Paul McCartney Archive Collection


The Paul McCartney Archive Collection is an ongoing project to remaster and reissue Paul McCartney's solo catalogue, including various albums released with Wings. These editions feature deluxe packaging and bonus rare tracks. Thus far, there have been thirteen releases since the project began in 2010. They are overseen by Paul McCartney himself and remastered at Abbey Road Studios. Albums reissued in this project are visually marked by a white stripe along the left side of the album cover that reads "Paul McCartney Archive Collection" and a copy of Paul McCartney's signature.
The albums are typically released in a variety of formats: a "standard" edition that contains the original album digitally remastered on one CD; a "special" edition which contains additional discs of bonus tracks; and a "deluxe" edition which comes with extra features like bonus CDs or DVDs of unreleased material packaged in a hard-bound book. Some releases contain booklets, rare photos, interviews, artwork, promotional video clips, or documentaries. The "special" editions of the albums were also released as double LPs on 180 gram "audiophile vinyl", with the original album on one record and bonus material on the second. The records also came with a download card for MP3 versions of all tracks included. The special editions of the albums are available on streaming services worldwide.
The project has also inspired a fan-driven project, called the "Ultimate Archive Collection", which has collected a greater number of McCartney and Wings albums, including bootlegs and unofficial albums. This was created as a response to the dissatisfaction among fans at the slow rate of releases, as well as the perceived low amount of bonus tracks included with each album.

Releases

Below is a list of albums that have been reissued so far. Paul McCartney has stated that Back to the Egg and London Town are slated for an upcoming release.
AlbumOriginal release dateArchive reissue date
Band on the Run5 December 19731 November 2010
McCartney17 April 197013 June 2011
McCartney II16 May 198013 June 2011
Ram17 May 197121 May 2012
Wings over America10 December 197627 May 2013
Venus and Mars27 May 197523 September 2014
Wings at the Speed of Sound25 March 197623 September 2014
Tug of War26 April 19822 October 2015
Pipes of Peace17 October 19832 October 2015
Flowers in the Dirt5 June 198924 March 2017
Red Rose Speedway30 April 19737 December 2018
Wild Life7 December 19717 December 2018
Wings over EuropeBundle as Bonus Live CD of the Both Deluxe Edition of Red Rose Speedway and Wild Life from Wings Over Europe Tour7 December 2018
Flaming Pie5 May 199731 July 2020

Reception

The reissues have been well-received by critics. At the 54th Annual Grammy Awards, the deluxe edition of Band on the Run won the award for Best Historical Album. At the 56th Annual Grammy Awards, the deluxe edition of Ram was nominated for the same award.