Description
The 1980s began with Paul’s arrest in Japan. This led to the natural dissolution of Wings, and at the end of the year, John was shot, causing Paul to disappear from the public eye for a long time. In the 1980s, Paul only appeared on a few one-off stages and did not tour at all. However, as a reaction to the 1970s, which were dominated by live performances, Paul, freed from the life of traveling, decided to focus on studio work, just like the Beatles had done in the past. As a return to his roots, he once again asked George Martin to produce, and the two sister albums that were born as a result, “TUG OF WAR” and “PIPES OF PEACE,” are still considered Paul’s masterpieces. The characteristic of these two albums is that they each attempted collaborations with big names. “TUG OF WAR” features two songs performed with Stevie Wonder, and “EBONY AND IVORY” was released as a single. The next album, “PIPES OF PEACE,” features two songs by Michael Jackson, who was performing at the time when “THRILLER” was a worldwide hit. “SAY SAY SAY” became a hit with that memorable promotional video. During the Beatles era, he had an equal partner in John Lennon. In the 70s, Wings started out as a solo effort, but gradually came to recognize Denny Laine and was co-credited on songs such as “Dream Traveler.” Then, in the 80s, he must have sought new stimulation from others. The result was a great success. However, “Give My Regards to Broad Street,” released in 1984, was labeled a dud. Personally, I love this album, but because it was a movie soundtrack, it was mostly self-covers of past songs and only a few new songs, which was an indirect reason for its low evaluation. At the time, there was a magazine called “FM fan,” which featured this movie. Among them, a Japanese musician, whose name I forgot, said, “Why would the same guy who made Sgt. Pepper make such a rubbish movie?” It’s true that the movie was a dream ending, and it was a trivial thing that made me want to hit him with a paper fan, saying, “Is this the High School Kimengumi?”, but the new songs were all very good. I think it deserves a little more recognition. The next album was released in 1986, “PRESS TO PLAY”. Despite the great songs, this album was also poorly received by the public, and it ended up being a failure in sales. However, what is noteworthy is that he sought a partner to co-write this album as well. It was Eric Stewart, who was a much lower rank than the co-writers of the previous two albums. I’m not saying he was bad, but he may not have been a good enough partner for Paul. However, I think that this album deserves a little more recognition, whether it’s “FOOTPRINTS”, “ONLY LOVE REMAINS”, or “STRANGLEHOLD”. Looking at Paul’s movements in the 1980s, it seemed like he was always looking for a partner who would be on an equal footing with him and inspire him. Paul has a proven track record, so he wants him to work with confidence alone, but this is probably an indication that he is consciously trying to make up for what he lacks. After the poor reception of “PRESS TO PLAY,” Paul went into a period of silence. In the midst of this, the best album “ALL THE BEST” was released. In the jacket photo, Paul, 45 years old, with short, combed hair and some noticeable wrinkles, is smiling. The jacket photo of “ALL THE BEST” made me feel that Paul, who has matured beyond his youth and can no longer return to the days of The Beatles and Wings, has entered a new era, not in a negative sense, but in middle age and beyond, as the years have passed. “ALL THE BEST” includes a new song, “ONECE UPON A LONG AGO.” This is the only new song. In the promo video for this song, you can see Linda, as well as Chris Whitten on drums. During this period of silence, the members of the later world tour were already participating, and we can see that the groundwork for the live activities enlightened by the Prince Trust was gradually being laid. The album “FLOWERS IN THE DIRT” released in 1989 may be classified as a recent album in the minds of long-time fans, but it has already become a part of the Beatles’ history. As of 2017, nearly 30 years have passed since its release. Paul must have been thinking about touring again for the first time in 10 years from this time. He needed a band and an album for that. And it was not just an album, he needed a hit that would lead the tour to success. It was difficult to go on tour with “PRESS TO PLAY”. So, as in the past, he wanted a partner who was equal to him or who would give him his opinion. The person he chose was Elvis Costello. Costello was a Paul fan who had once been a member of the Beatles fan club, and he had a lot of respect for Paul. On the other hand, he also had the cult popularity, achievements, and personality to give Paul some slightly too much criticism. He was the perfect partner for Paul, who was starting afresh in the 1980s when he was losing his sense of direction. Many songs were born as a result of Paul and Costello’s collaboration. They were recorded in both “FLOWERS IN THE DIRT” and Costello’s latest album at the time, “SPIKE”. So, for some songs, there are both Paul and Costello versions of the same song. Also, some of the songs that could not be recorded were reused in “OFF THE GROUND”. Also, as in previous collaboration projects, “YOU WANT HER TOO” is a duet in which each of them takes the vocals. Although it was not a big hit in terms of sales, it was the first tour for Paul in 10 years to accompany this album, so it left a strong impression on fans. This work is a soulful title that contains the session recordings of “FLOWERS IN THE DIRT” across six discs. This compilation includes not only the songs included on the album, but also unreleased songs recorded around the same time and songs that were only released as singles, making it a first-time release. DISC One ATLANTIC OCEAN 01. Rough Mix 02. New Vocal Edit 03. Final Mix LOVE MIX 04. Home Demo 05. Rough Mix 1 06. Rough Mix 2 07. Final Mix RETURN TO PEPPERLAND 08. Rough Mix 09. Unreleased Final Mix SGT PEPPER BIRTHDAY SONG 10. Jam to Alan Freeman BIG DAY 11. Rough Mix 12 . Unreleased Final Mix CHRISTIAN BOP 13. Rough Version 14. Final Mix Edited 15. Classical Version PEACOCKS 16. Rough Mix 17. Unreleased Final Mix 1988 SESSIONS & OUTTAKES NEW MOON OVER JAMAICA 18. Demo Takes 1 & 2 19. Final Version with Johnny Cash FLYING TO MY HOME 20. Rough Version 21. Remaster Mix DISC Two THE FIRST STONE 01. Remaster Mix GOOD SIGN 02. Remaster Mix 03. Edited Intro 12” Single 04. Promo Version Groove Mix THE WHITE COATED MAN 05. Rough Mix 06. Animal Magnetism Mix COW 07. Rough Mix 08. Oobu Joobu Unreleased Mix SAME LOVE 09. Final Mix DON’T BREAK THE PROMISES 10. Studio Demo 11. Demo with Overdubs 1989 SESSION PARTY PARTY 12. Studio Jam 13. Original Mix Remaster 14. Bruce Forest Club Mix Remaster 15. Promotional Edit PAUL & ELVIS COSTELLO RARITIES VERONICA 16. Demo 17. Final Version PADS, PAWS AND CLAWS 18. Demo 19. Final Version THIS TOWN 20. Demo 21. Final Version DISC Three TWENTY FIVE FINGERS 01. Home Demo 1987 Session with Elvis Costello January 1988 02. Rehearsal #1 03. Rehearsal #2 04. Rehearsal #3 05. Final Studio Demo TOMMY’S COMING HOME 06. Home Demo 1987 Session with Elvis Costello February 1988 07. Paul and El vis improvising 08. Vocals Recording #1 09. Vocals Recording #2 10. Vocals Recording #3 11. Vocals Recording #4 12. Final Studio Demo THE LOVERS THAT NEVER WERE 13. Home Demo 1987 14. Home Demo 1987 with Overdubs 1991 15. Studio Demo 1988 SO LIKE CANDY 16. Home Demo 1987 17. Studio Demo 1988 18. Final Version PLAYBOY TO A MAN 19. Home Demo 1987 20. Studio Demo 1988 21. Final Version I DON’T WANT TO CONFESS 22. Home Demo SHALLOW GRAVE 23. Home Demo 24. Final Version MISTRESS AND MAID 25. Home Demo #1 26. Home Demo #2 EXTRAS 27. Improvisation on the set for “This One” 28. Album Commercial #1 29. Album Commercial #2 30. Album Commercial #3 Up Close Radio Show 31. Intro 32. Elvis Costello & Paul
Reviews
There are no reviews yet.