On 11 March 2021, Paul McCartney announced the release of McCartney III Imagined, a collaborative reinterpretation of his 2020 album McCartney III.

The project featured remixes, covers and reworkings of songs from the original album by a diverse group of contemporary musicians, each bringing their own style to McCartney’s compositions.

The album was scheduled for digital release on 16 April 2021, with CD and double vinyl editions released on 23 July 2021.

The concept behind McCartney III Imagined

Curated personally by McCartney, the album invited a wide range of artists to reinterpret songs from McCartney III in their own musical styles. The result was a collection of creative reinterpretations spanning genres including indie rock, electronic music, R&B and alternative pop.

The project served as both a companion piece and a creative extension of McCartney III, the third album in McCartney’s series of self-produced solo records following:

• McCartney (1970)
• McCartney II (1980)
• McCartney III (2020)

Each of these albums was written, recorded and produced largely by McCartney himself, often in relative isolation.

Guest artists on the album

McCartney III Imagined featured contributions from a wide range of well-known artists and producers, including:

• Beck
• Dominic Fike
• Khruangbin
• St. Vincent
• Blood Orange
• Phoebe Bridgers
• Ed O’Brien (EOB)
• Damon Albarn
• Josh Homme
• Anderson .Paak
• 3D (Robert Del Naja of Massive Attack)

These artists either remixed, reinterpreted or covered tracks from the original album.

Track listing

The track listing for McCartney III Imagined included:

• Find My Way (feat. Beck)
• The Kiss Of Venus (Dominic Fike)
• Pretty Boys (feat. Khruangbin)
• Women And Wives (St. Vincent Remix)
• Deep Down (Blood Orange Remix)
• Seize The Day (feat. Phoebe Bridgers)
• Slidin’ (EOB Remix)
• Long Tailed Winter Bird (Damon Albarn Remix)
• Lavatory Lil’ (Josh Homme)
• When Winter Comes (Anderson .Paak Remix)
• Deep Deep Feeling (3D RDN Remix)
• Long Tailed Winter Bird (Idris Elba Remix)*
• The Idris Elba remix was included only on the physical editions.

First release from the album

The first track revealed from the project was Dominic Fike’s reinterpretation of ‘The Kiss Of Venus’, which was released online on 11 March 2021, the same day the album was announced.

The version transformed McCartney’s acoustic original into a retro-influenced R&B interpretation, and the accompanying video featured McCartney appearing briefly at the end.

Vinyl editions and artwork

Several limited vinyl editions were produced for the album, reflecting McCartney’s long-standing interest in special collector releases.

These included:

• Standard black vinyl edition
• Spotify exclusive translucent green vinyl
• Newbury Comics red vinyl edition
• Target silver vinyl edition
• Gold vinyl edition for independent record stores and HMV
• A splatter vinyl version featuring modified McCartney III artwork was sold exclusively through McCartney’s official website, with 3,500 copies available in the United States.

Some editions featured new cover artwork created by the celebrated American artist Ed Ruscha.

The success of McCartney III

The project built on the success of McCartney III, which had been released on 18 December 2020. The album was recorded largely during the COVID-19 lockdown period, a process McCartney referred to as working in “Rockdown”.

The record was widely praised by critics and became McCartney’s first UK number one album in 31 years, reinforcing his status as one of the most successful recording artists in British chart history.

Why 11 March 2021 matters

The announcement of McCartney III Imagined on 11 March 2021 demonstrated how Paul McCartney continues to collaborate with new generations of artists more than six decades after the rise of The Beatles. The project highlighted the enduring influence of McCartney’s songwriting and the continued relevance of his music within contemporary popular culture.

Release Details

Announcement: 11 March 2021

Album: McCartney III Imagined

Digital release: 16 April 2021

CD & vinyl release: 23 July 2021

Label: Capitol Records

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