Paul McCartney & Wings - Band On The Run (1973) {1999, 25th Anniversary Edition, Remastered, Japan}

The consensus of critics, as well as cold hard sales figures, says that Band on the Run was Paul McCartney's most successful solo album -- and so, shortly after the 25th anniversary of its release, Band on the Run got the deluxe boxed treatment. The original album itself was remastered yet again, the sound improved only slightly over previous versions, and the track order made to follow that of the U.S. release (the British version does not include "Helen Wheels"). The real attraction of this box, though, is the second disc, a radio-style program containing interviews with Paul, Linda Mac, Wings member Denny Laine, and other contributors, plus demos, rehearsals, assorted outtakes, and edited portions from the original album. The documentary makes it clear that not only was Band on the Run an artistic triumph over very trying conditions -- the defection of two-fifths of Wings and the whimsical decision to record in the primitive, sometimes dangerous conditions of Lagos, Nigeria -- it was a marketing triumph as well. Capitol promotion man Al Coury tells how he spotted the hitmaking potential of "Jet," the album's second single and the one that really launched it into chart orbit. A lot of attention, perhaps too much, is also paid to the making of the album's cover photo, elevating it to the level of the cover art of Sgt. Pepper's and Abbey Road. Interestingly, Laine gets one fact wrong on the interview disc -- they played "Picasso's Last Words," not "Mamunia," in Ginger Baker's Lagos studio -- which Mark Lewisohn's authoritative liner notes make clear. You also get a reproduction of the poster that came with the LP. All of this comes at a two-CDs-for-the-price-of-one deal -- which should be downright irresistible for those who haven't replaced their original LPs.