Concord Music Group just announced that they’ve acquired the rights to Paul McCartney‘s back catalog. As a long time McCartney fan, I’m a bit worried about the upcoming reissues. Sir Macca’s extensive catalog has been neglected over the years and is in need of some TLC. EMI totally botched the 1993 remastered series by “no-noising” the heck out of the recordings. Yes, the bonus tracks included on the 1993 CDs were nice but the lifeless and dull sounding reissues left fans scrambling to find the original CBS/Columbia CDs which weren’t perfect but on the whole, sounded better than those dreaded EMI/Capitol remasters.
Now, don’t get me wrong, it’s great that McCartney’s post Beatles solo work will get some much needed attention. But I’m hoping Concord will mirror what was done for the Beatles catalog. A tremendous amount of time and effort was put into the Beatles remastering project and the resulting CDs are miles beyond the original 1987 CDs. Maybe realistically they won’t have the resources to replicate what was done for The Beatles reissues but the least that Concord can do is to make sure the remasters aren’t “loud and brickwalled” which marred Concord’s 2007 McCartney release, Memory Almost Full. Talk about an “ear-bleeder”. yikes.
Most Macca fans feel the benchmark in terms of sound quality are the DCC reissues expertly handled by Steve Hoffman (which included the albums McCartney, Ram, Band on the Run, Red Rose Speedway, Venus and Mars and Wings at the Speed of Sound). Hopefully someone at Concord will take note of how those were done.
And while Concord is at it, why not finally release a box set of Macca rarities?? Now that’s what fans are really waiting for!
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Here’s the official press release:
McCartney Catalog To Be Reissued By Concord Music Group
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. – Paul McCartney’s MPL and Concord Music Group, one of the world’s leading independent music companies today announced an historic agreement to globally market and distribute McCartney’s venerated solo and Wings catalog, which encompass 40 years of cherished, classic material from the most successful songwriter and recording artist in music history. Indeed, the music legend has sold an astonishing 100 million solo singles and 700 million albums world-wide in his unparalleled career. The announcement coincides with the 40th anniversary of McCartney, his fabled first solo album released April, 1970.
This exclusive global arrangement, will cover both physical and digital distribution of McCartney’s treasured post Beatles catalog including landmark solo albums such as McCartney, Ram, McCartney II, Tug Of War, Pipes of Peace, Give My Regards To Broad Street, Press To Play, Flowers in the Dirt, Off the Ground, Flaming Pie, Driving Rain, Chaos and Creation in the Backyard, Memory Almost Full, and Good Evening New York City. The classic Wings albums include Wildlife, Red Rose Speedway, Band On The Run, Venus and Mars, Wings At The Speed of Sound, Wings Over America, London Town and Back To The Egg. The catalog also includes the inventive, highly regarded albums recorded under the McCartney pseudonyms Percy “Thrills” Thrillington, The Fireman and Twin Freaks.
The indispensible and remarkably enduring collection of songs represented in McCartney’s post 1970 collected works include the gems “Maybe I’m Amazed”, “Another Day”, “Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey”, “My Love”, “Live & Let Die”, “Band On The Run”, “Jet”, “Listen To What The Man Said”, “Silly Love Songs”, “Let ‘Em In”, “With A Little Luck”, “Mull Of Kintyre”, “Coming Up”, “Ebony and Ivory”, “Say Say Say”, “No More Lonely Nights”, “My Brave Face”, “Hope Of Deliverance”, “Fine Line”, and “Dance Tonight” among many others.
McCartney fans can look forward to an ambitious and rewarding reissue program beginning in August of 2010 with Band On The Run; Paul McCartney & Wings’ classic #1 album from 1973 that spawned the immortal title song as well as the smash hit “Jet”. It will be available in a variety of configurations, including a special collector’s multi-disc edition with remastered audio, enhanced packaging and rare bonus content.
In 2007 Concord Records and Starbucks partnered to form Hear Music whose inaugural release was Paul McCartney’s highly successful, critically acclaimed album Memory Almost Full. The McCartney-Concord relationship has since blossomed to include the 2009 release of McCartney’s historic multi-disc live CD/DVD Good Evening New York City and now this landmark multi-year global marketing and distribution partnership.
“Since the release of Memory Almost Full in 2007 I have had a good working relationship with Concord and enjoyed our mutual love of music,” stated McCartney. “I’m looking forward to continuing this relationship with the new catalog campaign. I’m always looking for new ways and opportunities to get my music to people and Concord share this passion.”
“Working with Paul McCartney, the MPL team and this tremendous catalog is an unbelievable honor,” stated Glen Barros, Concord Music Group President and CEO. “To so many of us here at Concord and to millions of people all over the world, Paul’s music has formed a big part of ‘life’s soundtrack’. So to now be a part of representing this amazing body of work is nothing short of a dream come true.”
About Concord Music Group:
Concord Music Group is one of the largest independent record and music publishing companies in the world and owner of a rich and historically significant catalog of recordings. Concord Music Group’s legendary family of labels includes Concord Records, Concord Jazz, Fantasy, Stax, Milestone, Riverside, Specialty, Telarc, Peak, Heads Up, Prestige and most recent acquisition, famed American roots label Rounder Records, further strengthening Concord’s independent leadership position. They include titles from some of the most admired and enduring names in music, including Ray Charles, John Coltrane, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Miles Davis, Ella Fitzgerald, Isaac Hayes, Little Richard, Thelonious Monk, Oscar Peterson, Rosemary Clooney, George Shearing and Mel Torme. The group’s current roster of world-class artists includes: Alison Krauss, Chick Corea, Kurt Elling, Robert Plant, Christian Scott, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Sergio Mendes, Bela Fleck, Alejandro Escovedo, Esperanza Spalding, Macy Gray and Angie Stone. In 2007, Concord partnered with Starbucks Entertainment to form Hear Music, an innovative record label rooted in quality, authenticity and passion. Hear Music works directly with artists, both emerging and established, to bring quality music to the widest possible audience, in both Starbucks locations and traditional music retailers worldwide. Hear Music has released records from Paul McCartney, James Taylor, John Mellencamp, Elvis Costello and Playing For Change.
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