Band On The Run (Archive Collection) [Original recording remastered, Special Edition]

Paul McCartney, Wings | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 2, 2010)
• Original Release Date: 2010
• Number of Discs: 3
• Format: Original recording remastered, Special Edition
• Label: HEAR MUSIC
• ASIN: B003W2HKSS
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (84 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #27,049 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

Disc: 1

1. Band on the Run

2. Jet

3. Bluebird

4. Mrs Vandebilt

5. Let Me Roll It

6. Mamunia

See all 9 tracks on this disc

Disc: 2

1. Helen Wheels

2. Country Dreamer

3. Bluebird [from One Hand Clapping]

4. Jet [from One Hand Clapping]

5. Let Me Roll It [from One Hand Clapping]

6. Band on the Run [from One Hand Clapping]

See all 9 tracks on this disc

Disc: 3

1. Band on the Run Music Video

2. Mamunia Music Video

3. Album Promo [Featuring Band on the Run, Mrs Vandebilt, Nineteen Hundred and Eighty Five, Bluebird]

4. Helen Wheels Music Video

5. Wings In Lagos

6. Osterley Park

See all 7 tracks on this disc

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com essential recording

Band on the Run should have been a disaster. Two of Wings' original members quit in a huff just before its production. The whimsical decision to record in Lagos, Nigeria, became a nightmare when McCartney and company found themselves in a decaying studio, then had many of the project's demos stolen by armed bandits. Despite these hardships--perhaps because of them--Band on the Run remains the most focused and consistently satisfying record of McCartney's wildly uneven post-Beatles career.

Product Description

**SPECIAL EDITION: 3 disc (2CD, 1DVD) set features nine bonus audio tracks (including the top 10 smash "Helen Wheels"), rare footage of the McCartneys in Lagos and behind-the-scenes at the famous album cover shoot, original Band on the Run promotional video clips, the One Hand Clapping television special (highlighted by studio performances filmed at Abbey Road in 1974) all with beautifully enhanced packaging.**

MPL and the Concord Music Group are pleased to announce the re-release of Paul McCartney & Wings' iconic Band on the Run on November 2nd, 2010. Heralded as one of the greatest albums of all time, the GRAMMY winning, smash # 1 album - originally released December of 1973 - yielded the immortal title track and world-wide hit "Jet" becoming Wings' most successful and celebrated album ever.

Paul McCartney personally supervised all aspects of the Band on the Run reissue. The remastering work was done at Abbey Road using the same team who recently remastered the complete Beatles' catalog.

Band on the Run will be available in a variety of formats originating with the single disc digitally remastered, essential 9-track STANDARD EDITION. The 3 disc (2CD, 1 DVD) SPECIAL EDITION features nine bonus audio tracks (including the top 10 smash "Helen Wheels"), rare footage of the McCartneys in Lagos and behind-the-scenes at the famous album cover shoot, original Band on the Run promotional video clips, the One Hand Clapping television special (highlighted by studio performances filmed at Abbey Road in 1974) all with beautifully enhanced packaging. Collectors will be especially thrilled by the 4 disc (3CD, 1 DVD) DELUXE EDITION which adds an extraordinary 120-page hard bound book containing many unseen and unpublished photos by Linda McCartney and Clive Arrowsmith, album and single artwork, downloadable hi-res audio versions of the remastered album and bonus audio tracks, a full history of the album complete with a new interview with Paul and expanded track by track information for all four discs. The deluxe edition also includes a special Band on the Run audio documentary (originally produced for the 25th Anniversary edition.) The original remastered album and bonus audio content will also be issued in a 2 disc 180gm audiophile VINYL EDITION that comes with an MP3 download of all 18 tracks.

The musical achievement of Band on the Run is nearly matched by the amazing story behind its creation. Intrigued with recording abroad in the summer of 1973, McCartney searched for a list of studios around the world. Spotting one in the remote location of Lagos, Nigeria, he became enthralled with the idea of recording in Africa. Days before departure, lead guitarist Henry McCullough and drummer Denny Seiwell quit the band leaving the entire project to the three core members, Paul, his wife Linda McCartney and band-member Denny Laine (along with recording engineer Geoff Emerick). Recorded in August and September of 1973 (with further work done at AIR Studios in London in October 1973), they persevered through a tumultuous, yet creatively invigorating 2 month recording process battling difficult studio conditions, oppressive heat and a dangerous mugging at knife point. The thieves made off with the demo tapes (among other valuables), forcing the band to record the entire album from memory.

Band on the Run triumphed both critically and commercially. The album topped the US album chart 3 separate times, won a Grammy and went on to sell more than 7 million copies. Upon the release of Band on the Run, then Rolling Stone reviewer Jon Landau famously gushed, "The finest record yet released by any of the four musicians who were once called The Beatles."

Paul is currently playing five songs from the album on his `Up and Coming Tour'. Live favorites over the last 8 years of touring have included "Jet", "Band on the Run" and "Let Me Roll It". In 2008 when Paul played a free outdoor show to over 500,000 people in Kiev, a Ukrainian poll listed "Mrs Vandebilt" as their all time favorite Paul McCartney song. It's been included in the set ever since. At the start of this tour Paul added "Nineteen Hundred and Eighty Five" to the set.

Band on the Run marks the first release from the Paul McCartney Archive Collection, an ambitious reissue program that encompasses 40 years of cherished, classic material from the most successful songwriter and recording artist in music history. It's also the initial physical release of the recently announced agreement between McCartney's MPL and Concord Music Group to globally market and distribute McCartney's venerated solo and Wings catalog.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

72 of 76 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Lavish reissue is worth the money, and then some, November 2, 2010

By 

Paul Allaer (Cincinnati) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Band On The Run (Archive Collection) (Audio CD)

Music: 5 stars... Video extras: 4 stars... Historic value: 5 stars... Economic value: 5 stars

I've been a fan of Paul McCartney's post-Beatles output since the early days. I was 13 when this album was released, and it had a HUGE influence on me, and one of the top 5 or 10 albums for me in my lifetime.

This reissue of "Band On the Run" is lavish. CD1 (41 min.) brings the original brilliant 9 tracks of the album and nothing more needs to be said about that. CD2 (9 tracks; 34 min.) kicks off with the "Helen Wheels/Country Dreamer" single, and then brings 7 live tracks from the "One Hand Clapping" movie (more on that later), including a jaw-drapping version of "Nineteen Hundred Eigthy Five", with Paul solo at the piano for the first half of the song, just fantastic. The DVD (85 min.) is a jem, even though it's a bit of a mixed bag. The videos for "Band On the Run" and "Mamunia" are in the Yellow Submarine style, if you follow me. Hadn't seen the video for "Helen Wheels" in forever", a nice addition. But the 15 min. footage of the cover shoot for the album is great. Even better is the 3 min. "Wings in Lagos" bit, bringing home movies from their stay there, and featuring an Eastern-style version of "Band on the Run" I had never heard, completely different but I loved it. Best of all is of course the 50 min. "One Hand Clapping" movie, which I had never seen before. It was shot live in the EMI studios in Fall of 1974 and cover a lot of ground, including (besides the album tracks) such bits as "Soily", "Little Woman Love", "C Moon", "I'll Give You a Ring", etc. The video quality is not always great, but what can you expect from so many years ago? The packaging is well done, with tons of pictures, great liner notes (from Paul Gambaccini, who interviewed Macca back in the day for Rolling Stone), just nice. The edition I bought (at a big box retailer) came with an extra DVD (24 min.), bringing Paul's comments on the reasons for this reissue (which is curiously missing from the 'regular' reissue), and 3 live videos from last year's New York concert DVD, including a great "Mrs. Vanderbilt".

In all, I can't say enough great things about this reissue. I had the good fortune of seeing Sir Paul in concert again in August on the "Up and Coming Tour", and what a show it was. Sir Paul, now 68 if you can believe it, looks and sounds pretty much like 30 years ago, just incredible. In the first half of the show, Sir Paul played mostly Wings/solo stuff, including 5 of the 9 original Band on the Run tracks. I was floored when he played "Nineteen Hundred and Eighty Five", I never imagined I'd ever see that song played live. Wow, what a fantastic evening of music that was.

31 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A GOOD SOUNDING REISSUE WITH EXTRA TRACKS WORTH HAVING, November 2, 2010

By 

Stuart Jefferson (San Diego,Ca) - See all my reviews
(TOP 100 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Band On The Run (Archive Collection) (Audio CD)

Two audio discs 41,34 minutes each approximately, and a DVD (1hr. 24 min. approximately) disc. The remastered sound, done at Abbey Road Studios, is clean and crisp without being harsh. The DVD contains videos, promotional clips, scenes from the album cover shoot, the TV special, and the McCartney's in Nigeria. The discs are slipped into attached paper sleeves in a tri-fold holder. The attached booklet contains a number of photos, in color and b&w, of the band and others during the recording in Nigeria. Of interest is a couple of photos of drummer Ginger Baker, who at the time lived and recorded in Africa. Also included are the lyrics, individual track times and disc totals. There's a four page essay/interview by Paul Gambaccini, on the album and McCartney. Paul McCartney supervised the reissue, including the remastering, which was done using the same people who recently remastered THE BEATLES back catalog.

This album, a Grammy winner, if not McCartney's best post-BEATLES work, is certainly one of his best. Thankfully it has now joined the ranks of other great remastered albums. Plus the fact that there's a second disc of music ( with several tracks from the TV special "One Hand Clapping") makes this edition the one to own. You can also purchase another version with a hardcover book, another disc (an audio documentary from the 25th Anniversary Edition), downloads of the album, a new Paul McCartney interview etc., but it's substantially more money aimed at fans/collectors who want everything. There's a vinyl edition for record fans, and finally the original, stand alone album is also available. But whichever version you purchase, this is some of McCartney's finest post-BEATLES work ever.

"Band on the Run" spawned several songs ("Jet", "Helen Wheels", "Let Me Roll It",and the title track), that are still favorites of fans today. At this point most everyone is familiar with at least a couple (if not more) of the fine songs found on this album, so a track-by-track critique isn't needed. On this album McCartney's penchant for song craft is very evident. The melodies, the arrangements, the production work-all come together to produce some very fine, pleasing, and at times, rocking pop music. Too, this album was McCartney alerting the critics that he still possessed his musical talents, after the drubbing he received for some of his previous solo/WINGS work.

The album, recorded in Lagos, Nigeria, in 1973, was McCartney's idea (someplace different), but before the group departed, both guitarist Henry McCullough and drummer Denny Seiwell were out of the band. So when it came time to record, McCartney played drums, and both he and Denny Lane played the guitar parts, along with Linda McCartney on keyboards. Working through adversity-the "studio" was an ill equipped shed, and the WINGS demo tapes were stolen in a mugging, the band managed to record the basic album in a couple of months. Back in England McCartney added strings and horns to fill out the songs, and the album was finished. When it was released it shot to the top of the charts.

The tracks on the second disc are mostly from a TV special, "One Hand Clapping", which showed the group performing and backstage. The songs from the special were recorded at Abbey Road Studios in 1974, and include a number of fan favorites from the album. The sound and performance of the studio and "live" tracks aren't that different, but it's nice to have more from this era of the band nonetheless. "Bluebird" is a slower tempo pop song which shows McCartney's voice very well, along with his arranging skills. "Jet" has a bit more energy and an edge about it than the studio version simply because it's a live version, but that's enough to raise the excitement level appreciatively. This song alone proves that McCartney could still rock within the constraints of pop music. "Let Me Roll It" (which has some fine guitar throughout), taken at the same tempo as the studio version, nonetheless has it's own feel brought on by the live recordings for the special. "Band On The Run" is again very close to the original, but the vocal inflections by McCartney make this something special. You can hear the exuberance in his voice, and the excitement of the band as they energize the arrangement beyond the studio version. Even the synthesizer that weaves in and out of the song has a certain feel not found on the original. "Nineteen Hundred and Eighty Five", with it's piano intro, has a fine rough edged vocal from McCartney. "Country Dreamer" sounds as if it could have come from the

"White Album", with it's use of acoustic guitar as sole backing for a winsome sounding McCartney vocal. It's shortness, with no extraneous instruments to clutter up the beautiful vocal stands out from the other songs. "Zoo Gang" is a short (2 minutes) instrumental that sounds like it could have been a backing track without the vocal. Nonetheless it's a fine way to end this collection of bonus tracks.

Apparently this is the first reissue of McCartney's post-BEATLES work, with more in the pipeline. By starting with "Band On The Run", the bar has been set very high. Hopefully other reissues will meet the high standards found in this edition. If you're a Paul McCartney fan-pick this reissue up and hear this good sounding edition for yourself. If you're not-pick this album up and hear what you've been missing.

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding, November 4, 2010

By 

N. Brett (Wiltshire, England) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Band On The Run (Archive Collection) (Audio CD)

A classic album given a well deserved re-issue. I remember playing this non stop when it came out, I had enjoyed the wings stuff and while McCartney's first few albums after the Beatles all contained some fantastic tracks - this was the one where it all came together with a strong set of tracks that have survived the test of time. It's nice quality although I agree with a previous reviewer that it's hard to really appreciate the re-mastering if you listen with an 'average' ear like myself. While I am agreeing with the same previous reviewer he is also right about the strange lack of Denny Laine - I'd love to know how he feels about this re-issue and the memories.

An interesting booklet and Gambaccini piece, I think I can actually remember the 1973 interview it came from which is a little worrying, but those were the days where anticipation was half the pleasure..

A good second cd with the extras, I rather enjoyed the one hand clapping stuff some nice versions in there and worthy of repeated listening.

While the dvd is mildly interesting I kind of doubt it is one I will watch very often much of it is not great quality and I am not sure it adds much to the whole package - I would rather have had a copy of the UK Channel 4 documentary shown in the UK the day before this was issued.

As I lurched through my teens in the 70's I think I was kept sane by Pink Floyd, David Bowie, Mike Oldfield and McCartney. Here Band on the Run gets the treatment it deserves and has brought back some very happy memories, Goodness knows how my Dad put up with me playing this non stop!!!

If this is not in your collection, now is the time to add it. Recommended, this is one of the world's greatest at the top of his game.