THE MAKING OF PAUL McCARTNEY’S FLAMING PIE

On September 3, 1992, Paul McCartney entered his home studio, Hog Hill Mill (aka “The Mill”), on his farm in Sussex, England, and recorded two songs, “Calico Skies” and “Great Day,” with former Beatles producer George Martin at his side, co-producing. But it would be another five years before the tracks would see release on the album Flaming Pie. The long wait would be worth it. One of McCartney’s strongest works, Flaming Pie peaked at No. 2 in the U.S., becoming his first album to hit the Top 5 in 15 years, and selling over half a million copies stateside.

It was McCartney’s first album released after the massive Beatles Anthology project, and there were reflections of The Beatles era in a number of tracks, most notably the title song. It was also the last album released before the death of McCartney’s wife, Linda, in April 1998; her photographs for the project (including the cover shot), giving the release an additional poignancy.

Flaming Pie is now the latest in the Paul McCartney Archive Collection series of reissues, with the album being issued on vinyl, CD and in two box sets, a Deluxe Edition and Collector’s Edition (both reviewed within this feature).

The box sets have the most bonus material: a CD of home demos; a CD of alternate studio recordings (both these CDs having plenty of previously unreleased material); a CD of B-sides and other tracks recorded during the same time period (including “Ballad of the Skeletons,” his collaboration with Allen Ginsberg and Philip Glass), and the first six episodes of McCartney’s radio show ; and. The two DVDs feature the album’s videos and the “making of” documentary . And then the extras that have become for pricey box sets, the most notable of which is a 128-page book about the making of the album, with new interviews, and lavishly illustrated with Linda’s photos. Facsimiles of the studio notebook kept at the time and the edition of the official fan club magazine, , are also entertaining. The Collector’s Edition also adds the album on vinyl, and a set of Linda McCartney art prints. The box sets give you the most in-depth look at the creation of this impressive album, but the 2-CD set does serve up 21 bonus tracks. It’s another strong addition to the series, due in no small part to how good the album is.