Following the release of Station to Station and John Lennon and David Bowie's departure from the Beatles, Paul McCartney spent the majority of 1976 holed up in his home in Peasmarsh, East Sussex. He had become depressed from the state his now 15 year old band was in. He had his wife, Linda, and his kids, but most of all, he had music to keep him busy. And it was Linda who persuaded McCartney to record solo to keep himself busy from the stress that the Beatles had put on him. This would be his second solo record, following his self-titled album two years prior that sold fairly well. Surrounded by the soothing sounds and sights of nature in the quaint town he now resided in, he was persuaded to continue the soft rock sound he had achieved from his first record. Unlike his first album, there was very little variation in genre. He chose a sound, and he stuck to it. The album would release October 15, 1976 to, again, fairly popular reviews and sales. In fact, the album fared slightly worse than McCartney since it was just more of the same. There weren't any songs in particular that critics didn't like, but they found the album's style "inoffensive", as was the last one. To the critics, it confirmed one crucial fact, Paul McCartney needed the other members of his band to make masterpieces. McCartney himself was baffled by these reviews, and he wished to prove them wrong. And his idea of doing so was bringing his new soft/folk sound to the Beatles for their next album.
Tracks are sourced from Wings at the Speed of Sound, Venus and Mars, Band on the Run, and London Town. "Must Do Something About It" is Paul's version from the Archive Collection of Wings at the Speed of Sound, and "Lunch Box / Odd Sox" is from the Archive Collection of Venus and Mars.
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