Remixing "Tug Of War" album

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Paul McCartney and Steve Orchard spent the month of March 2015, to remix the “Tug Of War” album using the original analogue multi-track masters, for inclusion on the upcoming reedition as part of the Archive Collection. As of 2020, this is the only album that has been remixed for the Archive Collection, all other albums being simply remastered.

The 2015 remix of “Tug Of War” was mastered at Abbey Road Studios, by Alex Wharton on April 17th, 2015.

From paulmccartney.com, September 23, 2015:

Paul McCartney’s classic album is given new mix to give a fresh expansive sound

Until now the releases in the GRAMMY-winning Paul McCartney Archive Collection series have been remastered versions of some of his classic albums from his vast catalogue. But with the forthcoming release of 1982’s Tug of War, fans can hear the music with fresh ears as the album has also been completely remixed.

Tug of War, Paul’s third solo album and his first release following the break-up of Wings, has been given the lavish reissue treatment and will come out on October 2, 2015, along with 1983’s Pipes of Peace.

As with all of the Archive editions – which have included Band on the Run and Wings over America – Paul has personally supervised all aspects of the release.

The painstaking work by Paul along with the project’s chief engineer Steve Orchard has enhanced the sound to make it more open, dynamic and expansive. At the time of its recording, digital mastering was still in its infancy and the 16 bit resolution which was then state-of-the-art has been overtaken by huge advances in the quality sound technology. 

To fulfil the exacting standards of the Archive releases, Paul and Steve went back to the original tapes, using vintage equipment and carefully balancing the individual tracks to match the sound of the release for this 24 bit version, with Paul overseeing each step.

As Steve explains: “I was very conscious of retaining the original spirit of the mixes and wanted to emulate them in the best way possible. I used a lot of vintage equipment that would have been used on the original sessions to help me with the process. I also recorded the mixes onto analogue tape using Paul’s vintage valve Studer J37 one-inch tape machine, which sounds truly awesome. 

“I would start each mix by making sure I was using all of the correct performances and then with a lot of careful referencing and listening I would methodically go through each section and match all of the aspects of the original mix – the balance of the instruments, the positioning of them in the stereo image, the tonal characteristics and then the effects. Once I felt I had the best possible match, I would play the mix to Paul and then we would work through it together. Paul would point out elements that could be improved on. Once we’d gone through that process we would then alter the mix slightly, improving elements and the balance where we felt we could. 

“Each mix varied in the amount of time it took. In all, the mixing took roughly a month to complete. It was amazing going through the original multi-track tapes and listening to all the different performances from such incredible musicians. It was a fantastic project to be a part of and I really hope that people enjoy the new mixes.”

Last updated on February 21, 2021

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