1998 Linda McCartney compilation, “Wide Prairie,” to be reissued in August

Dan Weir

6 years ago

MPL/Capitol/UMe

MPL/Capitol/UMeThe 1998 compilation Wide Prairie, featuring the music of Paul McCartney‘s late first wife and Wings band mate Linda McCartney, will be reissued on August 2 on vinyl, digitally and via streaming services.

The 16-track collection includes songs Linda recorded with various Wings lineups between 1972 and 1980, two single-only tracks released under the moniker Suzy and the Red Stripes, and solo material from the 1980s and ’90s. She sings lead vocals on every tune, and also plays keyboards on many of them.

Linda wrote or co-wrote 13 of the songs on Wide Prairie, seven of which were penned in collaboration with her husband. The record also features three cover tunes: renditions of The Chordettes‘ “Mister Sandman,” The Coasters‘ “Poison Ivy” and The McGuire Sisters‘ “Sugartime.”

Paul also contributed musically to nearly all of the tracks. One of the songs, a Linda-Paul co-write titled “The Light Comes from Within,” was the final tune Linda recorded before her death in April 1998, and includes acoustic and electric guitar by their son, James McCartney.

Wide Prairie was the only album ever specifically credited to Linda McCartney. The LP edition of the record, which you can pre-order now, will be available on standard black vinyl and as a limited-edition blue-and-white vinyl set.

In advance of the August 2 release date, the colored-vinyl collection will be available exclusively at a retrospective exhibit of Linda’s photography that will open July 5 at Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum in Glasgow, Scotland. The display was curated by Paul and his and Linda’s daughters Mary and Stella.

Here’s the full track list of Wide Prairie; all songs written by Linda McCartney unless otherwise noted:

“Wide Prairie”
“New Orleans”
“The White Coated Man” (Linda McCartney, Paul McCartney, Carla Lane)
“Love’s Full Glory”
“I Got Up” (Linda McCartney, Paul McCartney)
“The Light Comes from Within” (Linda McCartney, Paul McCartney)
“Mister Sandman” (Pat Ballard)
“Seaside Woman”
“Oriental Nightfish”
“Endless Days” (Linda McCartney, Mick Bolton)
“Poison Ivy” (Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller)
“Cow” (Linda McCartney, Paul McCartney, Carla Lane)
“B-side to Seaside” (Linda McCartney, Paul McCartney)
“Sugartime” (Charlie Phillips, Odis Echols)
“Cook of the House” (Linda McCartney, Paul McCartney)
“Appaloosa” (Linda McCartney, Paul McCartney)