Pure McCartney

Recorded: 1969-2013

Released: 10 June 2016

‘Maybe I’m Amazed’ (McCartney)
‘Heart Of The Country’ (Ram)
‘Jet’ (Band On The Run)
‘Warm And Beautiful’ (Wings At The Speed Of Sound)
‘Listen To What The Man Said’ (Venus And Mars)
‘Dear Boy’ (Ram)
‘Silly Love Songs’ (Wings At The Speed Of Sound)
‘The Song We Were Singing’ (Flaming Pie)
‘Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey’ (Ram)
‘Early Days’ (New)
‘Big Barn Bed’ (Red Rose Speedway)
‘Another Day’ (standalone single)
‘Flaming Pie’ (Flaming Pie)
‘Jenny Wren’ (Chaos And Creation In The Back Yard)
‘Too Many People’ (Ram)
‘Let Me Roll It’ (Band On The Run)
‘New’ (New)

‘Live And Let Die’ (standalone single)
‘English Tea’ (Chaos And Creation In The Back Yard)
‘Mull Of Kintyre’ (standalone single)
‘Save Us’ (New)
‘My Love’ (Red Rose Speedway)
‘Bip Bop’ (Wild Life)
‘Let ’Em In’ (Wings At The Speed Of Sound)
‘Nineteen Hundred And Eighty Five’ (Band On The Run)
‘Calico Skies’ (Flaming Pie)
‘Hi, Hi, Hi’ (standalone single)
‘Waterfalls’ (McCartney II)
‘Band On The Run’ (Band On The Run)
‘Appreciate’ (New)
‘Sing The Changes’ (The Fireman: Electric Arguments)
‘Arrow Through Me’ (Back To The Egg)
‘Every Night’ (McCartney)
‘Junior’s Farm’ (standalone single)
‘Mrs Vandebilt’ (Band On The Run)

‘Say Say Say’ (2015 remix) (Pipes Of Peace)
‘My Valentine’ (Kisses On The Bottom)
‘Pipes Of Peace’ (Pipes Of Peace)
‘The World Tonight’ (Flaming Pie)
‘Souvenir’ (Flaming Pie)
‘Dance Tonight’ (Memory Almost Full)
‘Ebony And Ivory’ (Tug Of War)
‘Fine Line’ (Chaos And Creation In The Back Yard)
‘Here Today’ (Tug Of War)
‘Press’ (Press To Play)
‘Wanderlust’ (Tug Of War)
‘Winedark Open Sea’ (Off The Ground)
‘Beautiful Night’ (Flaming Pie)
‘Girlfriend’ (London Town)
‘Queenie Eye’ (New)
‘We All Stand Together’ (standalone single)

‘Coming Up’ (McCartney II)
‘Too Much Rain’ (Chaos And Creation In The Back Yard)
‘Good Times Coming’/‘Feel The Sun’ (Press To Play)
‘Goodnight Tonight’ (standalone single)
‘Baby’s Request’ (Back To The Egg/Kisses On The Bottom)
‘With A Little Luck’ (London Town)
‘Little Willow’ (Flaming Pie)
‘Only Mama Knows’ (Memory Almost Full)
‘Don’t Let It Bring You Down’ (London Town)
‘The Back Seat Of My Car’ (Ram)
‘No More Lonely Nights’ (Give My Regards To Broad Street)
‘Great Day’ (Flaming Pie)
‘Venus And Mars’/‘Rock Show’ (Venus And Mars)
‘Temporary Secretary’ (McCartney II)
‘Hope For The Future’ (standalone single)
‘Junk’ (McCartney)

Pure McCartney is a compilation of Paul McCartney’s post-Beatles songs, issued as a two-CD and four-CD set, four-disc vinyl version and digital download.

Details of Pure McCartney first emerged in a tweet posted on 29 March 2016. It contained a five-second video with snippets of many songs, but no further information.

#PaulMcCartney pic.twitter.com/EWg98JOWov

— Paul McCartney (@PaulMcCartney) March 29, 2016

The tweet was followed by another briefly showing titles of 67 songs.

#PaulMcCartney pic.twitter.com/vEc96b3CHs

— Paul McCartney (@PaulMcCartney) March 30, 2016

Later that same day an official announcement was posted on McCartney’s website:

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 favourites — 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.

The songs on Pure McCartney span the singer’s post-Beatles career: solo, as a member of Wings, and one song (‘Sing The Changes’) as The Fireman. All the major studio albums are represented, aside from 1989’s Flowers In The Dirt and 2001’s Driving Rain. Also missing in action are Run Devil Run, Choba B CCCP, and his various live albums.

There are three different physical formats, each with varying tracklistings, plus a digital download version. The physical editions are two-CD, four-CD and four-disc LP.

In addition to the full 67-song, four-CD edition, there is a shorter two-disc version containing 39 songs:

The 41-song, four-disc vinyl version is closest to the two-CD edition, with some minor changes:

The title Pure McCartney had previously been used for an unofficial live DVD/CD/LP of a tribute concert in Copenhagen, released in 2013 for McCartney’s 70th birthday. It featured the Ram album in its entirety, plus several more of McCartney’s post-Beatles songs, performed by Tim Christensen, Mike Viola, Tracy Bonham, and the band The Damn Crystals.