- Album Songs recorded during this session officially appear on the Thrillington LP.
- Studio:
- EMI Studios, Abbey Road
Timeline
More from year 1971
Some songs from this session appear on:
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About
“Thrillington“, an instrumental version of Paul McCartney’s second solo album, “RAM“, was recorded over three days, on June 15, June 16 and June 17, 1971. On this day, June 18, the album was mixed by engineers Tony Clark and Alan Parsons.
From “Good Day Sunshine” fanzine, issue #78:
[…] The following day, on Friday June 18, the album was mixed by Clark and tape operator Parsons in a marathon session that didn’t end until 11:00 a.m. the following day. “Paul was there for the mix,” notes Tony Clark. “He allowed me the freedom to set up the mixes and get the basic feel of it.” Like the recording sessions, the mix session had a certain inspired energy to it that kept everybody moving. “There was actually a spirit of energy that lasted through the whole night. Paul used to live in St. John’s Wood then, and he’d pop home with Linda and then come back again. Which was great, because if I was flagging a bit in the night, he’d help put a bit of energy back into it.“
The album was then completed and put on the shelf awaiting release. “I always felt so involved with the album that I always wanted to master it myself,” says Tony Clark. “There’s something special that happens in the mastering process when bringing the tape to disc, like what happened with ‘Paperback Writer.’ Unfortunately, I never got the chance with this album.” […]
From “Good Day Sunshine” fanzine – Issue #78 – Quoted in mcbeatle.de
I don’t think I’ve seen Paul quite so happy, away from the responsibility of making and producing his own music – just having a great, great bunch of musicians playing his music. Paul would talk to the musicians, and be the producer in the box, with me engineering, and it all flowed. Paul was bopping around, and feeling great about his music. I reckon we all did.
Tony Clark – from Facebook (Quote taken from McCartney Legacy Volume One, © Dey Street books, 2022.)
A month after this session, Paul was again in a recording studio, to start the recording of Wings’ first album, “Wild Life“; which may explain why Thrillington had to wait for the year 1977 to be released: the focus was now elsewhere.
Last updated on April 30, 2022
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Going further
Paul McCartney: Music Is Ideas. The Stories Behind the Songs (Vol. 1) 1970-1989
With 25 albums of pop music, 5 of classical – a total of around 500 songs – released over the course of more than half a century, Paul McCartney's career, on his own and with Wings, boasts an incredible catalogue that's always striving to free itself from the shadow of The Beatles. The stories behind the songs, demos and studio recordings, unreleased tracks, recording dates, musicians, live performances and tours, covers, events: Music Is Ideas Volume 1 traces McCartney's post-Beatles output from 1970 to 1989 in the form of 346 song sheets, filled with details of the recordings and stories behind the sessions. Accompanied by photos, and drawing on interviews and contemporary reviews, this reference book draws the portrait of a musical craftsman who has elevated popular song to an art-form.
Eight Arms to Hold You: The Solo Beatles Compendium
We owe a lot to Chip Madinger and Mark Easter for the creation of those session pages, but you really have to buy this book to get all the details!
Eight Arms To Hold You: The Solo Beatles Compendium is the ultimate look at the careers of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr beyond the Beatles. Every aspect of their professional careers as solo artists is explored, from recording sessions, record releases and tours, to television, film and music videos, including everything in between. From their early film soundtrack work to the officially released retrospectives, all solo efforts by the four men are exhaustively examined.
As the paperback version is out of print, you can buy a PDF version on the authors' website
Maccazine - Volume 40, Issue 3 - RAM Part 1 - Timeline
This very special RAM special is the first in a series. This is a Timeline for 1970 – 1971 when McCartney started writing and planning RAM in the summer of 1970 and ending with the release of the first Wings album WILD LIFE in December 1971. [...] One thing I noted when exploring the material inside the deluxe RAM remaster is that the book contains many mistakes. A couple of dates are completely inaccurate and the story is far from complete. For this reason, I started to compile a Timeline for the 1970/1971 period filling the gaps and correcting the mistakes. The result is this Maccazine special. As the Timeline was way too long for one special, we decided to do a double issue (issue 3, 2012 and issue 1, 2013).
Maccazine - Volume 47, Issue 1 - The birth of Wings
"Maccazine is a hard copy magazine (a bound paperback) about Paul McCartney. It is published twice a year. Due to the fact that the Internet has taken over the world and the fact that the latest Paul McCartney news is to be found on hundreds of websites, we have decided to focus on creating an informative paper magazine about Paul McCartney."
"In this issue we take you back to the early days of Paul McCartney’s solo career when he decided to form a new group. With Wings he proved there was life after The Beatles. This Maccazine features a detailed timeline of ‘the birth’ of the band with interesting entries including many new facts and unpublished photos. Follow-up timelines will be published in the upcoming years."
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