To mark the 50th anniversary of its release in December of 1973, most fans were expecting an LP of Paul McCartney and Wings’ Band On The Run in Half Speed Mastered form. This would follow the pattern of previous releases for McCartney, RAM, Wings Wild Life and, earlier this year, Red Rose Speedway.
What we didn’t expect was that Band On The Run would be accompanied by a whole bonus LP featuring previously unheard music that is being termed “underdubbed mixes”. In other words, early mixes without overdubs.
These “underdubs” aren’t newly created in 2023. They come from 1973 and were prepared by the album’s engineer, Geoff Emerick. They’re basically a previously unreleased mix of Band On The Run, but without any of the orchestral and string overdubs written by Tony Visconti that were used on the final release. Interestingly, the tracklisting for these “underdubbed mixes’ doesn’t follow the original sequencing of album. The bonus LP mirrors the original analogue tapes as discovered in the MPL archives (see the changed running order below).
“This is Band on the Run in a way you’ve never heard before. When you are making a song and putting on additional parts, like an extra guitar, that’s an overdub. Well, this version of the album is the opposite, underdubbed.”
There’ll be three physical releases for the 50th Anniversary, and these will be available from February 2, 2024.
You can get a stand-alone Half Speed Master of the original LP, cut from the original master tapes from 1973 by Miles Showell at Abbey Road Studios. The single vinyl album configuration mirrors the US tracklist, which added the song ‘Helen Wheels’ to the end of the LP. The 50th anniversary album includes the original inner sleeve and poster featuring a series of Polaroid photos taken by Linda McCartney during the making of Band On The Run :
Then there’s the 2 LP edition featuring the original US album, remastered at half speed as above, plus a second LP titled Underdubbed Mixes Edition. The two LPs are housed in a premium slipcase. The set includes two Linda McCartney Polaroid posters:
The 2 LP slipcase version can only be purchased from Universal Music’s own online stores around the world, as well as from Paul McCartney’s own online store.
And there’ll be a 2 CD set, with one disc containing the original US album, and a second disc with the “underdubbed” mixes. There’s a double-sided fold-out poster of Polaroids taken by Linda included:
Band on the Run (Underdubbed) will also be released digitally. The album itself has also been newly mixed in Dolby Atmos by Giles Martin and Steve Orchard – but there is no physical edition of this mix.
Here’s the running order for Disc Two – Band on the Run (Underdubbed Mixes):
1. Band on the Run
2. Mamunia
3. No Words
4.Jet
5. Bluebird
6. Mrs. Vandebilt
7. Nineteen Hundred and Eighty Five
8. Picasso’s Last Words (Drink to Me)
9. Let Me Roll It
Beatles Blog 