Paul McCartney
The 7" Singles Box
MPL
Paul McCartney’s 7" Singles Box is a doozy. This limited-release singles collection (already sold out) housed in a wooden packing crate showcases a celebrated musician who didn’t rest on his laurels after The Beatles came to a formalized end. The expansive set features 80 7-inch vinyl records, including the recreation of 65 original singles and their accompanying artwork and 15 unreleased singles associated with various digital downloads, music videos, and promotional efforts. The box set also includes a 148-page booklet that features a heartfelt foreword by Paul, an essay by music journalist Rob Sheffield, and tons of chart information and liner notes. Each box also includes a randomly selected exclusive test pressing of one of the singles.
McCartney’s 1970s era is the most impressive run out of the bunch here, as he ranged all over the pop music map as a solo act, as the leader of his band Wings, and with his late wife Linda on Ram. In this period alone, Paul achieved eight chart-topping US and/or UK singles. He may not have hit the same heights on the charts in the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s, but his music became more exploratory in his pursuit of the ultimate pop melody, resulting in some radio-ready jams with Stevie Wonder (“Ebony and Ivory”) and Michael Jackson (“Say Say Say”). He eventually had a falling out with the latter after Jackson’s purchase of The Beatles’ discography, but for a hot minute they were a fun and powerful pop duo.
McCartney launched into the ’80s on a hiatus from Wings, a break that eventually became indefinite. He also managed to toe the line between the synthetic new sounds of the decade and the traditional pop sounds of his youth with the high-spirited dance rocker “Coming Up.” A live version of the track performed with Wings became a #1 US pop hit in June 1980, helping to bridge McCartney’s two most prolific decades. The ’90s and ’00s saw far fewer chart-topping moments, but McCartney always possessed a workman-like dedication to the craft of songwriting, and even his smaller accomplishments in the rock and pop realms always felt effortlessly cool.
Even the nostalgic revisitings to his brilliant ’70s era on recent albums make for fun singles to put on the turntable after digging through over 10 hours of McCartney jams (“Find My Way” b/w “Winter Bird/When Winter Comes” is a standout). The soundtrack singles like Wings’ “Live and Let Die” are weird diversions as well—1985’s goofy “Spies Like Us” track for the Chevy Chase and Dan Ackroyd comedy solidifies the point that McCartney never took himself too seriously over his long career. Plenty of other fizzy tracks from his sprawling discography such as “Temporary Secretary,” “Mary Had a Little Lamb,” and “Fuh You” can further attest to this.
There are certainly moments that typify his spirit of a goofball plunking away at the piano throughout his solo career. This gargantuan box set was over $600, after all, and the format of A-sides and B-sides is a testament to that pop bombast handmade for his most diehard fans to slowly digest over the holidays. You either strap in and listen or sit it out. Remember to pace yourself.
