Paul McCartney: “Another Day” (1971)

Maybe his first album would have been amazing if he’d included this on it instead of saving it for a single.

Kronomyth 1.1: Another day, another dollop of that McCartney magic.

Recorded during the sessions for McCartney, this would have handily been the album’s standout track. Instead, it was released a few months later as a standalone single with “Oh Woman, Oh Why” on the flip side. “Another Day” is actually two melodies fused together; not quite the patchwork masterpiece of “Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey,” but pretty close in effect. As others have pointed out, this is one of Paul McCartney’s lonely hearts songs, which would include “Eleanor Rigby,” “For No One” and “Fool On The Hill.” The song is credited to “Mr. and Mrs. McCartney”—a dig at John and Yoko, perhaps?

Given the interest in McCartney and The Beatles, pundits have pored over the B side and hailed it as one of his heaviest tracks, but it’s honestly as underbaked as what turned up on Wild Life. The story of a woman who shoots her man, complete with gunshots, it’s an unsettling song. As the first proper Paul McCartney post-Beatles single, “Another Day” was a worldwide hit. In 2012, the single was re-issued as part of the Record Store Day promotion.

Original 7-inch single version

A1. Another Day (Mr. & Mrs. Paul McCartney) (3:41)
B1. Oh Woman, Oh Why (Paul McCartney) (4:45)

The Players

Paul McCartney (vocals, acoustic guitar, bass guitar, shaker), Linda McCartney (backing vocals), Denny Seiwell (drums), David Spinozza (electric guitar). Produced by Paul McCartney; engineered by Dixon Van Winkle.

The Plastic

Released on 7-inch single on February 19, 1971 in the UK, Denmark and Greece (Apple, R 5889), on February 22, 1971 in the US and Canada (Apple, 1829) and in 1971 in Australia (Apple, A-9445), France (Apple, 2C 006-04758), India (Apple, R.5889), Israel (EMI Parlophone, R-5889), Japan (Apple, AR-2771), Turkey (Apple, 45 LA 4326), Uruguay (Apple, 30015), Venezuela (EMI Odeon, 129) and Yugoslavia (Apple/Jugoton, SAP 8447) with regional picture sleeves; reached #2 on the UK charts and #5 on the US charts. Also released as promotional 7-inch single in the US (Apple, PRO 6193/4).

Re-issued on 7-inch single in 1977 in the UK (Capitol, R 5889), the US (Capitol, 1829) and Japan (Capitol, EPR-10780) with regional picture sleeve.
Re-issued on 7-inch single (Record Store Day) in 2012 in the US with picture sleeve.

Multiple variations of the US Apple single exist, in no particular order with: