waterfalls” and “One Of These Days?” Surprisingly, “Summer’s Day Song” sounded more like a “Winter’s Night Song” because I was about to fall asleep it was so soothing. And will you judge me if I play “Bogey Music” everyday for the rest of my life? By the way, “Bogey Wobble” is fire! Love it! Anyway, it is really hard to compare the two albums because they are on opposite sides of the spectrum. In the end though, both albums are great listens for their own reasons and sound even better re-mastered.
It is quite an experience going back and listening to McCartney’s solo work after listening to his work with The Beatles for so long. I only began listening to McCartney’s solo work in the past few years, so many of the songs on these two albums were new to me. There’s so much to appreciate about McCartney’s solo artistry because often times, his complexity is wrapped in such simplicity… and that could take forever to write about, so I’ll leave that for you to digest on your own time. There’s a lot to reflect on and appreciate here if you take the time to do so, so there is no doubt that McCartney and McCartney II are must haves for any McCartney fan.
Heralded as one of the most beloved solo debuts of all time, McCartney, the smash # 1 album, originally released April of 1970, yielded the timeless tracks “Every Night” and “Junk” along with the immortal classic “Maybe I’m Amazed.” McCartney II originally issued in May of 1980 was McCartney’s return to solo work after nine years touring and having released several massively successful albums with Wings. Reaching #1 in the UK, and #3 in the U.S., the album produced enduring classics such as “Coming Up,” “Waterfalls,” & “Temporary Secretary.”
McCartney is available as a 2-disc (2 CD) Special Edition featuring the original remastered album plus seven bonus audio tracks including the previously unreleased outtakes “Suicide” and “Don’t Cry Baby” plus a rare live 1979 recording of “Maybe I’m Amazed”. For collectors, the reissue is also available as a 3 disc (2 CD, 1 DVD) Deluxe Edition which includes an exclusive bonus DVD featuring rare and previously unseen footage, a 128-page hard bound book containing exclusive and unpublished photos by Paul and Linda McCartney, original album artwork, downloadable hi-res audio versions of the remastered album and bonus audio tracks, an illustrated history of the making of the album, and expanded track by track information for the two audio discs as well as detailed historical information on the film content.
TRACKLIST:
CD 1
1. The Lovely Linda
2. That Would Be Something
3. Valentine Day
4. Every Night
5. Hot As Sun / Glasses
6. Junk
7. Man We Was Lonely
8. Oo You
9. Momma Miss America
10. Teddy Boy
11 Singalong Junk
12. Maybe I’m Amazed
13. Kreen-Akrore
CD 2 – Bonus Audio
1. Suicide [Out-take]
2. Maybe I’m Amazed [From One Hand Clapping]
3. Every Night [Live At Glasgow, 1979]
4. Hot As Sun [Live At Glasgow, 1979]
5. Maybe I’m Amazed [Live At Glasgow, 1979]
6. Don’t Cry Baby [Out-take]
7. Women Kind (Demo) [Mono]
DVD – Bonus Film
1. The Album Story
2. The Beach
3. Maybe I’m Amazed Music Video
4. Suicide [from One Hand Clapping]
5. Every Night [Live at Concert for the People of Kampuchea]
6. Hot As Sun [Live at Concert for the People of Kampuchea]
7. Junk [MTV Unplugged]
8. That Would Be Something [MTV Unplugged]
McCartney II is also available as a 2-disc (2 CD) Special Edition featuring the original remastered album plus eight bonus tracks including B-Sides and alternative versions. The bonus audio CD includes the #1 hit “Coming Up (Live At Glasgow, 1979)” and holiday perennial “Wonderful Christmastime.”
TRACKLIST:
CD 1
1. Coming Up
2. Temporary Secretary
3. On The Way
4. Waterfalls
5. Nobody Knows
6. Front Parlour
7. Summer’s Day Song
8. Frozen Jap
9. Bogey Music
10. Darkroom
11 One Of These Days
CD 2 – Bonus Audio 1
1. Blue Sway [With Richard Niles Orchestration]
2. Coming Up [Live At Glasgow, 1979]
3. Check My Machine [Edit]
4. Bogey Wobble
5. Secret Friend
6. Mr H Atom / You Know I’ll Get you Baby
7. Wonderful Christmastime [Edited Version]
8. All You Horse Riders / Blue Sway
CD 3- Bonus Audio 2 (DELUXE 3 CD – 1 DVD EDITION ONLY)
Coming Up [Full Length Version]
Front Parlour [Full Length Version]
Frozen Jap [Full Length Version]
Darkroom [Full Length Version]
Check My Machine [Full Length Version]
Wonderful Christmastime [Full Length Version]
Summer’s Day Song [Original without vocals]
Waterfalls [DJ Edit]
DVD – Bonus Film
1. Meet Paul McCartney
2. Coming Up Music Video
3. Waterfalls Music Video
4. Wonderful Christmastime Music Video
5. Coming Up [Live at Concert for the People of Kampuchea]
6. Coming Up’ [taken from a rehearsal session at Lower Gate Farm, 1979]
7. Making the Coming Up Music Video
8. Blue Sway
Own McCartney and McCartney II today.