Photo of Paul McCartney taken by Linda McCartney, © Paul McCartney
Paul McCartney’s 1997 album, Flaming Pie, has been significantly expanded as the thirteenth installment in his GRAMMY Award-winning Archive Collection. The new editions of his tenth solo album, with a wealth of previously unreleased material, arrived via MPL/Capitol Records/UMe on July 31 as a 5-CD/2-DVD/4-LP Collector’s Edition, a 5-CD/2-DVD Deluxe Edition, and as 3-LP, 2-LP and 2-CD editions.
Listen to and watch several songs and videos, including a fan video for “Great Day,” and view the unboxing video and track listing, below.
From the press release: Originally released May 5, 1997, Flaming Pie ended a four-year gap between McCartney studio albums. Recorded largely in the wake of Paul’s involvement in the curation and release of The Beatles Anthology series, Flaming Pie was shaped and inspired by that experience, with Paul remarking at the time “(The Beatles Anthology) reminded me of The Beatles’ standards and the standards that we reached with the songs. So in a way it was a refresher course that set the framework for this album.”
Produced by Paul, Jeff Lynne and George Martin and featuring a supporting cast of family and friends including Ringo Starr, Steve Miller, Linda McCartney and son James, Flaming Pie is equal parts a masterclass in songcraft and a sustained burst of joyful spontaneity. With highlights ranging from the uplifting and inspirational opener “The Song We Were Singing” to the raucous title track (named for a quote from an early John Lennon interview on the origin of The Beatles’ name: “It came in a vision – a man appeared on a flaming pie and said unto them, ‘from this day on you are Beatles with an A.’”) to the pensive “Calico Skies,” and featuring singles “Young Boy,” “The World Tonight” and “Beautiful Night,” Flaming Pie would represent yet another pinnacle in Paul’s solo catalogue.
A fan video for the album track, “Great Day,” was released on Sept. 13.
On July 17, McCartney released the newly remastered official video for “Beautiful Night,” originally filmed in 1997. The song marked one of the occasional post-Beatles collaborations between Paul and Ringo Starr. Speaking of his memories of that time, McCartney said, “I’d been saying to Ringo for years that it’d be great to do something, because we’d never really done that much work together outside The Beatles. One night Jeff Lynne suggested, ‘why don’t you get Ringo in?’ and I said, ‘OK!’ It just sort of happened.
“I had this song ‘Beautiful Night’ which I’d written quite a few years ago. I’d always liked it but I felt I didn’t quite have the right version of it.
“So I got this song out for when Ringo was coming in, and right away it was just like the old days.”
An EP recreates the original 1997 ‘Beautiful Night’ maxi single, featuring the remastered Flaming Pie single, ‘Beautiful Night’, a 1995 demo of the song, an alternate ‘Run Through’ recording, and ‘Oobu Joobu Part 5’ – a medley of Beautiful Night-themed chat, alternate mixes and interview recordings of Paul and Ringo Starr speaking about the song.
Watch the newly restored videos for “The World Tonight,” released on June 26
A numbered, limited seven-disc (5-CD/2-DVD) Deluxe Edition boxed set is comprised of the original album remastered at Abbey Road Studios, 32 bonus audio tracks including unheard home recordings and demos, alternative studio recordings, rough mixes and B-sides including selections from Oobu Joobu parts 1-6, Flaming Pie At The Mill CD (Paul’s hour-long tour of his studio), video content including the In The World Tonight documentary, original music videos, EPKs, interviews, performances and behind-the-scenes material, a 128-page book containing previously unpublished images by Linda McCartney, expanded album artwork from the archives and the story behind the album written by Chris Heath – including track-by-track information, recipes and new interviews with Paul, Ringo Starr, Jeff Lynne, Steve Miller and key album personnel, studio notes, handwritten lyrics, the 1997 Flaming Pie issue of Club Sandwich, the official newspaper of the Paul McCartney Fanclub, downloadable 24bit 96kHz HD audio, and more.
The 4-LP/5-CD/2-DVD Collector’s Edition — limited to 3,000 numbered copies issued in a cloth wrapped two-piece collector’s box — features everything in the Deluxe Edition plus a marbled art print portfolio of six silkscreened Linda McCartney art prints, exclusive vinyl versions of the remastered album cut at half speed across 2-LPs in an exclusive gatefold sleeve, an LP of home recordings in a hand-stamped white label sleeve, and “The Ballad of the Skeletons” – Paul’s 1996 collaboration with Allen Ginsberg, also featuring Philip Glass and Lenny Kaye – released for the first time on vinyl and cut at 45 RPM with vinyl etching and poster.
Additional Flaming Pie Archive Collection formats include 2-CD (remastered album + 21 tracks of bonus audio), 2-LP (remastered album cut at half speed across two 180g LPs in gatefold sleeve with booklet), and 3-LP (remastered album cut at half speed across two 180g LPs in gatefold sleeve with booklet, plus single 180g LP of unreleased home recordings in hand-stamped white label sleeve both housed in a slipcase).
(More info and music below the links…)
Watch the unboxing video for the Collector’s Edition
The Paul McCartney Archive Collection debuted with the 2010 re-release of Paul McCartney and Wings’ 1973 milestone Band on the Run, which won the 2010 GRAMMY Award for Best Historical Album, while the Archive Collection’s Deluxe Edition Box Set of the 1976 classic Wings Over America took the 2013 GRAMMY for Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package.
Related: Beatles’ releases – What’s coming in 2020?
Deluxe Edition
– Numbered cloth wrapped clam shell box
– CD portfolio containing 5CDs and 2DVDs
– 128-page book containing previously unpublished images by Linda McCartney, expanded album artwork from the archives and the story behind the album – including track-by-track information, recipes and new interviews with Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Jeff Lynne, Steve Miller and key album personnel, written by Chris Heath.
– Facsimiles of John Hammel studio notebook, Club Sandwich Magazine, Flaming Pie plectrum, and envelope containing handwritten lyrics for 8 tracks and The Flame newspaper
Lynne and McCartney
CD1 – Remastered Album
1. The Song We Were Singing
2. The World Tonight
3. If You Wanna
4. Somedays
5. Young Boy
6. Calico Skies
7. Flaming Pie
8. Heaven On A Sunday
9. Used To Be Bad
10. Souvenir
11. Little Willow
12. Really Love You
13. Beautiful Night
14. Great Day
CD2 – Home Recordings
1. The Song We Were Singing [Home Recording]
2. The World Tonight [Home Recording]
3. If You Wanna [Home Recording]
4. Somedays [Home Recording]
5. Young Boy [Home Recording]
6. Calico Skies [Home Recording]
7. Flaming Pie [Home Recording]
8. Souvenir [Home Recording]
9. Little Willow [Home Recording]
10. Beautiful Night [1995 Demo]
11. Great Day [Home Recording]
CD3 – In The Studio
1. Great Day [Acoustic]
2. Calico Skies [Acoustic]
3. C’mon Down C’mon Baby
4. If You Wanna [Demo]
5. Beautiful Night [Run Through]
6. The Song We Were Singing [Rough Mix]
7. The World Tonight [Rough Mix]
8. Little Willow [Rough Mix]
9. Whole Life [Rough Mix]
10. Heaven On A Sunday [Rude Cassette]
CD4 – Flaming Pies
1. The Ballad Of The Skeletons
2. Looking For You
3. Broomstick
4. Love Come Tumbling Down
5. Same Love
6. Oobu Joobu Part 1
7. Oobu Joobu Part 2
8. Oobu Joobu Part 3
9. Oobu Joobu Part 4
10. Oobu Joobu Part 5
11. Oobu Joobu Part 6
CD5 – Flaming Pie At The Mill
DVD1 – In The World Tonight
DVD2 – Bonus Film
1. Beautiful Night
2. Making Of Beautiful Night
3. Little Willow
4. The World Tonight [Dir. Alistair Donald]
5. The World Tonight [Dir. Geoff Wonfor]
6. Young Boy [Dir. Alistair Donald]
7. Young Boy [Dir. Geoff Wonfor]
8. Flaming Pie EPK 1
9. Flaming Pie EPK 2
10. In The World Tonight EPK
11. Flaming Pie Album Artwork Meeting
12. TFI Friday Performances
Plus downloadable 24bit 96kHz HD audio
1 Comment so far
Jump into a conversationMy favorite post-70s McCartney album.