New Releases

14 JUN 11 DAVID VIENNA

To find justification of Paul McCartney's status as a living legend, you could of course cite the entire Beatles catalog. But, you could also look to his post-Beatles work such as his milestone solo debut simply titled McCartney, now available in a 2-CD remastered edition with bonus tracks.

The same team at Abbey Road Studios that recently remastered The Beatles catalog handled the remastering of McCartney and the sound has never been better. The warm and intimate tone created by the engineering gives the listener the feeling that they're sitting right there in the room with Sir Paul.

The bonus CD delivers some rarities such as live cuts -- "Every Night," "Hot As Sun" and "Maybe I'm Amazed" -- and out-takes from songs like "Don't Cry Baby" and "Suicide." Coming soon, there will also be a Deluxe Edition with the 2 CDs, plus a bonus DVD of rare and previously unseen footage and a hardbound book of unpublished photos by Paul and Linda McCartney.

Even without all the extras, however, McCartney stands alone as a powerful work. He clearly saw this release as an experiment. Some tracks feature what sounds like simple guitar noodling, but upon further inspection reveal deep and honest emotion conveyed the only way a lifelong musician and living legend knows how.