Sir Paul McCartney’s solo debut album ‘McCartney’ is getting a special 50th anniversary release in time for Record Store Day next month.
The 77-year-old rocker released ‘McCartney’ back in 1970, one month before The Beatles’ swansong ‘Let It Be’, and on April 18 this year, the classic record will be re-released in a limited edition half-speed mastered vinyl pressing.
The release will mark both Record Store Day 2020 - which takes place on April 18, the day the album hits shelves - and the 50th anniversary of the original.
Paul wrote every song and played every instrument on the album, with backing vocals provided by his then-wife Linda McCartney, whom he was married to until her death in 1998.
Linda’s presence is also felt in the album's iconic artwork, which features a bowl of cherries that she photographed on holiday in Antigua, as well as an image of Paul with their daughter Mary, now 50, as a baby, which was photographed on the family's farm in Scotland where some of the album was also written.
The eponymous album represented a creative rebirth for the ‘Hey Jude’ hitmaker, and the bare-bones home recording aesthetic imbued the album with an authentic lo-fi spirit, a much sought after sound that continues to retain a contemporary edge 50 years on.
The 50th anniversary Record Store Day limited edition of McCartney was pressed from a master cut by Miles Showell at half speed using the original 1970 master tapes at Abbey Road Studios.
It was made as a vinyl specific transfer in high resolution and without digital peak limiting for the best possible reproduction.
The album will be available in record stores on April 18.
‘McCartney’ track listing:
Side One:
‘The Lovely Linda'
‘That Would Be Something’
‘Valentine Day’
‘Every Night’
‘Hot as Sun/Glasses’
‘Junk’
‘Man We Was Lonely’
Side two:
‘Oo You’
‘Momma Miss America’
‘Teddy Boy'
‘Singalong Junk’
‘Maybe I'm Amazed’
‘Kreen-Akrore’
