![]() The first disc is the remastered album with its original nine tracks (this is also available separately as the Standard Edition). The Archive Collection’s Band on the Run Special Edition, which is the basis for this review, features two CDs and one DVD. ![]() There’s a greater depth to the Archive set, particularly to the bass lines, because this is McCartney, after all. Comparing the two side by side, there’s a slightly thin sound to some tracks on the previous discs, a sense of narrowness or confinement. Not being a technical expert, I can’t give you the science behind it, but I can say that the sound is somehow deeper and rounder than on the 25th Anniversary Edition. McCartney personally supervised the process, working with the same team who did the recent remastering of the Beatles’ catalog at Abbey Road. The sound on the previous, 25th Anniversary, remaster was pretty good, but this is noticeably superior. The 2010 Band on the Run reissue is the first release in the Paul McCartney Archive Collection, and the remastered sound is superb. Despite the hardships of its recording process, Band on the Run went on to become a commercial and critical triumph It was number one on the US album chart three separate times, won a Grammy and sold more than 7 million copies worldwide. ![]() This probably contributes greatly to the spontaneous, energetic feeling that pervades the album. They even endured a mugging at knife point in which the thieves stole the demo tapes, thereby forcing the band to record the entire album from memory. Unprepared for the appalling studio conditions, not to mention the heat, the trio nevertheless persevered. ![]() The three, along with engineer Geoff Emerick, arrived in Lagos in August. This left McCartney, his wife Linda and Denny Laine. Practically on the eve of departure for Africa, Wings’ lead guitarist Henry McCullough and drummer Denny Seiwell quit the band. Still in legal battle over the dissolution of Apple, and coming off of disappointing reviews of his post-Beatles work, McCartney was looking to get away and record his next album with Wings in an exotic location. One of the things that is often mentioned as key to Band on the Run‘s success is the duress under which it was created. McCartney doesn't really try anything new, but the songs are a little more varied than the uniform, glossy production would suggest he dips into soft-shoe music hall shuffle on "You Gave Me the Answer," gets a little psychedelic with "Spirits of Ancient Egypt," kicks out a '50s rock & roll groove with "Magento and Titanium Man," and unveils a typically sweet and lovely melody on "Listen to What the Man Said." These are slight shifts on an album that certainly feels like the overture for the arena rock tour that it was, which makes it one of McCartney's more consistent listens, even though it's possible to scan the song listing after several listens and not recognize any song outside of "Listen to What the Man Said" and the opening medley by title.Sometimes, music fans have to ask themselves some very serious questions, things like “Do you really need another copy of this album?” If you’re a Paul McCartney fan and the record is the Wings’ classic Band on the Run, then the answer is probably, “Yes. But where that record was clearly a studio creation and consciously elaborate, this is a straightforward affair where the sonic details are simply window dressing. This faux-democracy isn't what signals that this is a band effort - it's the attitude, construction, and pacing, which McCartney acknowledges as such, opening with an acoustic title track that's a salute to arena rock, leading to a genuine arena rock anthem, "Rock Show." From there, it's pretty much rocking pop tunes, paced with a couple of ballads and a little whimsy, all graced with a little of the production flair that distinguished Band on the Run. So, it was time to once again turn Wings into a genuine band, adding Joe English and Jimmy McCulloch to the lineup and even letting the latter contribute a song. Band on the Run was a commercial success, but even if it was billed as a Wings effort, it was primarily recorded by Paul, Linda, and Denny Laine.
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