In 2010, Paul McCartney began a reissue series, called The Archive Collection, where he would reissue an album from his catalogue. The reissues would not only include the remastered album, but also bonus cuts, and a DVD. Here we are seven years in, and his latest project in The Archive Collection is Flowers In The Dirt, originally released in 1989. As with the other issues, this one is available in a variety of formats, double CD, a deluxe edition with three CDs and a DVD, a double album vinyl set, and downloads.
Flowers In The Dirt is often regarded as McCartney’s comeback album. I disagree with this assessment. During the ‘80’s, McCartney wrote and produced some of his best work (Tug Of War, 1982), and some of his most experimental (McCartney II and the overlooked Press To Play), and over time his ‘80’s output have been re-evaluated. McCartney II, for example, was initially dismissed by the critics. Today it is, quite rightly, regarded as a classic album and years ahead of its time.
Flowers In The Dirt was critically acclaimed at the time, mostly due to the contributions of, and co-writing with, Elvis Costello, who went under his actual name, Declan MacManus in the original issue of the album. It was for this album that McCartney toured for the first time since the 1975/1976 Wings World Tour. That tour was a huge success, and would result in a film, Get Back, and a very successful live album, Tripping The Live Fantastic. The album topped the charts in the UK, Europe, and Japan, but sadly it was not the huge success he had hoped for in the U.S. and Canada. The reason? It did not get any air time, by 1989 McCartney did not fit on radio, and the music did not receive the attention it deserved. This is a brilliant album, and deserved to be played.
(spillmagazine.com/spill-album-review-paul-mccartney-flowers-dirt-reissue/)