Paul McCartney has just announced a new, solo career-spanning anthology. On June 10, Pure McCartney will arrive in 4-CD (67 tracks), 4-LP (41 tracks) and 2-CD (39 tracks) formats. This non-chronologically sequenced compilation draws on solo and Wings material from 1970's homemade McCartney through 2014's "Hope for the Future," featured on the Destiny video game. The collection, curated by the legendary artist, includes both familiar hits and lesser-known album tracks as well as material from Macca's side project The Fireman, and the 2015 remix of "Say Say Say" initially presented on a Record Store Day release.
Below, you'll find the full press release for Pure McCartney as well as the tracklisting and pre-order links!
PRESS RELEASE - Paul McCartney and his music need no introduction. Together with three of his friends, he changed the cultural landscape forever.
And Paul's accomplishments since then as a member of Wings and a solo artist make for a staggering body of work that stands proudly alongside those eight sensational years with The Beatles.
Pure McCartney, a new compilation of his solo, Wings and Fireman work, celebrates that fact, showcasing 67 highlights from one of the most-revered catalogues in music - from McCartney in 1970, his debut solo album, right through to "Hope for the Future", his 2014 track taken from Destiny, the most-anticipated video game of the last decade. Not only is Pure McCartney a monumental mixtape of some of popular music's most memorable moments from 1970 to the present day, it also features curios for the superfans and some of Paul's personal favorites--all handpicked by the man himself..
"Me and my team came up with the idea of putting together a collection of my recordings with nothing else in mind other than having something fun to listen to," Paul says of this project.
"Maybe it's to be enjoyed on a long car journey or an evening at home or at a party with friends? So we got our heads together and came up with these diverse playlists from various periods of my long and winding career."
As a songwriter Paul has never stood still, dipping his toe in countless genres and styles. Pure McCartney is testament to that fact. From the songwriting masterclass of "Maybe I'm Amazed" and adventurous, three-songs-in-one of "Band On The Run" to the irresistible groove of "Say Say Say" and ahead-of-its-time electronica of "Temporary Secretary", described by NME when compiling a list of the greatest ever songs as "not so much ahead of its time, but out of it altogether", Pure McCartney charts the unstoppable adventures of McCartney's unique and eclectic songwriting talents and shines a light on his post-Beatles artistic achievements.
"The word 'career' is a bit misleading because to me it has been more like a musical adventure than a proper job," says Paul, reflecting on the Pure McCartney tracklisting. "It pleases me, and often amazes me, that I've been involved in the writing and recording of so many songs, each of them so different from the others."
Paul's unparalleled career has seen his music break global chart records, win countless awards, fill stadiums around the world and become the soundtrack to millions of people's lives across generations.
You can pre-order Pure McCartney, due on June 10 from MPL/Concord, at the links below!
Paul McCartney, Pure McCartney (4 CD Box) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)
CD 1
- Maybe I'm Amazed
- Heart Of The Country
- Jet
- Warm And Beautiful
- Listen To What The Man Said
- Dear Boy
- Silly Love Songs
- The Song We Were Singing
- Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey
- Early Days
- Big Barn Bed
- Another Day
- Flaming Pie
- Jenny Wren
- Too Many People
- Let Me Roll It
- New
CD 2
- Live and Let Die
- English Tea
- Mull of Kintyre
- Save Us
- My Love
- Bip Bop
- Let 'Em In
- Nineteen Hundred and Eighty Five
- Calico Skies
- Hi, Hi, Hi
- Waterfalls
- Band on the Run
- Appreciate
- Sing The Changes
- Arrow Through Me
- Every Night
- Junior's Farm
- Mrs Vandebilt
CD 3
- Say Say Say [2015 Remix]
- My Valentine
- Pipes of Peace
- The World Tonight
- Souvenir
- Dance Tonight
- Ebony and Ivory
- Fine Line
- Here Today
- Press
- Wanderlust
- Winedark Open Sea
- Beautiful Night
- Girlfriend
- Queenie Eye
- We All Stand Together
CD 4
- Coming Up
- Too Much Rain
- Good Times Coming/Feel the Sun
- Goodnight Tonight
- Baby's Request
- With a Little Luck
- Little Willow
- Only Mama Knows
- Don't Let it Bring You Down
- The Back Seat Of My Car
- No More Lonely Nights
- Great Day
- Venus and Mars/Rock Show
- Temporary Secretary
- Hope For The Future
- Junk
Pure McCartney (2 CDs) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)
CD 1
- Maybe I'm Amazed
- Heart Of The Country
- Jet
- Warm And Beautiful
- Listen To What The Man Said
- Dear Boy
- Silly Love Songs
- The Song We Were Singing
- Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey
- Another Day
- Sing The Changes
- Jenny Wren
- Save Us
- Mrs Vandebilt
- Mull of Kintyre
- Let 'Em In
- Let Me Roll It
- Nineteen Hundred and Eighty Five
- Ebony and Ivory
CD 2
- Band on the Run
- Arrow Through Me
- My Love
- Live and Let Die
- Too Much Rain
- Goodnight Tonight
- Say Say Say [2015 Remix]
- My Valentine
- The World Tonight
- Pipes of Peace
- Dance Tonight
- Here Today
- Wanderlust
- Great Day
- Coming Up
- No More Lonely Nights
- Only Mama Knows
- With a Little Luck
- Hope For The Future
- Junk
Pure McCartney (4 Vinyl LPs) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)
A1
- Maybe I'm Amazed
- Heart Of The Country
- Jet
- Warm And Beautiful
- Listen To What The Man Said
- Dear Boy
A2
- Silly Love Songs
- The Song We Were Singing
- Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey
- Another Day
- New
B1
- Mull of Kintyre
- Sing The Changes
- Jenny Wren
- Mrs Vandebilt
- Save Us
B2
- Let 'Em In
- Let Me Roll It
- Ebony and Ivory
- Nineteen Hundred and Eighty Five
C1
- Band on the Run
- Arrow Through Me
- My Love
- Live and Let Die
- Too Much Rain
C2
- Say Say Say [2015 Remix]
- My Valentine
- Goodnight Tonight
- The World Tonight
- Pipes of Peace
D1
- Dance Tonight
- Here Today
- Wanderlust
- Great Day
- Coming Up
- No More Lonely Nights
D2
- Too Many People
- Only Mama Knows
- With a Little Luck
- Hope For The Future
- Junk
Jeff says
Cool release - love the cover! Nice to see so many tracks plucked from '97s "Flaming Pie" - "Calico Skies" is one of his most gorgeous "ditties". Great "Arrow Through Me" is getting some love - now we just need the single mix of "Getting Closer" (no fade!) and we're good!
Jim says
Take my $$$$
Andrew says
The omission of material from "Flowers in the Dirt" and "Driving Rain" is inexcusable. Eight songs from "Flaming Pie," but they can't provide a well-rounded mix with "Lonely Road," "My Brace Face," "Distractions," "This One," or "Hope of Deliverance"? I understand we have 4 discs to cover 46 years of a solo career, but totally ignoring such material leaves a big hole and makes this feel woefully incomplete.
Earl Cambron says
I was hoping for more of an "odds & ends" compilation.....
John says
Does this mean after Flowers the archive collection are done?
Philip Cohen says
It may mean that that the Archive collection is already done, and that we won't even get "Flowers in The Dirt".
The people who want a Greatest Hits collection don't buy 4-CD sets, and the people that do buy 4-CD sets want some archival material and rarities.
If you fans want McCartney to capitulate and hand over the "Flowers in The Dirt" boxed set, then we must ensure that the "Pure McCartney" hits collection becomes an utter commercial failure.
McCartney and his management are totally out of touch with fan sentiment. I say Boycott the 4-CD hits set.
Jeff says
Philip, Flowers in the Dirt is coming. I know this fortunately from the label as recently as yesterday. I can't say more, but it's an inaccurate assessment... though this collection may seem "out of the blue" the exact REASON no rarities are released is because the vault releases continue. It was simply time to remind people of McCartney "En Total" - minus The Beatles, of course. It's just another set... relax.
Bruce Padgett says
Cynic I may be, but could the absence of any tracks from "Flowers in the Dirt" be intentional, due to its upcoming release as an archive edition? The omission of "My Brave Face", in particular, is glaring.
For that matter, where the heck is "Take It Away"? Or how about something from the vaults never before released? Seriously, unless the mastering on this is revelatory, it may be the first Macca set I pass on in decades. I just can't grasp what the actual point of this collection is.
Rich says
I always loved "My Brave Face" and "This One" - and of course they are not here.........these were probably the two last songs of his that got decent radio airplay........
zubb says
I agree with those disappointed with the omissions in this set. It is unforgivable to have left out My Brave Face and This One. 8 tracks from Flaming Pie? Most, if not all McCartney fans have that full CD in their collections already so what is the point of including so many tracks from that album? I too wish the single mix of Getting Closer was going to be included. Also, which version of Coming Up is in this set, the Live at Glasgow or the studio version? That said, there is still enough here to excite me and I will be buying the 4 CD set!
Andrea says
Personally I have more of a problem with what ended in it, rather than with what was left out (it is an anthology after all, you're going to leave things out).
I'm might have considered this if it DIDN'T include thing like Ebony and Ivory, Pipes of Peace, Lonely Nights. It's very much a mixed bag, there's some daring chioces, and some very lame choices.
I agree about the cover, it's beautiful.
Rob Maurer says
I don't really care if there is an impending "Flowers in the Dirt" release in the tank, that is NOT an excuse to leave at least "My Brave Face" off of a Macca career retrospective. I understand those that are saying this is not a greatest hits...but it IS a retrospective, and every album should be represented in one way or another, IMO.
Happy to see "Arrow Through Me" get some love, finally. Hadn't noticed the absence of "Take it Away"...that's another big error.
If I find this on the cheap, I'll pick it up. Definitely not a Day 1 purchase for me. I'll be sticking with Wingspan...
The Thorn says
I don't understand what all the griping is about. Unless I misunderstand the press release, this isn't supposed to be a career-spanning "best of" - it's a set of fun mixes that Macca put together.
So, while it's surprising that 'Flowers in the Dirt' isn't represented, given the sheer number of terrific tracks on it, contextually, it's not as glaring an omission as some people seem to think.
Maybe Macca just doesn't dig that era of his career, for some reason? oO
Andrea says
I'm not sure exactly what you mean by "fun mixes". There's nothing new in terms of songs and/or mixes here. Everything's already been released (multiple times in most cases).
The Thorn says
I based myself on the Macca quote in the article above:
“Me and my team came up with the idea of putting together a collection of my recordings with nothing else in mind other than having something fun to listen to.”
"Maybe it’s to be enjoyed on a long car journey or an evening at home or at a party with friends? So we got our heads together and came up with these diverse playlists from various periods of my long and winding career.”
Maybe I should have put "fun" in quotes?
Andrea says
maybe "mixes", in quote... 😉 ...since no one has talked about mixes and in fact there's no new mix here 🙂
cheers
Brad Skistimas says
Might have to get this on vinyl just for the cover. I don't care what's in it, mainly because I already have it all and (for me personally) any McCartney is good McCartney. That being said, I'm not a huge fan of jumping from a 1970s track to a 2000s track. I would prefer chronological order, or even reverse chronological, just so there's some form. However, these days it's all about Spotify playlists and Artist themed radio stations, which I think is what this will feel like when listening top to bottom.
...man, what a revolutionary idea, a physical format Spotify playlist! 😛
zubb says
Is the cover a Linda McCartney photo? Does anyone know?
Whiterook1963 says
At this point, I'd just be happy with a comprehensive singles anthology, and a nice rarities set. I've given up hope of getting the box set that Sir Paul and the fans deserve. . This collection doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me, and a lot of others folks as well it seems. But it does to Sir Paul, apparently.