By Steve Newton
Groundworks Marketing announced today that a new Paul McCartney tribute album will be released on November 17, and that it will feature some of my fave artists from the seventies, including Alice Cooper, Steve Miller, Heart, Bad Company’s Paul Rodgers, Montrose‘s Sammy Hagar, the Who’s Roger Daltrey, and Cheap Trick’s Robin Zander and Rick Nielsen.
It will also have KISS.
The Art of McCartney will be available in five formats, including a “strictly limited” deluxe boxset, featuring quadruple coloured vinyl, specially designed Hofner violin bass shaped USB with flac files of the album, three CDs featuring all 42 tracks recorded for the project, 6 exclusives, a DVD featuring documentaries and in-studio footage of the recording of the album, four black-and-white art cards, two pieces of exclusive artwork designed by Alan Aldridge, and an illustrated guide to the creation of the album.
Yep, that’ll likely cost you your first-born son.
But for you cheapskates out there it’ll also come as a “strictly limited” vinyl boxset (quadruple coloured vinyl boxset with a 24-page book and digital download), triple-vinyl gatefold (three pieces of black vinyl in a gatefold sleeve with a digital download card), CD casebook (two CDs & one DVD presented in a cardboard sleeve featuring two extra tracks), and double CD (2 CD’s featuring 34 tracks and and an eight-page booklet).
I gotta say, looking at the tracklisting, there’s some interesting stuff there. I’m stoked to hear Steve Miller rock out with “Junior’s Farm”, which is kind of a “Jet Airliner”-type tune anyway, right?
Heart doing “Band on the Run”? I can get behind that.
And the idea of Alice Cooper putting his own demented touch on “Eleanor Rigby”, “Dwight Fry”-ing it up, so to speak, sounds intriguing.
“Things We Said Today” has always been one of my fave early Beatles tunes, so Bob Dylan probly won’t screw that one up too much.
And the thought of Willie Nelson sentimentally crooning “Yesterday” as only Willie Nelson can sentimentally croon “Yesterday” makes The Art of McCartney even more promising.
Here’s the complete track listing:
1. Maybe I’m Amazed – Billy Joel
2. Things We Said Today – Bob Dylan
3. Band On The Run – Heart
4. Junior’s Farm – Steve Miller
5. The Long and Winding Road – Yusuf / Cat Stevens
6. My Love – Harry Connick, Jr.
7. Wanderlust – Brian Wilson
8. Bluebird – Corinne Bailey Rae
9. Yesterday – Willie Nelson
10. Junk – Jeff Lynne
11. When I’m 64 – Barry Gibb
12. Every Night – Jamie Cullum
13. Venus and Mars/ Rock Show – Kiss
14. Let Me Roll It – Paul Rodgers
15. Helter Skelter – Roger Daltrey
16. Helen Wheels – Def Leppard
17. Hello Goodbye – The Cure ft James McCartney
18. Live And Let Die – Billy Joel
19. Let It Be – Chrissie Hynde
20. Jet – Robin Zander & Rick Nielsen of Cheap Trick
21. Hi Hi Hi – Joe Elliott
22. Letting Go – Heart
23. Hey Jude – Steve Miller
24. Listen To What The Man Said – Owl City
25. Got To Get You Into My Life – Perry Farrell
26. Drive My Car – Dion
27. Lady Madonna – Allen Toussaint
28. Let ‘Em In – Dr. John
29. So Bad – Smokey Robinson
30. No More Lonely Nights – The Airborne Toxic Event
31. Eleanor Rigby – Alice Cooper
32. Come And Get It – Toots Hibbert with Sly & Robbie
33. On The Way – B. B. King
34. Birthday – Sammy Hagar
The CD casebook edition features three extra tracks and the limited edition deluxe boxset features all eight extra tracks:
1. C Moon – Robert Smith
2. Can’t Buy Me Love – Booker T. Jones
3. P.S. I Love You – Ronnie Spector
4. All My Loving – Darlene Love
5. For No One – Ian McCulloch
6. Put It There – Peter, Bjorn & John
7. Run Devil Run – Wanda Jackson
8. Smile Away – Alice Cooper
Now, if only we can get all those folks to do a John Lennon tribute album too!