After the release of his debut solo record, Paul McCartney found himself in a new and unusual place: alone for the first time and bearing the brunt of a sniffy critical reaction. Despite McCartney’s commercial success, its creator turned his back on its lo-fi production, opting to record the follow-up in top studios with a specially-auditioned session band.
There was, however, a snag: the songs, collaborations between McCartney and wife Linda during an extended stay on the Mull Of Kintyre, weren’t quite big enough to match the budget. Today, much of the material sounds somewhat half-baked and, when McCartney throws the kitchen sink at a song (as on the implausibly successful single Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey), the results irritate more than impress. Still, McCartney’s natural talent cannot help but produce thoroughly likeable moments from Heart Of The Country to the odd croon of Ram On.
This reissue is available in various configurations from the standard to the ridiculously expensive. A bonus disc of tracks recorded at the sessions adds the comparatively impressive single Another Day and more throwaway offcuts. Another version adds the 1977 album Thrillington: a big-band reworking of Ram that must have amused Paul and Linda at the time, but won’t be a deal-breaker for fans. The reissue of the long out-of-print mono vinyl edition of the album will be most coveted.
