Cold Cuts (Paul McCartney album)


Cold Cuts is an unreleased album of outtakes by Paul McCartney. The album was originally planned to be released in 1975 and McCartney revisited the project several times over the years until it was abandoned permanently in the late 1980s. The songs on the album were recorded during his solo career and with Wings in the 1970s and 1980s.

History

The album was originally conceived as a budget release in 1974, composed of non-album singles and previously unreleased tracks. McCartney began work on the album during Wings' recording sessions in Nashville, Tennessee in July 1974, recording several new songs and overdubbing some previously unused tracks. The album, variously referred to as Cold Cuts or Hot Hitz and Kold Kutz, was slated for release in March 1975 but never materialized. In January 1981, McCartney and Wings recorded additional overdubs for the unreleased tracks with the album slated for release in early 1981. However, Columbia Records was not interested in releasing an album of outtakes and the album was shelved. It was also believed that its release soon after the death of John Lennon would seem inappropriate. Producer/arranger Richard Niles did further work on the tracks in 1986. In August 1987, McCartney mixed and edited another version of the album with producer Chris Thomas and engineer Bill Price. That album also went unreleased and after bootleg versions appeared on the market, McCartney abandoned the project permanently.

Possible tracks considered for the album

Below is a list of the possible tracks that were under consideration over the lifetime of the project. Most of these songs have appeared on various bootlegs connected to the album.
To date, a track listing has never been announced. However, various bootlegs have appeared on the market, taken from various sources. These bootleg versions show the Cold Cuts project in its various stages of mixing and different overdubs on the recordings over the years.

''Cold Cuts''

In 1987, a bootleg LP titled Cold Cuts was released containing outtakes recorded between 1971 and 1978.

Track listing

Side one:
  1. "A Love for You"
  2. "My Carnival"
  3. "Waterspout"
  4. "Momma's Little Girl"
  5. "Night Out"
  6. "Robbers Ball"
Side two:
  1. "Cage"
  2. "Did We Meet Somewhere Before?"
  3. "Hey Diddle"
  4. "Tragedy"
  5. "Best Friend"
  6. "Same Time Next Year"

    ''Cold Cuts (Another Early Version)''

The following year, another bootleg LP titled Cold Cuts was released containing additional outtakes.

Track listing

Side one:
  1. "Mama's Little Girl"
  2. "I Would Only Smile"
  3. "Tragedy"
  4. "Night Out"
  5. "Oriental Nightfish"
  6. "Lunch Box/Odd Sox"
  7. "My Carnival"
  8. "Send Me the Heart"
  9. "Hey Diddle"
Side two:
  1. "Wild Prairie"
  2. "Tomorrow"
  3. "Proud Mum"
  4. "Proud Mum "
  5. "Same Time Next Year"
  6. "Did We Meet Somewhere Before?"