Linda McCartney’s ‘Wide Prairie’ Compilation For Multi-Format Reissue

Wide Prairie, the 1998 compilation of recordings by Linda McCartney that was the only album released solely in her name, will be reissued by MPL/Capitol/UMe on 2 August.

The 16-song collection spans the early 1970s to the late 1990s, featuring Linda on vocals and playing various instruments on material that she wrote or co-wrote. These include tracks with Wings recorded between 1972 and 1980; the 1977 single-only release ‘Seaside Woman,’ by Linda and Wings under the pseudonym Suzy and the Red Stripes; covers of classic numbers by the McGuire Sisters, the Coasters and others; and solo material from the 1980s and 1990s.

This solo work includes Linda’s final recording before her sadly premature death in 1998, ‘The Light Comes from Within,’ which was co-written by and featured her husband Paul as well as their son James, who played electric and acoustic guitar.

The cast list for the compilation is a colourful line-up including Wings members Denny Laine, Denny Seiwell, Henry McCullough, Jimmy McCulloch, Joe English and Laurence Juber; the British writer Carla Lane, who co-wrote ’The White Coated Man’ and ‘Cow’; reggae figurehead Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry; and members of the Black Ark studio band, Boris Gardiner, Winston Writer and Mikey Boo.

‘Seaside Woman’ featured in 1980’s Palme d’Or-winning short film by Oscar Grillo at the Cannes Film Festival, while ‘Oriental Night Fish’ was part of a short film of that name which was created by Linda and Ian Emes.

Wide Prairie will be available on limited edition white and blue coloured vinyl and black vinyl, as well as digitally and on streaming services. This will be the first time that the album has been available on vinyl since its original release in 1998. All pre-orders will receive ‘The Light Comes from Within’ as an instant grat track.

A major retrospective of Linda’s photography, curated by Paul, Mary and Stella McCartney, will open at Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum in Glasgow on 5 July. It runs until 12 January 2020, and to mark its first UK showing, the limited edition colour vinyl LP pressing of Wide Prairie will be available exclusively for a month prior to general release at the Glasgow gallery.

Wide Prairie is reissued on 2 August. Scroll down for the full tracklisting, and pre-order it here.

Wide Prairie tracklisting (all songs written by Linda McCartney, except where otherwise indicated):

1. Wide Prairie
2. New Orleans
3. The White Coated Man (Linda McCartney, Paul McCartney, Carla Lane)
4. Love’s Full Glory
5. I Got Up (L. McCartney, P. McCartney)
6. The Light Comes from Within (L. McCartney, P. McCartney)
7. Mister Sandman (Pat Ballard)
8. Seaside Woman
9. Oriental Nightfish
10. Endless Days (L. McCartney, Mick Bolton)
11. Poison Ivy (Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller)
12. Cow (L. McCartney, P. McCartney, Lane)
13. B-side to Seaside (L. McCartney, P. McCartney)
14. Sugartime (Charlie Phillips, Odis Echols)
15. Cook of the House (L. McCartney, P. McCartney)
16. Appaloosa (L. McCartney, P. McCartney)

Explore our Paul McCartney and Wings Artist Page.

Format: UK English