Notes

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Band On The Run (Optimal Source Series)

Ok...this one was interesting. This album, as well as some select songs from it, have been remastered MANY times (as you can see from the number of sources I have). It just goes to show how important this album is to rock history.

First of all, forget the Paul McCartney Collection. That entire set is plagued by too much noise reduction. Each of the sources I chose was slightly different and, pretty much, had its merits. The newer remasters (Wingspan and the 25th Anniversary CD) were louder and had more presence...which was good in some cases but bad in others (particularly when more vocals drowned out the other instruments or made the song sound harsh). The older remasters (DCC and the Toshiba Gold) were, more or less, flat transfers. Sometimes the flat ones were more true sounding, sometimes the new ones were brighter and livelier (not sure how else to describe it).

I also included 2 bonus tracks that were originally issued as b-sides to Helen Wheels and Band On The Run respectively. In each case the best source was the original CD release on the FAME label. Again, a straight flat copy of the master with no noise reduction.

So, here are my choices:

1. Band On The Run (25th Anniversary)
2. Jet (DCC)
3. Bluebird (Wingspan)
4. Mrs. Vanderbilt (DCC)
5. Let Me Roll It (25th Anniversary)
6. Mamunia (Toshiba Gold)
7. No Words (DCC)
8. Helen Wheels (Wingspan)
9. Picasso's Last Words (DCC)
10. Nineteen Hundred and Eighty Five (25th Anniversary)
11. BONUS: Country Dreamer (Red Rose Speedway - FAME)
12. BONUS: Zoo Gang (Venus and Mars - FAME)