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Autumn 2021

Remastering / remixing sessions for The 7” Singles Box

For Paul McCartney

Last updated on December 26, 2022


Location

  • Recording studio: EMI Studios, Abbey Road

Timeline

AlbumSome of the songs worked on during this session were first released on the "The 7” Singles Box" 7" Single

In December 2022, a new vinyl box set, called “The 7” Singles Box“, was released. Limited to 3000 copies, the product comprises 80 career-spanning 7″ singles, featuring 163 tracks and totalling 10 hours of music.

Some of the released tracks were specifically remastered for this project in late 2021.

The music on each of these 80 singles has been mastered and optimised for vinyl. Some of the work had been done previously for the LP pressings of Paul’s Archive Collection and Pure McCartney releases. Songs not included on those releases were remastered at Abbey Road Studios specially for this project.

To source the audio, Paul’s studio team went to the original master tapes, which in itself tells an interesting story in the development of sound recording, beginning on 1/4″ tape for the first singles through to .WAV files for the most recent. This audio was digitised where needed and all 80 singles were passed over to Abbey Road Studios in the autumn of 2021.

Following approval of the remastering, an Abbey Road Studios engineer cut a lacquer plate using a vinyl lathe to create the record’s grooves which are, in effect, a fingerprint of the sound waves of the music. This process is done twice per single, once for each side. These master discs are then carefully and quickly shipped to the pressing plant. In the case of The 7″ Singles Box, two pressing plants in continental Europe were enlisted to produce over a quarter of a million records. […]

From the liner notes of “The 7” Singles Box

Also, a unique mix of “Only Love Remains” was included in “The 7” Singles Box” instead of the 7″ mix released in 1986. It’s not known if MPL decided to consciously include this mix or if it was a mistake.

Are there differences between the true 7” mix of “Only Love Remains” and the previously unreleased mix on the 7” Singles box? Or are they minor?

The sax is a completely different take which is the standout difference. (IMO sounds like an earlier run through of the sax as it’s not quite there unlike the true single mix.) There are lots of other smaller differences as well, eg – The bongos run right through the Singles Box mix, but stop/start in places on the true single mix. There is a second tambourine on the true single mix (from ‘Old enough’) which is missing from the Singles Box Mix. Finally when the full drums kick in they are a lot more forward in the Singles Box mix.

From Paul McCartney – The 7″ Singles [Release date December 2nd 2022] | Page 80 | Steve Hoffman Music Forums

Session activities

  1. Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey

    Written by Paul McCartney, Linda McCartney

    Mixing

  2. Too Many People

    Written by Paul McCartney

    Mixing

  3. The Back Seat Of My Car

    Written by Paul McCartney

    Mixing

  4. The Mess

    Written by Paul McCartney, Linda McCartney

    Mixing

  5. Helen Wheels

    Written by Paul McCartney, Linda McCartney

    Mixing

  6. Sally G

    Written by Paul McCartney, Linda McCartney

    Mixing

  7. Maybe I'm Amazed

    Written by Paul McCartney

    Mixing

  8. Soily

    Written by Paul McCartney, Linda McCartney

    Mixing

  9. Girls' School

    Written by Paul McCartney

    Mixing

  10. Backwards Traveller

    Written by Paul McCartney

    Mixing

  11. Cuff Link

    Written by Paul McCartney

    Mixing

  12. I've Had Enough

    Written by Paul McCartney

    Mixing

  13. Deliver Your Children

    Written by Paul McCartney, Denny Laine

    Mixing

  14. London Town

    Written by Paul McCartney, Denny Laine

    Mixing

  15. I'm Carrying

    Written by Paul McCartney

    Mixing

  16. Daytime Nightime Suffering

    Written by Paul McCartney

    Mixing

  17. Old Siam, Sir

    Written by Paul McCartney

    Mixing

  18. Spin It On

    Written by Paul McCartney

    Mixing

  19. Getting Closer

    Written by Paul McCartney

    Mixing

  20. Ebony And Ivory

    Written by Paul McCartney

    Mixing

  21. Rainclouds

    Written by Paul McCartney, Denny Laine

    Mixing

  22. Take It Away

    Written by Paul McCartney

    Mixing

  23. I'll Give You A Ring

    Written by Paul McCartney

    Mixing

  24. Tug Of War

    Written by Paul McCartney

    Mixing

  25. Get It

    Written by Paul McCartney

    Mixing

  26. Spies Like Us

    Written by Paul McCartney

    Mixing

  27. Press

    Written by Paul McCartney

    Mixing

  28. It's Not True

    Written by Paul McCartney

    Mixing

  29. Pretty Little Head

    Written by Paul McCartney, Eric Stewart

    Mixing

  30. Write Away

    Written by Paul McCartney, Eric Stewart

    Mixing

  31. Stranglehold

    Written by Paul McCartney, Eric Stewart

    Mixing

  32. Angry

    Written by Paul McCartney, Eric Stewart

    Mixing

  33. Only Love Remains

    Written by Paul McCartney

    Mixing

  34. Tough On A Tightrope

    Written by Paul McCartney, Eric Stewart

    Mixing

  35. Once Upon A Long Ago

    Written by Paul McCartney

    Mixing

  36. Ou Est Le Soleil?

    Written by Paul McCartney

    Mixing

  37. The Long And Winding Road

    Written by Lennon - McCartney

    Mixing

  38. C Moon

    Written by Paul McCartney, Linda McCartney

    Mixing

  39. Birthday

    Written by Lennon - McCartney

    Mixing

  40. Good Day Sunshine

    Written by Lennon - McCartney

    Mixing

  41. All My Trials

    Written by Traditional

    Mixing

  42. Hope Of Deliverance

    Written by Paul McCartney

    Mixing

  43. Long Leather Coat

    Written by Paul McCartney, Linda McCartney

    Mixing

  44. C'mon People

    Written by Paul McCartney

    Mixing

  45. I Can't Imagine

    Written by Paul McCartney

    Mixing

  46. Love Come Tumbling Down

    Written by Paul McCartney

    Mixing

  47. No Other Baby

    Written by Dickie Bishop, Bob Watson

    Mixing

  48. Brown Eyed Handsome Man

    Written by Chuck Berry

    Mixing

  49. Fabulous

    Written by Bernie Lowe, Kal Mann

    Mixing

  50. Tropic Island Hum

    Written by Paul McCartney

    Mixing


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