Cold Cuts (Paul McCartney album)

Cold Cuts is an unreleased album of outtakes by Paul McCartney. The album was originally planned to be released in 1975 and McCartney revisited the project several times over the years until it was abandoned permanently in the late 1980s. The songs on the album were recorded during his solo career and with Wings in the 1970s and 1980s.

History

The album was originally conceived as a budget release in 1974, composed of non-album singles and previously unreleased tracks.^[1][2] McCartney began work on the album during Wings' recording sessions in Nashville, Tennessee in July 1974, recording several new songs and overdubbing some previously unused tracks. The album, variously referred to as Cold Cuts or Hot Hitz and Kold Kutz, was slated for release in 1975 but never materialized.^[3] In January 1981, McCartney and Wings recorded additional overdubs for the unreleased tracks with the album slated for release in early 1981.^[4] However, Columbia Records was not interested in releasing an album of outtakes and the album was shelved.^[5] It was also believed that its release soon after the death of John Lennon would seem inapproriate.^[2] Producer/arranger Richard Niles did further work on the tracks in 1986.^[6] In August 1987, McCartney mixed and edited another version of the album with producer Chris Thomas and engineer Bill Price.^[7] That album also went unreleased and after bootleg versions appeared on the market, McCartney abandoned the project permanently.^[8]

Possible tracks considered for the album

Below is a list of the possible tracks that were under consideration over the lifetime of the project. Most of these songs have appeared on various bootlegs connected to the album.

• "A Love for You" – Recorded in 1971 during the Ram sessions, the track received additional overdubs by Laurence Juber and Steve Holley from Wings' third line-up.^[2] That version was released in 2003 on The In-Laws soundtrack album; another mix of the song (c. 1981) was released in 2012 on the Special Edition re-issue of Ram.^[9]
• "Best Friend" – Recorded live during the 1972 Wings Over Europe Tour.
• "Blue Sway" – Recorded in 1979 during the McCartney II sessions, the track received additional overdubs by producer/arranger Richard Niles in 1986. It was released on the 2011 re-issue of McCartney II.
• "Cage" – Removed from Back to the Egg at the last minute in favour of "Baby's Request",^[10] this song features the chords C-A-G-E as its riff to go along with the cage lyric.
• "Coming Up" – A solo recording by McCartney from June–July 1979, released on the McCartney II album in 1980.^[11]
• "Did We Meet Somewhere Before?" – Rejected as the main theme for Warren Beatty's film Heaven Can Wait, the song remained on Paul's shelf until he decided to include it on the outtakes project. A snippet of the track was used in the film Rock 'n' Roll High School although it did not appear on the soundtrack album.
• "Goodnight Tonight" – A solo recording by McCartney from January 1978, the track later received overdubs by Wings and was released as the group's first Columbia single in March 1979.^[11]
• "Hey Diddle" – Recorded in 1971 during the Ram sessions as a Paul and Linda duet. Later, the track received further overdubs when Wings were in Nashville in the summer of 1974. The original 1971 version was released in 2012 on the Special Edition re-issue of Ram.^[9] The Nashville version was released on the 2014 re-issue of Venus and Mars.^[12]
• "Hi, Hi, Hi" – Previously released as a non-album single in 1972.^[2]
• "I Would Only Smile" – Written by Denny Laine and recorded in 1972 for Red Rose Speedway. Released on Denny Laine's album Japanese Tears in 1980.
• "Junior's Farm" – Released as a non-album single in 1974.^[2]
• "Lunchbox/Odd Sox" – Recorded during the Venus and Mars sessions in New Orleans in 1975. Released at the B-side of "Coming Up" in 1980.
• "Mama's Little Girl" – Recorded during the Red Rose Speedway sessions in 1972. Released as the B-side of "Put It There" in 1990.
• "My Carnival" – Recorded during the Venus and Mars sessions in New Orleans in 1975. Released as the B-side of "Spies Like Us" in 1985.
• "Night Out" – This Red Rose Speedway-era outtake was overdubbed multiple times by different incarnations of Wings.
• "Oriental Nightfish" – Written by Linda McCartney and recorded with Wings in 1973. Released on Linda McCartney's album Wide Prairie in 1998.
• "Proud Mum/Proud Mum (Reprise)" – Two instrumental tracks from the Venus and Mars sessions in 1975. The song was originally recorded for use in a commercial for Mother's Pride bread.^[13]
• "Robber's Ball" – Recorded in 1978 during the Back to the Egg sessions.^[14]
• "Same Time Next Year" – Recorded in 1978 for the film Same Time, Next Year but not used. Released as the B-side of "Put It There" in 1990.
• "Seaside Woman" – Written by Linda McCartney and recorded in 1972, released as a single in 1977 under the name Suzy and the Red Stripes.^[15]
• "Send Me the Heart" – Written by McCartney and Laine and recorded during the Nashville sessions in 1974. Released on Laine's album Japanese Tears in 1980.
• "Thank You Darling"– An outtake from Red Rose Speedway.
• "The Mess" – A live recording from the 1972 Wings Over Europe Tour. Previously released as the B-side of "My Love".^[16]
• "Tomorrow" – A instrumental remake of the song from the album Wild Life. Recorded during the Venus and Mars sessions in 1975.
• "Tragedy" – This remake of the Fleetwoods' 1961 ballad dates from Red Rose Speedway sessions. The song was considered for inclusion on the album, which was originally planned to be a double.
• "Twice in a Lifetime" – Theme from the film Twice in a Lifetime, recorded in 1985. Released as a bonus track on the 1993 re-issue of Pipes of Peace.
• "Walking in the Park with Eloise" – Released as a non-album single in 1974.^[3]
• "Waterspout" – An outtake from the London Town sessions, it was to be added to All the Best!, with additional overdubs done in 1987, but was ultimately scrapped in favour of "C Moon".
• "Wide Prairie" – Written by Linda McCartney and recorded in November 1973 at EMI Paris with overdubs done in Nashville in 1974. An edited version, omitting two sections with lead vocals by Paul, was released on Linda McCartney's album Wide Prairie in 1998.

Bootleg versions

To date, a track listing has never been announced. However, various bootlegs have appeared on the market, taken from various sources. These bootleg versions show the Cold Cuts project in its various stages of mixing and different overdubs on the recordings over the years.

Cold Cuts

In 1987, a bootleg LP titled Cold Cuts (Club Sandwich SP-11) was released containing outtakes recorded between 1971 and 1978.

Track listing

Side one:

1. "A Love For You"
2. "My Carnival"
3. "Waterspout"
4. "Momma's Little Girl"
5. "Night Out"
6. "Robbers Ball"

Side two:

1. "Cage"
2. "Did We Meet Somewhere Before?"
3. "Hey Diddle"
4. "Tragedy"
5. "Best Friend"
6. "Same Time Next Year"

Cold Cuts (Another Early Version)

The following year, another bootleg LP titled Cold Cuts (Another Early Version) (Hot Hits Records SP-12) was released containing additional outtakes.

Track listing

Side one:

1. "Mama's Little Girl"
2. "I Would Only Smile"
3. "Tragedy"
4. "Night Out"
5. "Oriental Nightfish"
6. "Lunch Box/Odd Sox"
7. "My Carnival"
8. "Send Me the Heart"
9. "Hey Diddle"

Side two:

1. "Wild Prairie"
2. "Tomorrow" (instrumental)
3. "Proud Mum"
4. "Proud Mum (reprise)"
5. "Same Time Next Year"
6. "Did We Meet Somewhere Before?"

References