McCartney II
{{short description|1980 solo studio album by Paul McCartney}}
{{use British English|date=May 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2014}}
{{Infobox album
| name = McCartney II
| type = studio
| artist = Paul McCartney
| cover = PaulMcCartneyalbum - McCartneyII.jpg
| border = yes
| alt = a yellow-tinted photograph of Paul McCartney at shoulder-length giving a confused or ambivalent expression.
| released = {{Start date|1980|05|16|df=y}}
| recorded = June–July 1979
| studio = McCartney's home (Sussex)
Spirit of Ranachan (Campbeltown)
| genre = * Synth-pop
| length = 37:59
| label = Parlophone (UK)
Columbia (US)
| producer = Paul McCartney
| prev_title = Back to the Egg
| prev_year = 1979
| next_title = The McCartney Interview
| next_year = 1980
| misc = {{Singles
| name = McCartney II
| type = studio
| single1 = Coming Up
| single1date = 11 April 1980
| single2 = Waterfalls
| single2date = 13 June 1980
| single3 = Temporary Secretary
| single3date = 19 September 1980
}}}}
McCartney II is the second solo studio album by the English musician Paul McCartney, released on 16 May 1980. It was recorded by McCartney at his home studio in the summer of 1979, shortly before the dissolution of his band Wings in 1981. Like his debut solo studio album, McCartney (1970), he performed all the instruments himself. It yielded three singles: "Coming Up", "Waterfalls", and "Temporary Secretary".
The album was a significant departure for McCartney, as much of it relies heavily on synthesizers and studio experimentation, while its music style embraces new wave and elements of electronica. It was initially released to largely unfavourable reviews by critics, though retrospective reception has been more positiveMcCartney: Songwriter {{ISBN|0-491-03325-7}} p. 126 and the album has become a cult favourite.{{cite web|last1=Dalton|first1=Stephen|title=Check His Machine: Paul McCartney Interviewed On McCartney II|url=http://thequietus.com/articles/06417-paul-mccartney-interview|website=The Quietus|access-date=28 November 2016|date=14 June 2011}} In 2011, an expanded edition of McCartney II was issued with over a dozen bonus tracks. In 2020, the album was succeeded by McCartney III. In 2022, the trilogy was reissued in the McCartney I II III box set.
Background
File:Paul McCartney 930-6404.jpg, January 1980]]
After the release of what turned out to be Wings' final album, Back to the Egg, McCartney went north to his farm in Scotland to begin some private recordings in July 1979.{{cite web|title=Paul McCartney's 'McCartney II' Turns 35 Years Old: How It Foretold The Sound Of 1980s Pop – NME|url=http://www.nme.com/blogs/nme-blogs/paul-mccartneys-mccartney-ii-turns-35-years-old-how-it-foretold-the-sound-of-1980s-pop-17280|website=NME|access-date=7 November 2016|date=15 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161107161440/http://www.nme.com/blogs/nme-blogs/paul-mccartneys-mccartney-ii-turns-35-years-old-how-it-foretold-the-sound-of-1980s-pop-17280|archive-date=7 November 2016|url-status=live}} "Check My Machine" samples dialogue from the 1957 Merrie Melodies cartoon featuring Tweety and Sylvester entitled Tweet Zoo. By sessions' end, he had recorded over 20 songs. With no immediate use for the recordings, he put them aside for the time being and returned to work with Wings to prepare for a UK tour that November and December.
Simultaneously with the performances (which included the new "Coming Up"), McCartney released his first solo single since 1971, the Christmas-themed "Wonderful Christmastime", backed with "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reggae", which charted at No. 6 in the UK{{cite web|title=Official Charts: Paul McCartney|url=http://www.theofficialcharts.com/artist/_/paul%20mccartney/|publisher=The Official UK Charts Company|access-date=31 October 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121227115855/http://www.officialcharts.com/artist/_/paul%20mccartney|archive-date=27 December 2012|url-status=live}} but initially only at No. 83 in the US.{{cite book|last=Whitburn|first=Joel|title=The Comparison Book (1954–1982)|publisher=Record Research Inc.|year=2015|location=Wisconsin|page=333|isbn=978-0-89820-213-7}} (The song later reached No. 28 in 2020.{{cite magazine |last1=Trust |first1=Gary |title=A Record 39 Holiday Songs Decorate This Week's Hot 100 |url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/business/chart-beat/9505201/record-holiday-songs-hot-100 |magazine=Billboard |access-date=2021-01-04 |date=December 29, 2020}}) The A-side was recorded during the McCartney II sessions, while its flip side had been cut in 1975. However, upcoming events were about to change McCartney's plans with Wings.
After years of visa refusals due to his past arrests for marijuana possession, Japan had finally allowed McCartney, and thus Wings, to perform. It would be the first instance McCartney had performed in the country since he had done so with the Beatles in 1966, and anticipation was running high with Wings' tour completely sold out. However, upon his arrival in Tokyo on 16 January 1980, a search of McCartney's luggage revealed a bag containing 219 grams of marijuana, prompting his immediate arrest and eventually cancelling the tour. After a nine-day jail stay, McCartney was released and returned home to his Scottish farm. Deciding to put Wings on hold while he contemplated his future, he now decided to issue his solo recordings from the previous summer.{{cite web|title=Paul McCartney is released from a Tokyo jail and deported from Japan - Jan 25, 1980 - HISTORY.com|url=http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/paul-mccartney-is-released-from-a-tokyo-jail-and-deported-from-japan|website=HISTORY.com|access-date=7 November 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161107155352/http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/paul-mccartney-is-released-from-a-tokyo-jail-and-deported-from-japan|archive-date=7 November 2016|url-status=live}}
Music and lyrics
McCartney II was named in follow-up to his debut album McCartney (1970) because McCartney plays all instruments on both albums; he has also since stated that he had specifically hired a 16-track machine and "a couple of microphones" with which to record this album, adding that he had himself alternately played the drums used in several recording in either the kitchen or bathroom in order to achieve the echo he sought on particular songs.
Featuring arrangements that are heavy on synthesisers, McCartney II has been said to represent McCartney's "acceptance of new wave", and has been described as "airless proto-electronica".{{cite news|last =Paphides|first =Pete|title =Hot Chip: Made in the Dark|newspaper =The Times|url =http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/music/cd_reviews/article3283938.ece|access-date =9 June 2016|date =1 February 2008|archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20090702145010/http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/music/cd_reviews/article3283938.ece|archive-date =2 July 2009|url-status =dead}} The album is often experimental, with most of its songs having been described as strange "eccentric synthpop".{{cite web |url=http://www.pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/15536-mccartney-mccartney-ii |title=Paul McCartney: McCartney / McCartney II | Album Reviews |website=Pitchfork |date=15 June 2011 |access-date=17 June 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130102042123/http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/15536-mccartney-mccartney-ii/ |archive-date=2 January 2013 |url-status=live }} Although McCartney denies any direct influences on the album, he admired the "eccentricity" and "not-mainstream attitude" of Talking Heads' David Byrne.{{cite web|last1=Turner|first1=Luke|title=McCartney II: Paul McCartney Interviewed By Other Artists|url=http://thequietus.com/articles/06426-paul-mccartney-interview-2|website=The Quietus|access-date=28 November 2016|date=15 June 2011}}
McCartney was also inspired by experimental composers John Cage, Cornelius Cardew and Luciano Berio; McCartney explained: "I went to their concerts in London because I had plenty of time on my hands so it was the kind of thing I would go and see. Again, just to see what it was about, not necessarily because I was a massive fan. It was more like: what is a prepared piano? Oh, that's what it is. You know, funky stuff like that."
According to Stephen Dalton of The Quietus, parts of the album are reminiscent of krautrock and "the whole post-punk disco boom", and described most of the album as "an alluringly weird mash-up of trip-hop, Krautrock and synth-pop." McCartney said that, "rather than me emulating anyone, it was more a question of me seeing what I could do with it. And again, not necessarily thinking I was making an album, just to have some time to experiment. These days I would say that with The Fireman project. So I've always been into that – if you go from 'Tomorrow Never Knows' through McCartney I, McCartney II, The Fireman…" Many of the most synthesised tracks are instrumentals which have been described as ambient; journalist Stephen Thomas Erlewine compared them "to a sprightly variation" of the instrumentals from the second side of Low (1977) by David Bowie, albeit with a warmer, less menacing sound.{{cite web|last1=Erlewine|first1=Stephen Thomas|title=Paul Plays Synths: When Classic Rockers Embraced the New Wave|url=https://medium.com/cuepoint/paul-plays-synths-when-classic-rockers-embraced-the-new-wave-53b8bd3fae8f#.r4iwdfd2b|website=Cuepoint|access-date=28 November 2016|date=8 May 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161128200615/https://medium.com/cuepoint/paul-plays-synths-when-classic-rockers-embraced-the-new-wave-53b8bd3fae8f#.r4iwdfd2b|archive-date=28 November 2016|url-status=live}} The instrumental "Frozen Jap" came about as McCartney was experimenting with synths and stumbled upon, in his words, an "Oriental"-sounding melody. The title was meant to be a placeholder as McCartney found earlier song names like "Crystalline Icicles Overhang the Little Cabin By the Ice-Capped Mount Fuji" and "Snow Scene in the Orient" to sound clumsy. On Japanese copies of the album, the title was changed to "Frozen Japanese" because McCartney was unaware that "jap" was seen as a racial slur.{{Cite web |date=2011-03-26 |title=Frozen Jap |url=https://www.beatlesbible.com/people/paul-mccartney/songs/frozen-jap/ |access-date=2023-12-23 |website=The Beatles Bible |language=en-GB}}
Lead single "Coming Up" – an uplifting dance number – appeared that April with a video (Paul playing all the bandmates, dubbed 'The Plastic Macs', except for the backing singers played by Linda) and with two B-sides by Wings: "Coming Up (Live at Glasgow)", recorded during Wings' December 1979 show there, and the piano laden instrumental "Lunch Box/Odd Sox" (a Venus and Mars outtake). An immediate UK No. 2 hit, "Coming Up" was flipped over for the live Wings version in the US where it became another No. 1 for McCartney, greatly raising hopes for his first solo album proper in years. The live Wings version of "Coming Up" was also included as a one-sided 7-inch single in copies of McCartney II within the US and Canada.{{citation needed|date=February 2018}}
"Temporary Secretary" features frantic synthesiser lines and lyrics about requiring a secretary of any skill level for a short period of time. McCartney dubbed the song an "experiment", saying that he found the concept of a temporary secretary humorous. "Temporary Secretary" was released as a 12" single in Britain, backed with the experimental non-album track "Secret Friend". Author Howard Sounes thought it a "sexy" track.Sounes, Howard (2010). Fab: An Intimate Life of Paul McCartney. London: HarperCollins. {{ISBN|978-0-00-723705-0}}. The single was only released in a quantity of 25,000 copies, failing to make an impact on the charts. The single artwork was created by Jeff Cummins of Hipgnosis.The end of the Beatles? {{ISBN|978-0-876-50162-7}} p. 104 The song was performed live for the first time at the London O2 Arena on 23 May 2015.{{cite web|url=http://consequenceofsound.net/2015/05/paul-mccartney-teams-with-dave-grohl-performs-temporary-secretary-for-first-time-watch/|title=Paul McCartney teams with Dave Grohl, performs "Temporary Secretary" for first time — watch|date=24 May 2015|access-date=26 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150527020154/http://consequenceofsound.net/2015/05/paul-mccartney-teams-with-dave-grohl-performs-temporary-secretary-for-first-time-watch/|archive-date=27 May 2015|url-status=live}} It was sampled in the 3D RDN remix of "Deep Deep Feeling" on McCartney III Imagined.
Release and critical reception
{{Music ratings
| subtitle = Contemporary reviews
| rev1 = Robert Christgau
| rev2 = Marshall Fine
| rev2Score = (unfavourable)Fine, Marshall "McCartney shames self with solo effort" San Bernardino County Sun (Gannett News Service) 22 June 1980: 44
| rev3 = Los Angeles Times
| rev3Score = (unfavourable)Hilburn, Robert. "McCartney's One-Man Show" Los Angeles Times 7 June 1980: C5
| rev4 = Rolling Stone
| rev5 = Smash Hits
| rev5Score = 5/10{{cite magazine|last=Starr|first=Red|title=Albums|magazine=Smash Hits|issue=29 May – 11 June 1980|page=30}}
| rev6 = Sounds
| rev6Score = (favourable){{cite magazine |last=Sutcliffe |first=Phil |title=Paul McCartney: McCartney II (Parlophone)**** |url=https://www.rocksbackpages.com/Library/Article/paul-mccartney-imccartney-iii-parlophone |magazine=Sounds |date=17 May 1980 |access-date= 10 March 2021|via=Rock's Backpages {{subscription required}}}}
}}
McCartney II was released in mid-May. The album debuted in UK at number one on the UK Albums Chart, becoming McCartney's first number-one there since Venus and Mars in 1975. EMI reported that the album was on track to equal the sales of Band on the Run."International" Cash Box 2 August 1980: 35 The second single from the album, "Waterfalls", peaked at number nine in the singles chart.
In the US, initial sales were strong thanks to the hit single "Coming Up" and the album reached number three in its second week on the Billboard album chart where it remained for five weeks.{{cite magazine|url=http://www.billboard.com/artist/328389/paul-mccartney/chart?f=305|title=Paul McCartney – Chart history – Billboard|magazine=Billboard |access-date=31 October 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140703220256/http://www.billboard.com/artist/328389/paul-mccartney/chart?f=305|archive-date=3 July 2014|url-status=live}} "Waterfalls" went virtually unnoticed in the US, only "bubbling under" the Billboard Hot 100 at number 106 for one week. The album quickly dropped down the charts and was off the Billboard chart after 19 weeks, McCartney's shortest run since Wild Life. It was one of his lowest-selling albums in the US up to that point.Whitburn, Joel. Top Pop Albums 1955–2001 (2001) p. 563
The critical reception to McCartney II was mostly negative. Many critics found the album slight, with its experimental, synth-based compositions and its handful of instrumentals. Record World magazine described it as "arguably the least well-received solo work of any Beatle".Graham, Samuel; Sutherland Sam. "The Coast" Record World 27 December 1980: 63
Retrospective reviews and legacy
{{Music ratings
| subtitle = Retrospective reviews
| rev1 = AllMusic
| rev1score = {{Rating|4|5}}{{cite web |last1=Erlewine |first1=Stephen Thomas |author-link1=Stephen Thomas Erlewine |title=McCartney II – Paul McCartney |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/mccartney-ii-mw0000652920 |publisher=AllMusic |access-date=15 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210507183454/https://www.allmusic.com/album/mccartney-ii-mw0000652920 |archive-date=7 May 2021}}
| rev2 = The Encyclopedia of Popular Music
| rev2score = {{Rating|3|5}}{{cite book|author=Larkin, Colin|title=The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (4th edn) |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=New York, NY |year=2006 |isbn=0-19-531373-9 |page=1257}}
| rev3 = The Essential Rock Discography
| rev3score = 5/10{{cite book|author=Strong, Martin C. |year=2006|title=The Essential Rock Discography|publisher=Canongate|location=Edinburgh, UK|page=696|isbn=978-184195-827-9}}
| rev4 = MusicHound
| rev4score = {{rating|3|5}}Graff and Durchholz, p. 730.
| rev5 = Pitchfork
| rev6 = Q
| rev6score = {{Rating|2|5}}{{cite news|last=Nicol|first=Jimmy|title=Re-releases: Paul McCartney The Paul McCartney Collection |work=Q |date=October 1993 |page=119}}
| rev7 = The Quietus
| rev8 = Record Collector
| rev8score = {{Rating|4|5}}{{cite web|url=http://www.cduniverse.com/productinfo.asp?pid=8498085&style=music&fulldesc=T |title=Paul McCartney – McCartney II CD|publisher=CD Universe/Muze|access-date=15 November 2014}}
| rev9 = The Rolling Stone Album Guide
| rev9score = {{Rating|2|5}}{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/artists/paul-mccartney/albumguide |title=Paul McCartney: Album Guide |magazine=rollingstone.com |access-date=13 October 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140704174106/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/artists/paul-mccartney/albumguide |archive-date=4 July 2014 }}
}}
Retrospective reviews have rated the album more highly.{{Cite web|url=https://www.popmatters.com/143348-paul-mccartney-mccartneymccartney-ii-2496004945.html|title=Paul McCartney: McCartney / McCartney II, PopMatters|first=Crispin|last=Kott|date=16 June 2011 }}{{Cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/15536-mccartney-mccartney-ii/|title=Paul McCartney: McCartney / McCartney II|website=Pitchfork|date=15 June 2011 }} Some writers credit it as a forerunner to the sound of 1980s pop.{{Cite web|url=https://www.nme.com/blogs/nme-blogs/paul-mccartneys-mccartney-ii-turns-35-years-old-how-it-foretold-the-sound-of-1980s-pop-17280|title=Paul McCartney's 'McCartney II' Turns 35 Years Old: How It Foretold The Sound Of 1980s Pop|website=NME |date=15 May 2015}}
In 2003, Mojo placed the album at number 26 on their list of the "Top 50 Eccentric Albums".{{cite web|url=http://www.muzieklijstjes.nl/Mojotop50eccentricalbums.htm|title=Mojo – A different drum – top 50 eccentric albums|access-date=12 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303231659/http://www.muzieklijstjes.nl/Mojotop50eccentricalbums.htm|archive-date=3 March 2016|url-status=live}} In 2014, NME included the album on their list of "101 Albums to Hear Before You Die", whose list entries were chosen by different musicians; McCartney II was picked by Austin Williams of Swim Deep.[https://www.nme.com/photos/101-albums-to-hear-before-you-die-2-1416468 "101 Albums To Hear Before You Die"]. NME. 17 May 2014 edition.
In 2018, Pitchfork ranked it at number 186 in their list of "The 200 Best Albums of the 1980s". They called it a "strange, guileless wisp of a synth-pop record" and wrote that although "[o]riginally derided as a novelty, McCartney II is now remarkable in its prescience of the lo-fi and bedroom pop movements."{{cite web |title=The 200 Best Albums of the 1980s |url=https://pitchfork.com/features/lists-and-guides/the-200-best-albums-of-the-1980s/?page=1 |website=Pitchfork |access-date=27 September 2018 |page=1 |date=10 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180927204432/https://pitchfork.com/features/lists-and-guides/the-200-best-albums-of-the-1980s/?page=1 |archive-date=27 September 2018 |url-status=live }}
Reissues
The initial issue of McCartney on compact disc featured "Check My Machine" and "Secret Friend" as bonus tracks. The two songs were originally released as the B-sides of "Waterfalls" and "Temporary Secretary", respectively. In 1993, McCartney II was remastered and reissued on CD as part of "The Paul McCartney Collection" series with Wings' 1979 hit "Goodnight Tonight" added as a third bonus track.
When the new remastered version was released on 13 June 2011 as part of the Paul McCartney Archive Collection,{{cite web|url=http://www.beatlesbible.com/2011/04/27/mccartney-mccartney-ii-reissue-details-announced/|title=27 April 2011: McCartney and McCartney II reissue details announced – The Beatles Bible|date=27 April 2011 |access-date=7 January 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120125033731/http://www.beatlesbible.com/2011/04/27/mccartney-mccartney-ii-reissue-details-announced/|archive-date=25 January 2012|url-status=live}} the album re-entered the UK charts at number 108.{{Cite web |url=http://zobbel.de/cluk/110625cluk.txt |title=Chart Log UK – New Entries Update 25.06.2011 (week 24) |access-date=27 June 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120212123513/http://www.zobbel.de/cluk/110625cluk.txt |archive-date=12 February 2012 |url-status=live }}
The album was reissued on 5 August 2022 in a boxset entitled McCartney I II III, consisting of 3 LPs or 3 CDs, along with the first and third albums of the trilogy.{{Cite web|url=https://www.uncut.co.uk/news/paul-mccartney-to-release-mccartney-mccartney-ii-and-mccartney-iii-box-set-138955/|title=Paul McCartney to release McCartney, McCartney II and McCartney III box set|date =17 June 2022}}
Influence
McCartney II was described as an influence on Hot Chip's album Made in the Dark (2008), especially with songs like "Wrestlers", "Bendable Poseable", "Whistle for Will" and "We're Looking for a Lot of Love".{{cite news|last=Paphides|first=Pete|title=Hot Chip: Made in the Dark|newspaper=The Times |url=http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/music/cd_reviews/article3283938.ece|access-date=3 July 2008|date =1 February 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090702145010/http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/music/cd_reviews/article3283938.ece|archive-date=2 July 2009|url-status=dead}} "Now There Is Nothing" from the band's later album In Our Heads (2012) has been described as a homage to McCartney II, with their guitarist Al Doyle explaining the song has "quite deliberately quirky time signature changes and key changes and these sort of very wandering harmonies—very typical of that period and McCartney productions."{{cite web|last1=Marchese|first1=David|title=Mr. T to Paul McCartney: Hot Chip Reveal What's In Their Heads|url=http://www.spin.com/2012/06/mr-t-paul-mccartney-hot-chip-reveal-whats-their-heads/|website=Spin|access-date=28 November 2016|date=22 June 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161129021128/http://www.spin.com/2012/06/mr-t-paul-mccartney-hot-chip-reveal-whats-their-heads/|archive-date=29 November 2016|url-status=live}} Alexis Taylor of the group has described McCartney II as one of his favourite albums of all time. The album has also been championed by multiple other musicians such as disc jockey Erol Alkan, Chris Carter of Throbbing Gristle, Gruff Rhys of Super Furry Animals and Ty Bulmer of New Young Pony Club.
Track listing
All songs written by Paul McCartney.
Side one
- "Coming Up" – 3:53
- "Temporary Secretary" – 3:14
- "On the Way" – 3:38
- "Waterfalls" – 4:43
- "Nobody Knows" – 2:52
Side two
- "Front Parlour" – 3:32
- "Summer's Day Song" – 3:25
- "Frozen Jap" – 3:40
- "Bogey Music" – 3:27
- "Darkroom" – 2:20
- "One of These Days" – 3:35
Additional tracks on the 1993 CD reissue
- "Check My Machine" – 5:50
- "Secret Friend" – 10:31
- "Goodnight Tonight" – 4:15
Archive Collection reissue
In 2011, the album was re-issued by Hear Music/Concord Music Group as part of the second set of releases, alongside McCartney, in the Paul McCartney Archive Collection. It was released in various formats:{{cite web|url=https://www.paulmccartney.com/discography/albums/mccartney-ii|title=McCartney II|website=Paul McCartney }}
- Standard edition 1-CD; the original 11-track album
- Special edition 2-CD; the original 11-track album on the first disc, plus 8 bonus tracks on a second disc{{cite web |url=http://www.discogs.com/Paul-McCartney-McCartney-II/release/3049149 |title=Paul McCartney – McCartney II (CD, Album) at Discogs |date=13 June 2011 |publisher=Discogs |access-date=31 July 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180522181638/https://www.discogs.com/Paul-McCartney-McCartney-II/release/3049149 |archive-date=22 May 2018 |url-status=live }}
- Deluxe edition 3-CD/1-DVD; the original 11-track album, the bonus tracks disc, a limited and numbered 128-page book containing many previously unpublished images by Linda McCartney. The book features album and single artwork and a full history of the making of the album, complete with a new interview with Paul and expanded track by track information. The DVD features rare and previously unseen footage (including rehearsal footage of "Coming Up" and a new video for the unreleased track "Blue Sway"){{cite web |url=http://www.discogs.com/Paul-McCartney-McCartney-II/release/2931618 |title=Paul McCartney – McCartney II (CD, Album) at Discogs |date=June 2011 |publisher=Discogs.com |access-date=31 July 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180522181437/https://www.discogs.com/Paul-McCartney-McCartney-II/release/2931618 |archive-date=22 May 2018 |url-status=live }}
- Remastered vinyl 2-LP version containing the Special Edition and a download link to the material{{cite web |url=http://www.discogs.com/Paul-McCartney-McCartney-II/release/2942817 |title=Paul McCartney – McCartney II (Vinyl, LP, Album, LP) at Discogs |date=13 June 2011 |publisher=Discogs.com |access-date=31 July 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150330030316/http://www.discogs.com/Paul-McCartney-McCartney-II/release/2942817 |archive-date=30 March 2015 |url-status=live }}
- High Resolution 24bit 96 kHz limited and unlimited audio versions of all 27 songs on the remastered album and bonus audio discs
Disc 1 – The original 11-track album
Disc 2 – Bonus Audio 1
- "Blue Sway" (with Richard Niles Orchestration){{ref|a|[a]}} – 4:35
- "Coming Up" (live at the Apollo Theatre, Glasgow – 17 December 1979) – 4:08
- "Check My Machine" (regular single B-side edited version) – 5:50
- "Bogey Wobble"{{ref|a|[a]}} – 2:59
- "Secret Friend" (full length version) – 10:31
- "Mr H Atom" / "You Know I'll Get You Baby"{{ref|a|[a]}} – 5:55
- "Wonderful Christmastime" (regular A-side version) – 3:47
- "All You Horse Riders" / "Blue Sway"{{ref|a|[a]}} – 10:15
Disc 3 – Bonus Audio 2
- "Coming Up" (full length version) – 5:34
- "Front Parlour" (full length version) – 5:15
- "Frozen Jap" (full length version) – 5:43
- "Darkroom" (full length version) – 3:45
- "Check My Machine" (full length version) – 8:58
- "Wonderful Christmastime" (full length version) – 4:15
- "Summer's Day Song" (original without vocals) – 3:25
- "Waterfalls" (DJ edit) – 3:20
Disc 4 – DVD
- "Meet Paul McCartney"
- "Coming Up" (music video)
- "Waterfalls" (music video)
- "Wonderful Christmastime" (music video)
- "Coming Up" (live at the Concert for the People of Kampuchea, 29 December 1979)
- "Coming Up" (from a rehearsal session at Lower Gate Farm, 1979)
- "Making the Coming Up Music Video"
- "Blue Sway" (music video)
Note
{{note|a|[a]}} signifies previously unreleased material.
Personnel
- Paul McCartney – all vocals and instrumentation, engineer, mixing
- Eddie Klein – mixing assistant
Charts and certifications
=Weekly charts=
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Original release
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"
|+2023–2024 weekly chart performance for McCartney II ! scope="col"| Chart (2023–2024) ! scope="col"| Peak |
| {{album chart|Germany4|18|id=8880|artist=Paul McCartney|album=McCartney II|rowheader=true|access-date=29 December 2023}} |
| scope="row"| US Billboard 200{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/charts/billboard-200/2024-01-06/|title=Billboard 200: Week of January 6, 2024|magazine=Billboard|access-date=November 27, 2024}}
| 91 |
|---|
{{col-2}}
Reissue
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=Year-end charts=
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=Certifications and sales=
{{certification Table Top|caption=Certifications and sales for McCartney II}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=Australia|type=album|artist=Paul McCartney|title=McCartney II|relyear=1980|certyear=1980|award=Platinum|certref={{cite web|url=https://i.imgur.com/HmFDCnW.jpg?1|title=Kent Music Report No 341 – 5 January 1981 > Platinum and Gold Albums 1980|publisher=Kent Music Report|via=Imgur.com|access-date=12 November 2021}}}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=Japan (Oricon Charts)|nocert=yes|salesamount=80,000|salesref=}}
{{certification Table Entry|title=McCartney II|type=album|artist=Paul McCartney|region=United Kingdom|award=Gold|certyear=1980|id=4200-3435-2}}
{{certification Table Entry|title=Mc Cartney II|type=album|artist=Paul McCartney|region=United States|award=Gold}}
{{Certification Table Bottom|nosales=yes}}
{{col-end}}
Notes
- A{{anchor|endnote_A}}^ Until January 1987, Japanese albums chart had been separated into LP, CD, and cassette charts. McCartney II also entered the cassette chart, peaking at number 13.
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{discogs master|92533}}
- [http://www.jpgr.co.uk/pctc258.html JPGR's Beatles site: Paul McCartney's McCartney II]
- [http://www.collectorsmusicreviews.com/mccartney-paul/paul-mccartney-the-lost-mccartney-album-strange-apple-sar-010 Collector's Music Review of Paul McCartney – The Lost McCartney Album] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110708175532/http://www.collectorsmusicreviews.com/mccartney-paul/paul-mccartney-the-lost-mccartney-album-strange-apple-sar-010/ |date=8 July 2011 }}
{{Paul McCartney}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:McCartney II}}
Category:Paul McCartney albums
Category:Albums produced by Paul McCartney
Category:Columbia Records albums
Category:Capitol Records albums
Category:Hear Music video albums
Category:Albums recorded in a home studio