Paul McCartney continues his long-running archive collection reissue campaign with the re-release of his 1997 album Flaming Pie. The album is available in numerous formats including a 5CD/2DVD/4LP Collector’s Edition, a 5 CD/2 DVD Deluxe Edition, plus 3LP, 2LP and 2 CD editions, and it’s available on streaming platforms.
Flaming Pie is the tenth solo studio album by Paul McCartney. The record was released on May 5, 1997 by Parlophone in the UK and Capitol Records in the US. The 14-track record was produced by Paul, Jeff Lynne, and George Martin. The album peaked at number two in both the UK and the US and was certified gold. Flaming Pie has gone on to sell over 1.5 million copies.
As much as I do love Paul McCartney, I thought that $311.00 for the Deluxe Box Set was too pricey. So, I decided to go with the 2 CD Deluxe Edition.
The 2-CD Deluxe Edition, features the remastered original recording plus a second disc with 21 home recordings, demos, acoustic takes, and B-sides.
In my opinion, this newly remastered version from Abbey Road Studios on Disc 1 is a definite improvement. The reissue sounds a little less compressed then the original CD release, with a crisper and cleaner sound in the orchestration and vocals. These improvements really jump out at you during the dueling vocals between McCartney and Steve Miller on the ninth track;Used to Be Bad and the driving piano portion of the title track.
Disc 2 is a bit of a hit and miss. While I did enjoy hearing the selection of home recordings and studio demos of the album’s tracks. I doubt very much that any of them will remain permanently on my McCartney playlist. With that being said , it's the B-side singles and unreleased tracks that make Disc 2 such an entertaining listen. The Phil Ramone produced Love Comes Tumbling Down, and the awesome rocker Whole Life (with Dave Stewart) are simple fantastic. I do hope that Paul revisits/remixes these tracks and puts them on an official release sometime in the not so distant future.
The Bottom line is that The Flaming Pie reissue is a great snapshot of an artistically reborn and rejuvenated McCartney. If you do not have this record in your collection, I highly recommend that you go out and get this later day highlight from one of the most successful singers/songwriters in music history.