CHOBA B CCCP
| Снова в СССР | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 31 October 1988 (USSR) 29 October 1991[1] (worldwide) | |||
| Recorded | 20–21 July 1987 | |||
| Studio | Hog Hill, Sussex | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 47:54 50:20 (CD edition)[2] | |||
| Label | Melodiya (Μелодия) | |||
| Producer | Paul McCartney | |||
| Paul McCartney chronology | ||||
| ||||
CHOBA B CCCP (Russian: Сно́ва в СССР, tr. Snóva v SSSR, IPA: [ˈsnovə ˈv‿ɛsɛsɛsˈɛr], lit. 'Back Again in the USSR'; also known as The Russian Album) is the seventh solo studio album by Paul McCartney under his own name, originally released in October 1988 exclusively in the Soviet Union. The album consists entirely of live-in-studio recordings of covers, mainly of rock and roll oldies. With the addition of two extra tracks, it was released internationally in 1991.
Background and recording
Following the tepid reaction to his 1986 studio album Press to Play, McCartney spent much of the first half of 1987 plotting his next album. In March he recorded an album's worth of songs with producer Phil Ramone, but those sessions only produced the single "Once Upon a Long Ago" backed with "Back on My Feet", released only in the United Kingdom that November.[3]
Following a series of jam sessions with various British musicians where they played some of his favourite songs from the 1950s, McCartney decided to record the songs live in the studio. Over the course of two days in July 1987, McCartney recorded twenty songs.[4]
Other tracks recorded during the sessions but not included on the
Title and artwork
The title «Снова в СССР» (Snova v SSSR) is Russian for "Back in the U.S.S.R.", the name of a 1968 Beatles song.[7] The album is also known as Back in the USSR and the Russian Album.[7] The first word of the album's title is often mispronounced by English speakers as /ˈtʃoʊbə/ rather than the more accurate /ˈsnoʊvə/ (the Cyrillic alphabet has a different pronunciation for the characters "С", "H", and "В" than the English alphabet).
The cover was designed by Michael Ross.
In the first year of release the album sold more than 400,000 copies.[9]
Release
McCartney originally wanted to release the album in the United Kingdom outside regular distribution channels, making it appear as if the album had been smuggled in from the Soviet Union. EMI turned down that idea. Nonetheless, McCartney's manager had a batch of LPs pressed, with Russian-language covers, as a Christmas present to McCartney. This gave McCartney the idea to release the album in the Soviet Union as a gesture of peace in the spirit of glasnost. An agreement was reached with the Soviet government-run record company Melodiya to license 400,000 copies of the album for release in the Soviet Union only with no exports.[10] The album was released in the Soviet Union on 31 October 1988. The first pressing of 50,000 copies contained 11 tracks and sold out almost immediately. A second pressing with two additional tracks was released about a month later.
Soon after its release, the album began appearing for sale outside the Soviet Union for prices ranging from $100 to $250 in the United States and up to £500 in the United Kingdom.
Despite the fact that the album was not initially released in western markets, half of the album worth of songs were released as singles' B-sides from 1987 to 1989: "Midnight Special", "Don't Get Around Much Anymore", "Lawdy Miss Clawdy" and "Kansas City" appeared on various versions of "Once Upon a Long Ago", "I'm Gonna Be a Wheel Someday" and "Ain't That a Shame" on "
Reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
The Essential Rock Discography | 4/10[13] |
| MusicHound |   [14] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide |  [15] |
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | " Richard Penniman, Albert Collins | 3:13 | |
| 6. | "Don't Get Around Much Anymore" | Duke Ellington, Bob Russell | 2:51 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "That's All Right Mama" | Arthur Crudup | 3:47 |
| 2. | "Ain't That a Shame" | Fats Domino, Dave Bartholomew | 3:43 |
| 3. | "Crackin' Up" | Ellas McDaniel | 3:55 |
| 4. | "Just Because" | Bob Shelton, Joe Shelton, Sydney Robin | 3:34 |
| 5. | "Midnight Special" | Traditional; arranged by Paul McCartney | 3:59 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | " Richard Penniman, Albert Collins | 3:13 | |
| 6. | "Don't Get Around Much Anymore" | Duke Ellington, Bob Russell | 2:51 |
| 7. | "I'm Gonna Be a Wheel Someday" | Fats Domino, Dave Bartholomew, Roy Hayes | 4:12 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "That's All Right Mama" | Arthur Crudup | 3:47 |
| 2. | "Summertime" | George Gershwin, DuBose Heyward, Ira Gershwin | 4:57 |
| 3. | "Ain't That a Shame" | Fats Domino, Dave Bartholomew | 3:43 |
| 4. | "Crackin' Up" | Ellas McDaniel | 3:55 |
| 5. | "Just Because" | Bob Shelton, Joe Shelton, Sydney Robin | 3:34 |
| 6. | "Midnight Special" | Traditional; arranged by Paul McCartney | 3:59 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | " Richard Penniman, Albert Collins | 3:13 | |
| 7. | "Don't Get Around Much Anymore" | Duke Ellington, Bob Russell | 2:51 |
| 8. | "I'm Gonna Be a Wheel Someday" | Fats Domino, Dave Bartholomew, Roy Hayes | 4:12 |
| 9. | "That's All Right Mama" | Arthur Crudup | 3:47 |
| 10. | "Summertime" | George Gershwin, DuBose Heyward, Ira Gershwin | 4:57 |
| 11. | "Ain't That a Shame" | Fats Domino, Dave Bartholomew | 3:43 |
| 12. | "Crackin' Up" | Ellas McDaniel | 3:55 |
| 13. | "Just Because" | Bob Shelton, Joe Shelton, Sydney Robin | 3:34 |
| 14. | "Midnight Special" | Traditional; arranged by Paul McCartney | 3:59 |
- Digital download edition
The digital download edition has the same track listing and running order as the original 11-track vinyl release.
- 2019 Capitol Remaster Re-Release
The 2019 Remaster Re-Release edition has the same track listing and running order as the original 11-track Melodija-vinyl release. The 2019 version was remastered at Abbey Road Studios as part of the McCartney catalogue re-releases through Capitol records and part of the live-bundle. CHOBA B CCCP was released as a Live-in-studio-Album. Each of the four re-released albums came out as CD, Vinyl and limited edition colored vinyl.[17]
Personnel
All tracks recorded 20 July 1987 except "Don't Get Around Much Anymore", "Ain't That a Shame" and "Crackin' Up", recorded on 21 July.
- 20 July
- Paul McCartney – bass guitar, vocals
- Mick Green – guitar
- Mick Gallagher – piano
- Chris Whitten – drums
- 21 July
- Paul McCartney – guitar, vocals
- Nick Garvey – bass guitar, backing vocals
- Henry Spinetti – drums
- Mick Gallagher – keyboards
Charts
| Year | Country | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | Japan | Oricon Weekly Albums Chart (Top 100)[18] | 48 |
| United Kingdom | UK Albums Chart (Top 75)[19] | 63 | |
| United States | The Billboard 200[20] | 109 |
See also
References
- ^ amazon.com > CHOBA B CCCP Back in the USSR - Live
- ^ allmusic.com > Paul McCartney - Choba B CCCP
- ^ Perasi, Luca. Paul McCartney: Recording Sessions (1969–2013 (2013) p. 263.
- ^ a b Kozinn, Allan. "Smuggling Pop LP's Out of the U.S.S.R., Thanks to McCartney", New York Times January 12, 1989: C19.
- ^ a b Calkin, Graham. "Choba B CCCP". Jpgr.co.uk. Retrieved 10 March 2013.
- ^ Weiner, Allen. The Beatles: The Ultimate Recording Guide (1992) p. 250.
- ^ ISBN 978-0313391729.
- ^ CHOBA B CCCP (Album cover). Paul McCartney. Melodiya. 1988.
{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ 50 культовых пластинок фирмы «Мелодия» // Серебряный дождь. 2014.
- ^ Henke, James. "Can Paul McCartney Get Back?", Rolling Stone, June 15, 1989: 44.
- ^ Ruhlmann, William. "Choba B CCCP – Paul McCartney : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 10 March 2013.
- ISBN 0-19-531373-9.
- ISBN 978-1-84195-827-9.
- ISBN 1-57859-061-2.
- ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
- ^ "Rhapsody's Favorite Covers Albums". Archived from the original on 31 July 2010. Retrieved 18 April 2011.
- ^ "Decades-Spanning "Live" Album Milestone Reissues". 20 May 2019.
- Original Confidence. Archived from the originalon 4 December 2012. Retrieved 18 April 2011.
- ^ "Paul McCartney UK Album Chart listings". UK Albums Chart. Archived from the original on 9 December 2008. Retrieved 18 April 2011.
- ^ "Paul McCartney – Chart history: Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved 10 March 2013.
External links
- CHOBA B CCCP at Discogs (list of releases)
