Ageless Music Anthology 1 (Strange Apple Records SAR 017)
Disc 1 (79:48): (1970-1972) Dear Friend (Home Demo), Another Day (Acetate), Rode All Night (Outtake), Sunshine Sometime (Instrumental) (Rough Mix), The Back Seat Of My Car (Instrumental) (Rough Mix), Some People Never Know (Rough Monitor Mix), Mumbo (Rough Monitor Mix), Indeed I Do (Home Demo), Mary Had A Little Lamb (Rough Mix), Hi Hi Hi (Acetate), Jazz Street (Rough Mix), Big Barn Bed (Rough Mix), The Mess (Studio Outtake), Thank You Darling (Outtake), Tragedy (Rough Mix), Mama’s Little Girl (Rough Mix), Bridge Over The River Suite (Rough Mix), Live And Let Die (Studio Rough Take)
Disc 2 (74:50): (1973-1974) Bluebird〜Yesterday (“James Paul McCartney Show” Outtake), Michelle〜Heart Of The Country〜Blackbird〜Hey Diddle〜Mamma’s Little Girl (“James Paul McCartney Show” Outtake), Mull Of Kintyre (Piano Demo), Rockestra Theme (Piano Demo), Now That She Is Mine (Letting Go) (Piano Demo), Treat Her Gently/Lonely Old People (Piano Demo), Waiting For The Sun To Shine (Love Mix) (Piano Demo), Girlfriend (Piano Demo), Junior’s Farm (Ernie Winfrey Mix), One Hand Clapping (“One Hand Clapping” Session Stereo Mix), Jet (“One Hand Clapping” Session Stereo Mix), Soily (“One Hand Clapping” Session Stereo Mix), Go Now (“One Hand Clapping” Session Stereo Mix), Maybe I’m Amazed (“One Hand Clapping” Session Stereo Mix), Bluebird (“One Hand Clapping” Session Stereo Mix), My Love (“One Hand Clapping” Session Stereo Mix), Live And Let Die (“One Hand Clapping” Session Stereo Mix), Band On The Run (“One Hand Clapping” Session Stereo Mix), Nineteen Hundred And Eighty Five (“One Hand Clapping” Session Stereo Mix)
Ageless Music Anthology 1 on Strange Apple Records is another recasting of Paul McCartney rarities and outtakes. This release mixes in some of the recently surfaced Trevor Jones tracks with other outtakes which have been in circulation for many years, most notably on Unsurpassed Masters Volume 1 (Strawberry Records – STR 002) and Unsurpassed Masters Vol. 2 (Strawberry Records – STR 003).
Volume 1 presents outtakes dating from early in McCartney’s solo career through the “One Hand Clapping” untelecast television special in rough chronological order. It starts off with the rough amateur recoding demo of “Dear Friend.” This would eventually be released on the first Wing’s LP in 1972, but this dates several years prior. This recording is notable for picking up Linda on the phone. The scratchy “Another Day” acetate follows.
Several demos from the Ram sessions follow. “Rode All Night” is an eight minute long jam session with McCartney playing all the lyrics and screaming the same words over and over again. “Sunshine Sometime” and “The Back Seat Of My Car” are rough instrumental takes of two songs that would appear on Ram.
Two tracks from Wild Life, “Some People Never Know” and “Mumbo,” follow in good quality. There are very small differences in the mix which makes this recording interesting. “Some People Never Know” does not contain guitar solos and the horn arrangement is different, and there are some differences in the mix for “Mumbo.”
“Indeed, I Do” is a four minute demo in very good quality. Recorded in the middle of 1970, this outtake features Paul and Linda singing improvised lyrics accompanied by Paul on the acoustic guitar. The words break down in the middle as Paul tries to figure out what to sing. It’s an interesting and catchy number that remains unreleased. “Mary Had A Little Lamb” and “Hi Hi Hi” are rough mixes of the two singles.
Tunes from the Red Rose Speedwaysessions follow. “Jazz Street” is a five minute long instrumental which was going to be on the album when it was projected as a double LP. “Big Red Barn” is a rough mix of the song which includes someone’s cough near the beginning of the recording. “The Mess” is an outtake that was going to be used on the doulbe LP but dropped. A live recording would be issued as a b-side to “My Love.”
“Tragedy” and “Momma’s Little Girl” are rough takes of songs closely associated with the Cold Cut project. “Bridge Over The River Suite” is a track from the 1974 Nashville era, and the firsr disc ends with the 1972 demo of “Live And Let Die.” This is the first half of the song with McCartney’s instructions which surfaced on the Jones tapes.
The second disc opends with fifteen minutes of outtakes from the 1973 television show James Paul McCartney. This material was previously released on James Paul McCartney (Deluxe Edition) (Strange Apple SAR-008). It is interesting for showing Paul forgetting the lyrics to “Yesterday” (which was mercifully cut from the program).
These outtakes are followed by several home recorded piano demos from 1974. “Mull Of Kintyre” would be recorded several years later with bagpipes and become one of the biggest selling singles in the history of mankind. “Rockestra Theme” would be recorded in 1978 with many luminaries from the British pop scene on Back To The Egg, Wing’s final album. “Now that She Is Back” is the an early version of “Letting Go” which would appear on the following year’s album Venus And Mars. “Waiting For The Sun To Shine” would be recycled in the eighties and used in “Love Mix,” which would be he heard in “Oobu Joobu Part 6.”
The final half of the disc contains material from the unbroadcast “One Hand Clapping” television special and contains nothing new and which hasn’t been released many times before. The sound quality is certainly top great on this release, however.
Ageless Music Anthology Vol. 1 is a strong release covering interesting outtake material. It is an effective blend of the newer tracks mixed with the older ones to give a good cohesive document of McCartney’s activities in the seventies. Strange Apple’s artwork is a take on The Beatles’ 1968 double album, even utilizing the same font on the back and inside.
