The next Paul McCartney/MPL Music Project should be

BJ Conlee, you are proposing something I would call in a sick day over and run out and buy, day one. I cannot tell you how many times I have listened to the likes of C.A.G.E and Waterspout off unauthorized Cold Cuts etc with pure joy. Shhhh! 

If I have a made mixed CDs for friends in the past with those unreleased tracks and they were like, "where can I get this?" In addition to being amazed by Sir Paul's vocal range, bold and broad styles in one set.

I really hope along with more archive releases, MPL and co will offer box sets of B-sides, unreleased, and outtatkes.

In regards to overlapping material from previous archives, for example, A Love For You and My Carnival have different vocal attempts and mixes on Cold Cuts etc, some that are a bit different, yet equallly impressive to the deep tracks offically released on the more recent Archive editions.

About five years ago, I  once wrote to MPL that they should release a box set of these tracks and I even included a copy of the Cold Cuts cd.

Your set is well covered and then some.

Sign me up!

BJ, we have been down this road before and close to beating the subject to death. The selections you choose are great and diverse. If anybody is unaware of Paul's great solo work or a big fan, this would be wonderful purchase for them. That being said, IMO it will never happen in Paul's lifetime or ours sadly. I have said it several times and will repeat again the only way this type of  compilation will occur is long after Paul is gone and his estate wants to make some money from his songs.

Yankeefan2 wrote:

BJ, we have been down this road before and close to beating the subject to death. The selections you choose are great and diverse. If anybody is unaware of Paul's great solo work or a big fan, this would be wonderful purchase for them. That being said, IMO it will never happen in Paul's lifetime or ours sadly. I have said it several times and will repeat again the only way this type of  compilation will occur is long after Paul is gone and his estate wants to make some money from his songs.

It's sad to think about, but I think this kind of thing will happen soon after Paul is gone. I think there will also be a "mythologizing" of Paul at that time (like what happened after John Lennon died) where it will suddenly become cool to like Paul, and the general public will appreciate his solo music more. 

BJ Conlee, it's a great list! I wish they would release something like this. When I read the title of your thread, my first thought was "hopefully a new album" 😆 

Yankeefan2 wrote:

BJ, we have been down this road before and close to beating the subject to death. The selections you choose are great and diverse. If anybody is unaware of Paul's great solo work or a big fan, this would be wonderful purchase for them. That being said, IMO it will never happen in Paul's lifetime or ours sadly. I have said it several times and will repeat again the only way this type of  compilation will occur is long after Paul is gone and his estate wants to make some money from his songs.

You're right!  But there were 2 things that motivated me to bring this topic back:

1) I wanted to "clean up" my original lists.  I wanted to make sure that all of these songs weren't on any of Paul's Original Solo or Wings' albums.

2) I was motivated by some of the receant posts here (including one of yours) where fans were lamenting over the fact that Paul's Solo and Post Beatles' songs/Catalog as a whole were severely underrated or diminshed.  Coupled with that thought, several posters here wished that Paul had played more of his Solo material at his many "live" tours.  

For these reasons, I wanted to highlight just how many Paul songs that never even made it on his "original" Solo or Wings' Albums.  This specific project I'm recommending wouldn't just "repeat" the many good to great songs that Paul has already released on his original albums.  If you look closely at my "tracklist" almost every Beatle or Paul fan would want to buy this CD because it contains many songs that they don't already own or at least have in one convenient place.

Thanks for liking my tracklist.  

PS I read your latest PM.

B J Conlee wrote:

NJR wrote:

Yankeefan2 wrote:

BJ, we have been down this road before and close to beating the subject to death. The selections you choose are great and diverse. If anybody is unaware of Paul's great solo work or a big fan, this would be wonderful purchase for them. That being said, IMO it will never happen in Paul's lifetime or ours sadly. I have said it several times and will repeat again the only way this type of  compilation will occur is long after Paul is gone and his estate wants to make some money from his songs.

What he said. (dead horse beaten) 

Thanks for at least reading my post.  As a Paul and Beatles' fan, you know more about Paul than practically anybody I know  (his early girlfriends, all the articles/pictures of Paul and the Beatles etc. etc.).  But if you look at my list seriously, I would bet that you don't know (or only vaguely know) more than half of the songs on this tracklist.  This is why a package like this needs to be released.  If for no other reason, just to highlight how many good to great Paul McCartney songs are generally "unknown" to casual Beatle and/or Paul fans.

There are only about 10 songs on your first list I am not familiar with. And 5 on your 2nd list. Sorry, just the pessimist in me coming out. Plus I don't know how you find the time to make all your lists! To each their own! ✌️❤️

NJR wrote:

B J Conlee wrote:

NJR wrote:

Yankeefan2 wrote:

BJ, we have been down this road before and close to beating the subject to death. The selections you choose are great and diverse. If anybody is unaware of Paul's great solo work or a big fan, this would be wonderful purchase for them. That being said, IMO it will never happen in Paul's lifetime or ours sadly. I have said it several times and will repeat again the only way this type of  compilation will occur is long after Paul is gone and his estate wants to make some money from his songs.

What he said. (dead horse beaten) 

Thanks for at least reading my post.  As a Paul and Beatles' fan, you know more about Paul than practically anybody I know  (his early girlfriends, all the articles/pictures of Paul and the Beatles etc. etc.).  But if you look at my list seriously, I would bet that you don't know (or only vaguely know) more than half of the songs on this tracklist.  This is why a package like this needs to be released.  If for no other reason, just to highlight how many good to great Paul McCartney songs are generally "unknown" to casual Beatle and/or Paul fans.

There are only about 10 songs on your first list I am not familiar with. And 5 on your 2nd list. Sorry, just the pessimist in me coming out. Plus I don't know how you find the time to make all your lists! To each their own! ✌️❤️

Hey Nancy.  I wanted to emphasize that it was a complement I was saying about your tremendous knowledge about Paul.  It was one of the reasons I added "or only vaguely know" to my post above.  I would bet that many more of these songs you only "vaguely know".

Like you I have this crazy Paul McCartney "obsession" always in my head.  If I was on some kind of TV game show where they asked me what is the one thing that people don't know about me, I would probably say that I'm a huge, huge Paul McCartney fan.  I really can't explain it but It's not a "fan boy" kind crush but a real love of his music in general.  My wife right now is visiting her Daughter in Chicago for a few days so I had a little time to write this Post and my replys.  Thankfully my wife understands this type of thing (she calls Maccaboard "my Paul blog" that I have to read on a steady basis) and she is patient.  She loves movies and would be great on Jeopardy with questions involving movies and actors.  Everybody has their "own" thing I guess.  Can't wait to see the setlist on Thursday night in Spokane.  There I go again...my constant Paul McCartney obsession!

I do like this idea, but I think to keep it affordable enough to encourage "oh what the hell, let's give this a try" buyers, I think you need to boil it down to one CD's worth of material. Yeah, that leaves a lot of good stuff on the cutting room floor, but the idea is to get people to take the plunge who have no idea this material exists. The only possible change I would make would be to include 2 or 3 fairly obscure album tracks that weren't singles and aren't well known, like Wanderlust. And I think I'd drop Girls' School, which was promoted as a single in the U.S. and tanked (I think it and Mull were officially called a double A side, but radio only played Girls' School and I suspect that was intentional on Capitol's part).

NJR wrote:

B J Conlee wrote:

NJR wrote:

B J Conlee wrote:

NJR wrote:

Yankeefan2 wrote:

BJ, we have been down this road before and close to beating the subject to death. The selections you choose are great and diverse. If anybody is unaware of Paul's great solo work or a big fan, this would be wonderful purchase for them. That being said, IMO it will never happen in Paul's lifetime or ours sadly. I have said it several times and will repeat again the only way this type of  compilation will occur is long after Paul is gone and his estate wants to make some money from his songs.

What he said. (dead horse beaten) 

Thanks for at least reading my post.  As a Paul and Beatles' fan, you know more about Paul than practically anybody I know  (his early girlfriends, all the articles/pictures of Paul and the Beatles etc. etc.).  But if you look at my list seriously, I would bet that you don't know (or only vaguely know) more than half of the songs on this tracklist.  This is why a package like this needs to be released.  If for no other reason, just to highlight how many good to great Paul McCartney songs are generally "unknown" to casual Beatle and/or Paul fans.

There are only about 10 songs on your first list I am not familiar with. And 5 on your 2nd list. Sorry, just the pessimist in me coming out. Plus I don't know how you find the time to make all your lists! To each their own! ✌️❤️

Hey Nancy.  I wanted to emphasize that it was a complement I was saying about your tremendous knowledge about Paul.  It was one of the reasons I added "or only vaguely know" to my post above.  I would bet that many more of these songs you only "vaguely know".

Like you I have this crazy Paul McCartney "obsession" always in my head.  If I was on some kind of TV game show where they asked me what is the one thing that people don't know about me, I would probably say that I'm a huge, huge Paul McCartney fan.  I really can't explain it but It's not a "fan boy" kind crush but a real love of his music in general.  My wife right now is visiting her Daughter in Chicago for a few days so I had a little time to write this Post and my replys.  Thankfully my wife understands this type of thing (she calls Maccaboard "my Paul blog" that I have to read on a steady basis) and she is patient.  She loves movies and would be great on Jeopardy with questions involving movies and actors.  Everybody has their "own" thing I guess.  Can't wait to see the setlist on Thursday night in Spokane.  There I go again...my constant Paul McCartney obsession!

B J, I know it was a compliment and I appreciate it. Sorry, I'm still not feeling well - long long story but I've had bronchitis since Apr. 5th and have other heart/lung problems I have to have looked at, so my mood is not always the best. by next month will have had all the tests and be able to update you more. At least the good news is my EKG and pulmonary function tests were normal. 

Glad your wife is a patient woman! 😂

Sorry you're not feeling well.  Personally, I don't know what it is but I have had more "allergy" problems this year than I can remember.  As first I thought it was a cold but now I'm convinced it is allergies.  Florida is known for that but this year has been the worst.  I'm sure you'll be feeling much better soon.  Look at your Mother and how heathy she is for her age.  

Well we'll know soon about Paul and Band's new Setlist.  That alone may put us all in a better mood particularly if he gives us a bunch of surprises.  Are you trying to attend any of the concerts?

Bogey Wobble wrote:

BJ Conlee,

Yes, my forum handle is McCartney II related indeed.  When I was initially listening to the McCartney II archive edition, I said WTF is this? I was amused by the track and its title, but Bogey Wobble fits well in the distinct and cohesive offering known as McCartney II.

Also, I was channeling my inner BJ Conlee in the "Rehearsals" thread. Check it.  A lot of strong and fairly recent solo work that could really shine the spotlight on the underrated tunes and yet appease the crowd as well. Sir Paul could possibly change up some of the arrangements to suit his voice. This would be the time to take chances with his selections?

While Sir Paul is quite a busy dude, I hope he gets back into the studio soon.  I'm sure he's working on many projects, in addition to supervising upcoming archive editions. 

Previously, in the You Gave Me The Answer Newsletter, Sir Paul mentioned the possibility of releasing a collection of soundcheck perfomances. That would be new and much appreciated.

I do not think BJ Conlee's concept is a dead horse nor long shot at all. Let's not forget, in one of the You Gave Me The Answer posts, was it not Sir Paul that came up with the Cold Cuts and Not So Hot Hits collection that was shelved at the time by the powers at be? That project should be revisited and expanded and yet it would not really compete with future archive releases. Having the material curated, supervised along with insight by Sir Paul would be best.

A frequent poster here wrote that they have not heard roughly fifteen of BJ Conlee's listed tracks. There were several tracks I am not well versed in as well.

I feel strongly that a thematic box set of rare, altnerate takes, and unreleased would be appreciated. And perhaps a real solid one to two discs that highlights the set for the proletariat as well. 

In addition to a rarities set, maybe some vintage concerts? How about those vocals circa 1979 for example? Shows from the early 1970s?  

I was thinking back when Bob Dylan first released his official Bootleg Series vol.1-3 the critics were simply raving, giving it the max five out of five stars. The material on that collection was legendary and with varied audio fidelity circulating in even lower quality for years. Since that set was released, there are now sixteen Bootleg Series volumes and counting.

The demand is there. Though Bob Dylan plays a very different game. Bob has plenty of outtakes that at times end up being better than the official release. He's infamous for abandoning songs, editing lyrics, changing from first to third person if not re-writing the lyrics entirely. He'll re-record it with different arrangements, new musicians, and completely different production. He'll do one to two takes maximum - Lightnin' Hopkins like approach, or he'll re-work some material over the course of two albums, like from the great, Oh, Mercy. Notably, Born In Time that was re-recorded with different everything and lost all its magic an album later. To boot, Bob often changes up his concert sets from night to night. ( I know...)

I have a feeling that Sir Paul is a perfectionist. Out of his many gifts, his great sense of melody is one of his strongest points. Over the last fifty+ years, I'm sure there is a wealth of underrated and fresh material in the vaults. Whether it's a different approach, composition, far-out vocals, or his great bass playing that is the draw. 

One of BJ Conlee's selections, the most excellent The Lovers That Never Were demo with Elvis Costello is a prime example. The official album version is good, but it never struck me. When the archive edition finally released this early demo in fairly high and very acceptable quality, I was blown away. Sir Paul's vocals showing raw emotion, with such versatility is really incredible and unique. I feel like I have just been through something. This is what I'm talkin' about!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hT4uio4c7rE

 

I do not think it would be a money grab at all. Rather, a much anticipated and well deserved option for so many fans.

 

Thanks for all your imput Bogey Wobble and you have given me a lot of encouragement that this isn't just a crazy idea and would never make the light of day.

I'm glad you mention "The Lovers That Never Were" on Paul and Elvis original demos.  I love that track and as you say, Paul's vocals.  It is so much better in my opinion than the same track on Off the Ground.  Have you heard the "live" version of "Mistress and Maid" where Paul and Elvis made a special appearance and sang it together.  I forget the name of the event but it is on Youtube.

I'll check out your posts in the "Reheasals" Thread.  Like me, I'm sure your excited about the Spokane Show which is now only 2 days away.  I hope we see a bunch of surprises and that Paul's vocals are better from the longer rest he has had. On top of doing several songs from Mccartney 3, I hope he does a few more from Egypt Station.  I didn't think he picked out the best songs from ES on his last tour.  Would love him to do; "I Don't Know", "Dominoes", "Do It Now" and "Happy With You".  They are all great songs!

I figured your Maccaboard handle was from McCartney 2.  That was a CD that the Archive Edition helped me to get into.

Your idea of a DVD or two of Paul's classic concerts is a great one.  I already have the Red Square and Put It There DVDs but I would love to have the Up Close and Personal MTV DVD (with his Hamish and Robbie etc Band) as well as the Cavern Club Perforance in 1999 with David Gilmous and the rest of his Run Devil Run Band.  His vocals on both of these shows that I have seen on Youtube were fantastic and some of his best ever.  We can only hope that DVD's like these will eventually be released.

Talk later.