PAUL SOLO/POST BEATLES' ANTHOLOGY

Just to emphasize that my previousl Paul Anthology Post  so far is just on the 70's Decade and Disc 1 is only the first half of the 70's up and through the Band on the Run Album.  The 2nd half of the 70's will start with the Release of Venus and Mars and run through the final album in the 70's... Back to the Egg.

Just a quick thought. I think if he did Anthology project for his post Beatle career, you would not need most of the songs listed from the 70's unless you had different versions of these songs. I think for the most part Wings stuff has been covered and heard over the years. The only songs from this era I would include would be some of the B sides and unreleased songs you mentioned. I want any Anthology project  to be mostly "deep cuts", demo versions, live versions, unreleased songs or B sides.

Yankeefan2 wrote:

Just a quick thought. I think if he did Anthology project for his post Beatle career, you would not need most of the songs listed from the 70's unless you had different versions of these songs. I think for the most part Wings stuff has been covered and heard over the years. The only songs from this era I would include would be some of the B sides and unreleased songs you mentioned. I want any Anthology project  to be mostly "deep cuts", demo versions, live versions, unreleased songs or B sides.

Thanks for the imput Yankeefan.  I was trying to stay away from the "hits" in general.  As a consumer and big Paul fan, I would want a tracklist that had the "good" deep album cuts that you never hear on the radio.  On top of this criteria, I would want versions of the big hits that sound different and even better than what you hear on the radio.  "My Love" is a perfect example where I think the "live version" from Rock Show (1976) takes it from a sentimental ballad to a bluesy soul like version.  On the Wings Over America tour, Jimmy McCulloch does a great job of replicating Henry McCullough's  original Solo and Paul's soulful singing is so much better than what you always hear on the radio..  I also really love the "live" version of "1985' when Paul started to include the song on his tours in 2009.  The one I chose is from 2010 in Argentina when Paul was still singing great and Rusty Anderson does a fab guitar solo at the end.  I like the fact that they do away with the "Band on the Run" snippet you always hear on the album version.  And I always loved Paul's "live" version of "Bluebird" on the  "Rockshow " disc from the 1976 Wings Over America tour.  

"And I always loved Paul's "live" version of "Bluebird" on the  "Rockshow " disc from the 1976 Wings Over America tour."

This is one of the few BOTR songs that has not been played to death and would be welcome addition to an Anthology album.   I totally agree with you about using the live version from the WOA tour. Actually a even "deeper" cut from BOTR would be song like "No Words". 

oobu24 wrote:

You guys need to look at some bootlegs. Check out this set. MoMac Hidden Tracks. Quite a few are on youtube. I have the complete set from years ago. It is a 32 cd set. Here's an example:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNzJ62OPujc&list=PL0uRoaSkDrdtpJMBjmA_R5PUfkkYNJWlQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X6m2tzbJpnQ

This is the sort of stuff I love! I want more of it.

McCall wrote:

I would absolutely love an anthology like this. We could endlessly squabble over individual tracks here and there but the overall idea and your list are great. 

I think Paul well deserves to have an in-depth anthology too. It’s crazy to think that even without The Beatles (!), and without Wings (!), he still should be considered one of the greatest pop/rock musicians ever.

I also love the idea of dividing up the tracks by decade. That’s kind of how I group Paul’s albums in my head anyway because the phases of his career tend to fit pretty well within the decades.

As a big Paul fan I’d prefer a track list like yours because it’s much more complete than Pure McCartney. But I also get the feeling that an anthology is basically what Pure McCartney was intended to be. So although I’d love it, I don’t know how likely it is to happen anytime soon.

Great Post McCall.  Yes, you can quibble over a few tracks that didn't make the cut.  I was doing that myself when I was putting the tracklist together.  But in general, I've included most of the big hits and most publicized songs from their respective albums.  I've also included the best deeper cuts from those same albums.  And I've included the great B-sides that never got on those albums at the time.  Finally, I included the good/great unreleased songs from that time period.  Just because a song is unreleased or designated as a B-Side doesn't make it a good/great song.  I think I've picked the cream of the crop relative to B-sides and Unreleased.  And as far as the "big hits", I selected alternate/live versions of big hits "that everyone knows" that would give the compilation a new and different sound than what you would expect.  As a big fan, that is what I would want.

As far as your last point, I don't know how realistic this type of compilation/anthology would be.  In my opinion, Paul needs it.  What he currently has doesn't do justice to his music legacy imo.  I realize that the record buying landscape has changed considerably over the last few years.  But in my opiinion, there are enough music fans especially in the 50 to 70 year range who are still old school and who still buy CD's.  That is who Paul needs to reach.  The younger generations probably are not buying CD packages.  They are streaming and making their own playlists.

My final point is...When was the last time you have heard the songs below on the radio or on a playlist you hear at a store:

Every Night

junk

Too Many People

Dear Boy

Eat At Home

Tomorrow

Dear Friend

Little Lamb Dragonfly

Dingle Pigeon

Bliebird

Love in Song

Magneto and Titanium Man

Beware My Love

I'm Carrying

Don't Let It Bring You Down

Getting Closer 

Arrow Through Me

Winter Rose/Love Awake

The above songs are not "obscure" songs.  They are great tracks and most Beatle and Paul fans would love to hear them.  The problem is that they are not convenient for fans.  The publicity that this kind of compilation would receive would be strong especially if the articles highlighted all the rare tracks (the B-sides, unreleased and rare live recordings) in these packages.  My answer to McCall's final question...time is wasting and Paul needs to do it now.  Paul doesn't need fancy packaging.  Just  Cd's with about 20 songs per Disc thoughout all the Decades.

My next list will focus on the 80's.  You probably don't need 2 Discs each for these remaining Decades.  Looking forward to hitting the 80's.

I thought the 80's was supposed to be Paul's "WEAK" Decade.  I ended up with 26 songs!

Like the 70's, maybe Paul would need 2 Discs for the 80's..  There were at least 8-10 more songs I wanted to include on my list.  There were also  the  demo's from the Paul and Elvis collaborations that I didn't include plus you had the whole Cold Cuts/ Return to Pepperland songs from 1096-1087.

Maybe I'll do a 2 Disc 80's list and keep it to around 20 songs per Disc.

B J Conlee wrote:

Now onto the 80's...keep in mind the critieria for songs- No Beatles (songs Paul wrote when he was a Beatle), and no Covers.  Just songs that Paull wrote or cowrote from 1970 to the current year 2021.

*Unlike my 2 Disc 70's tracklisting Above which was generally sequential,  I'm going a little out of order here because the first 2 Unreleased tracks work potentially  so well as openers.

Paul McCartney Anthology/Compilation By DECADE

THE 80'S 

1. Squid - a 1987 Instrumental Unreleased till 2020's Flaming Pie Remaster.  Such a great "happy" instrumental to start the Disc and 1980's Decade

2. On the Wings of a Nightingale 1984 `A Paul McCartney song written for the Everly Brothers and for their comback tour.  This was Paul's original demo.

3. One of These Days - McCartney 2

4. Pipes of Peace - title cut from Pipes of Peace

5, Tug of War/Take It Away - The 1st 2 tracks on the Album "Tug of War".  I love the way George Martin segueway's these 2 tracks together as the album openers.  Just classic George Maritin Production work.

6. Somebody Who Cares - Tug of War (terrific under the radar gem

7.Wanderlust - Tug of War (One of Paul's best)

8. The Pound is Sinking - Tug of War (another great album cut)

9. Keep Under Cover - Pipes of Peace

10. Through Our Love - Pipes of Peace

11. No Values -Broad Street Album

12. Not Such a Bad Boy  -Broad Street Album

13, Stranglehold - Press to Play Album

14.. Good Times Coming/Feel the Sun - Press to Play Album 

15. Yvonne's The One - Unreleased from the Press to Play Sessions (one of Paul's best unreleasedl songs ever)

16. Footprints - Press to Play Album (one of Paul's great hidden gems)

17.Mover Over Busker - Press to Play (a great rocker)

18.Only Love Remains  - Press to Play 

19. My Brave Face - Flowers in the Dirt Album)

20.. Put It There - Flowers in the Dirt

21. Back on My Feet - B-Side to "Once Upon a Long Ago"

22. This One - Flowers in the Dirt

23. Lovliest Thing - B-Side to "Figure of 8" Single

24. Distractions - Flowers in the Dirt (another great hidden gem)

25. Figure of 8 - Flowers in the Dirt

26.  Tough on a Tightrope - Press to Play (extra track)

 

Your criteria for picking these songs (alternate versions of the big hits, the best of deep cuts and b-sides, etc) is exactly what I, as a big fan, would want from a compilation like this. Maybe you're right too that a collection like this would bring mainstream attention to these songs, I would hope so, they definitely deserve much more appreciation. Of the songs you asked about hearing  on the radio or in a store, I don't think I've heard any of them in those situations, which is a shame. I love all of them that you listed (except maybe Magneto and Titanium Man).

Your 80's list is great too. About the only changes I'd make would be to replace Move Over Busker with Summer's Day Song.

McCall wrote:

B J Conlee wrote:

Now onto the 80's...keep in mind the critieria for songs- No Beatles (songs Paul wrote when he was a Beatle), and no Covers.  Just songs that Paull wrote or cowrote from 1970 to the current year 2021.

*Unlike my 2 Disc 70's tracklisting Above which was generally sequential,  I'm going a little out of order here because the first 2 Unreleased tracks work potentially  so well as openers.

Paul McCartney Anthology/Compilation By DECADE

THE 80'S 

1. Squid - a 1987 Instrumental Unreleased till 2020's Flaming Pie Remaster.  Such a great "happy" instrumental to start the Disc and 1980's Decade

2. On the Wings of a Nightingale 1984 `A Paul McCartney song written for the Everly Brothers and for their comback tour.  This was Paul's original demo.

3. One of These Days - McCartney 2

4. Pipes of Peace - title cut from Pipes of Peace

5, Tug of War/Take It Away - The 1st 2 tracks on the Album "Tug of War".  I love the way George Martin segueway's these 2 tracks together as the album openers.  Just classic George Maritin Production work.

6. Somebody Who Cares - Tug of War (terrific under the radar gem

7.Wanderlust - Tug of War (One of Paul's best)

8. The Pound is Sinking - Tug of War (another great album cut)

9. Keep Under Cover - Pipes of Peace

10. Through Our Love - Pipes of Peace

11. No Values -Broad Street Album

12. Not Such a Bad Boy  -Broad Street Album

13, Stranglehold - Press to Play Album

14.. Good Times Coming/Feel the Sun - Press to Play Album 

15. Yvonne's The One - Unreleased from the Press to Play Sessions (one of Paul's best unreleasedl songs ever)

16. Footprints - Press to Play Album (one of Paul's great hidden gems)

17.Mover Over Busker - Press to Play (a great rocker)

18.Only Love Remains  - Press to Play 

19. My Brave Face - Flowers in the Dirt Album)

20.. Put It There - Flowers in the Dirt

21. Back on My Feet - B-Side to "Once Upon a Long Ago"

22. This One - Flowers in the Dirt

23. Lovliest Thing - B-Side to "Figure of 8" Single

24. Distractions - Flowers in the Dirt (another great hidden gem)

25. Figure of 8 - Flowers in the Dirt

26.  Tough on a Tightrope - Press to Play (extra track)

 

Your criteria for picking these songs (alternate versions of the big hits, the best of deep cuts and b-sides, etc) is exactly what I, as a big fan, would want from a compilation like this. Maybe you're right too that a collection like this would bring mainstream attention to these songs, I would hope so, they definitely deserve much more appreciation. Of the songs you asked about hearing  on the radio or in a store, I don't think I've heard any of them in those situations, which is a shame. I love all of them that you listed (except maybe Magneto and Titanium Man).

Your 80's list is great too. About the only changes I'd make would be to replace Move Over Busker with Summer's Day Song.

Thanks McCall.  Great point about "Summer's Day Song".  That's one that should be on the 80's List.  As far as "Magneto" I became a fan when Paul and Band played it on their "Wings Over America" tour.  It's a rocker that I came to love.  But as you and I both say...you can quibble over a few of these selections but we understand the overall goal.  Most of the songs I've listed for the 70's and 80's are "high quality" songs.  This is not a Compilation for "completists".  I do have my limits.  A song like "Spies Like Us" was a quasi-US "hit" but I wouldn't include it because it is a relatively "bad" song.  I'm sure a few might like it but I would never consider it a high quality song.  It was more of a novelty song written for a movie.  I think all the songs on the 70's and 80's list are hgh quality.  Thanks again for your imput.