Disc 1 (the 70's) of 5 CD Macca Post Beatles' Anthology called "Sticking Out of My Pocket"

Didn't you mean to call it "Sticking Out Of My Back Pocket?" That's what Paul's website calls it. 

Anyway, good selection of '70s songs!

Kestrel wrote:

'Goodbye' (demo) is from 1969 so wouldn't qualify for this compilation. Much as I love I Lie Around, I can imagine some fans taking issue with a Denny Laine sung song being included. Nice to see Single Pigeon / Little Lamb Dragonfly / Love in Song / Letting Go / Waterspout / I'm Carrying listed.

Good point Kestrel about "Goodbye".  Yes it is a 1969 song.  I just love Paul's vocal on the demo so I would just like to see it heard and known better.

I think there is a version/outtake of Paul singing the lead on  "I lie Around".  Maybe you know.  Paul has so many relatively unknown gems it certainly wouldn't be the end of the world to me if "I Lie Around" is not on a 70's disc.  

The reason I'm doing this post is so fans could get an idea of just how good a Paul Anthology by Decade could be and that it woudn't be a greatest hits type compilation that duplicates so much to other compilations.  I also love the songs you listed that you also love.  If they did this kind of Anthology the correct way and it is filled with deeper cuts, unreleased songs, B-sides, alternate versions, etc it could be great and a long time consistent seller for Paul.

B J Conlee wrote:

Thought I would get some imput/opinions that I am hoping will be a future Paul McCartney Anthology  By Decade.  I do think that borrowing from Paul's Website, "Sticking Out of My Pocket" would be a good title. Hopefully a Career Spanning Anthology would cover all of Paul's era's, and wouldn't have so many duplications and gaps like Pure McCartney did.   Paul has never stopped creating music (like Bob Dylan has said that!) so why shouldn't the true fans have a great Anthology.

Here is my tracklisting suggestions for the 70's Decade.  I don't have access to all of Paul's secret vaults so I fully believe that we could have even more surprises that I'm suggesting.  Since I'm thinking about a CD Package, I am using a basic quantitiy of about 20 songs for each decade.  My list is generally in chronological order so I would leave it to the professionals to do  the sequencing.  Here is my 1st suggestion for the 70's disc:

70's Decade (Sticking  Out of My Pocket)

1. Goodbye (Paul's Demo from the old Mary Hopkin hit that Paul wrote)

2. Maybe I'm Amazed (take the best live track from the faults; probably something that Paul did from the European Shows  in 1979)

3. Every Night (Same thing as above...take the best live take from the 1979 shows)

4. Eat at Home (one of the best live takes from the University Shows in 1972)

5. Smile Away (one of the best live takes from the University Shows in 1972)

6. Best Friend (Live version)

7. The Mess (Live version)

8. Give Ireland Back to the Irish

9. I Lie Around

10. Single Pigeon

11. Little Lamb Dragonfly

12. Love in Song

13. Letting Go

14. London Town

15. Don't Let It Bring You Down

16. Waterspout (Outtake from the London Town Sessions)

17. I'm Carrying 

18. Getting Closer

19. Arrow Through Me

20. Winter Rose/Love Awake

21.  Mull of Kintyre (take the best live version that Paul did from one of the Canada Shows)

22. Tomorrow (wanted to get something in from Wild Life and it's one of the best songs on Wild Life)

As you can see, I stayed away from the hits for the most part or I would use alternate versions.  As we fans know, Paul already has several compilations that have the hits/single versions already on them.

Just wanted to clarify that the reason it would be a 5 CD Package Anthology is that it would be a CD for each decade...1970-1979, 1980-1989, 1990-1999, 2000-2009, 2010-2019.  Once we get some discussion on this initial 70's recommended list, I will put together an 80's list.  For me, I think the 80's will be tougher decade for me  since Paul had more peak and valley times in the 80's.   Still the 80's disc will be just as strong since each disc is more about the underrated and less commercial gems.

love2travel wrote:

So how many songs are you looking for on the 70's CD?  I like this Anthology idea, the name is good and I do like a number of your selections!

love2travel...since I'm talking about a CD package, I was using around 20 per disc as a general rule of thumb.  Since the average length of song is in the 3 to 4 minute rance, you can easily get 20 tracks.

The other critieria I would like to see is NOT to duplicate too many songs (mostly the big hits) that are already on Paul's previous compilations like All the Best, Wingspan and Pure McCartney.  That is why I would love alternative versions of some of the hits.  A couple of good examples would be Maybe I'm Amazed and Mull of Kintyre where I would love them to include "live" versions particularly when Paul's voice was strong.  I have heard a couple of live versions of MIA from Paul's mini European tour in 1979 (also Every Night) that were terrific.  I have seen on Youtube live versions of Mull of Kintyre  from various Canadian shows that were also great.  So instead of having the same versions of those songs that already appear on All the Best and Wingspan, it would be great to have a rare "live" version especially when Paul's voice was still strong.

I realize that we don't have access to Paul's and MPL's vaults so the actual lists that I or others might propose aren't the most important thing here.  The main thing is for Paul and company giving the true Paul Post Beatles' fans a disc for each decade that don't have the exact same big hits from previous Compilations.   On a Paul Anthology by Decade, I think the real Paul fans want the good to great deeper tracks (e.g. Single Pigeon, Little Lamb Dragonfly, Love In Song), any good to great unreleased songs that didn't appear on their respective album (e.g. Waterspout from the London Town sessions), B-sides from singles (e.g. The Mess and Best Friend) and good rare "live" tracks.  This is the type of Anthology/Compilation that the "true" Macca fans want in my opinion.

Thanks for reading my post and I hope I've clarified my thinking process for why I think there is a need.  As I said, Paul's latest compilation Pure McCartney just had too many duplications from previous compilations and it had too many gaps from all of Paul's various Post Beatles' eras.

I'm going to proceed with my recommended 80's Disc List for a future Paul McCartney Anthology Compilation called "Sticking Out of My Back Pocket".

While I enjoyed doing the 70's Disc List above, I'm really excited about working on the 80's Disc.  Commercial Radio Airplay for Paul began to really wane in the late 70's (after "With a Little Luck")  and while it began to pick up in the early 80's with his big duo hits with Stevie Wonder and Michael Jackson (and other hits like "Coming Up" and "Take It Away"), his radio airplay dropped dramatically (after No More Lonely Nights) around 1984.   I contribute Paul's demise on the charts to several factors including too much overexposure with the big duo hits that you heard constantly on the radio.  Other factors in my opinion was the failure of the Broad Street movie and accompany album which primarily was a covers project covering past Beatle songs and songs from his one of his latest albums...Tug of War.  He did have the one hit (and one of his last major hits with "No More Lonely Nights".

While Paul's populartiy and chart success did decrease considerably  thoroughout the 80's , the quality of his songs and his songwriting stayed in my opinion at a quite high level.  One of the reasons I think Paul needs a Post Beatles' Anthology by Decade is because, from the early 80's (the beginning  of Paul's Solo period) till today  Paul has written   so many good to great relatively unknown gems.  With this in mind and the fact that I'm deliberately leaving out  the "big hits"  (already on other Paul Compilations) here are my 80's choices:

Paul McCartney Anthology 80's Disc for "Sticking Out of My Back Pocket"

1. One of These Days (from McCartney 2)

2. Tug of War (the song from Tug of War)

3. Somebody Who Cares (from Tug of War)

4. Ballroom Dancing (from Tug of War)

5. The Pound is Seeking (from Tug of War)

6. I'll Give You a Ring (B-side)

7. The Other Me (from Pipes of Peace)

8. Through Our Love (from Pipes of Peace)

9. Simpe As That (Special song for the Anti-Heroin Project)

10. No Values (from Give My Regards to Broad Street)

11. Lindiana (unreleased song)

12. Footprints (from Press to Play and one of Paul's best forgotten songs)

13. Yvonne  (Unreleased during the Press to Play sessions and a great song)

14. Move Over Busker (from Press to Play)

15. Only Love Remains (from Press to Play)

16. Tough on a Tightrope (Bonus track on Press to Play CD)

17. My Brave Face (from Flowers in the Dirt)

18. Distractions (from Flowers in the Dirt)

19. Put It There (I especially like the live version on his "Flowers" tour)

20. Back on My Feet (B-side)

21. Lovliest Thing (B-side)

22. The Lovers that Never Were (Paul and Elvis Costello Acoustic Demo)

23. Tommy's Coming Home (Paul and Elvis Costello Demo)

24. So Like Candy (Paul and Elvis Costello Demo)

I know I'm leaving out a handful of really good deep cuts and raritieis but I'm stopping now.  Again, it's not strictly the entire or specific tracklist but more the overall concept that Paul has so many underappreciated and unknown gems.  This is why he needs an Anthology that focuses on each era of his full career.  More Decade disc suggestions to follow.

B J, a friend of oobu, Lady Leslie and myself just sent us an email of that song Simple As That! Ringo also recorded a spoken PSA with instrumental music in the background for the Anti-Heroin Project. It's pretty eerie because in it he says "John, can you hear me?" 

B J Conlee wrote:

Nancy R wrote:

B J, a friend of oobu, Lady Leslie and myself just sent us an email of that song Simple As That! Ringo also recorded a spoken PSA with instrumental music in the background for the Anti-Heroin Project. It's pretty eerie because in it he says "John, can you hear me?" 

Thanks Nancy.  Simple As That is yet another good tune by Paul that hardly anyone knows.  Never knew about Ringo's imput to the "Anti-Heroin" Project.

I knew this was going to happen but as soon as I clicked the 80's Disc Post I made earlier today, I immediately thought of a great unreleased demo from the 80's that would have to go on a 80's CD for the Paul Anthology.  I'm sure you're aware of it as it was a song that Paul wrote for the Everly Brothers around 1983 I believe.  It is called "On the Wings of a Nighingale".  It's a demo and I actually think Paul's demo is better than Don and Phil's studio version.  I think it was a minor Country hit for the boys and it was part of their comeback album and tour.  I think they had gone a few years without speaking to each other.  So many good but relatively unknown songs that Paul wrote in the 80's.

There is demo of this song on youtube and it was for the Everly Brothers album EB84.

B J Conlee wrote:

B J Conlee wrote:

Thought I would get some imput/opinions that I am hoping will be a future Paul McCartney Anthology  By Decade.  I do think that borrowing from Paul's Website, "Sticking Out of My Pocket" would be a good title. Hopefully a Career Spanning Anthology would cover all of Paul's era's, and wouldn't have so many duplications and gaps like Pure McCartney did.   Paul has never stopped creating music (like Bob Dylan has said that!) so why shouldn't the true fans have a great Anthology.

Here is my tracklisting suggestions for the 70's Decade.  I don't have access to all of Paul's secret vaults so I fully believe that we could have even more surprises that I'm suggesting.  Since I'm thinking about a CD Package, I am using a basic quantitiy of about 20 songs for each decade.  My list is generally in chronological order so I would leave it to the professionals to do  the sequencing.  Here is my 1st suggestion for the 70's disc:

70's Decade (Sticking  Out of My Pocket)

1. Goodbye (Paul's Demo from the old Mary Hopkin hit that Paul wrote)

2. Maybe I'm Amazed (take the best live track from the faults; probably something that Paul did from the European Shows  in 1979)

3. Every Night (Same thing as above...take the best live take from the 1979 shows)

4. Eat at Home (one of the best live takes from the University Shows in 1972)

5. Smile Away (one of the best live takes from the University Shows in 1972)

6. Best Friend (Live version)

7. The Mess (Live version)

8. Give Ireland Back to the Irish

9. I Lie Around

10. Single Pigeon

11. Little Lamb Dragonfly

12. Love in Song

13. Letting Go

14. London Town

15. Don't Let It Bring You Down

16. Waterspout (Outtake from the London Town Sessions)

17. I'm Carrying 

18. Getting Closer

19. Arrow Through Me

20. Winter Rose/Love Awake

21.  Mull of Kintyre (take the best live version that Paul did from one of the Canada Shows)

22. Tomorrow (wanted to get something in from Wild Life and it's one of the best songs on Wild Life)

As you can see, I stayed away from the hits for the most part or I would use alternate versions.  As we fans know, Paul already has several compilations that have the hits/single versions already on them.

Just wanted to clarify that the reason it would be a 5 CD Package Anthology is that it would be a CD for each decade...1970-1979, 1980-1989, 1990-1999, 2000-2009, 2010-2019.  Once we get some discussion on this initial 70's recommended list, I will put together an 80's list.  For me, I think the 80's will be tougher decade for me  since Paul had more peak and valley times in the 80's.   Still the 80's disc will be just as strong since each disc is more about the underrated and less commercial gems.

I think "Dear Boy" from RAM would be good edition and I would replace "Letting Go" with "Beware My Love" from the same album. I believe "Letting Go" is more known and "Beware My Love" has been forgotten about since WOA tour.

Yankeefan2 wrote:

B J Conlee wrote:

I'm going to proceed with my recommended 80's Disc List for a future Paul McCartney Anthology Compilation called "Sticking Out of My Back Pocket".

While I enjoyed doing the 70's Disc List above, I'm really excited about working on the 80's Disc.  Commercial Radio Airplay for Paul began to really wane in the late 70's (after "With a Little Luck")  and while it began to pick up in the early 80's with his big duo hits with Stevie Wonder and Michael Jackson (and other hits like "Coming Up" and "Take It Away"), his radio airplay dropped dramatically (after No More Lonely Nights) around 1984.   I contribute Paul's demise on the charts to several factors including too much overexposure with the big duo hits that you heard constantly on the radio.  Other factors in my opinion was the failure of the Broad Street movie and accompany album which primarily was a covers project covering past Beatle songs and songs from his one of his latest albums...Tug of War.  He did have the one hit (and one of his last major hits with "No More Lonely Nights".

While Paul's populartiy and chart success did decrease considerably  thoroughout the 80's , the quality of his songs and his songwriting stayed in my opinion at a quite high level.  One of the reasons I think Paul needs a Post Beatles' Anthology by Decade is because, from the early 80's (the beginning  of Paul's Solo period) till today  Paul has written   so many good to great relatively unknown gems.  With this in mind and the fact that I'm deliberately leaving out  the "big hits"  (already on other Paul Compilations) here are my 80's choices:

Paul McCartney Anthology 80's Disc for "Sticking Out of My Back Pocket"

1. One of These Days (from McCartney 2)

2. Tug of War (the song from Tug of War)

3. Somebody Who Cares (from Tug of War)

4. Ballroom Dancing (from Tug of War)

5. The Pound is Seeking (from Tug of War)

6. I'll Give You a Ring (B-side)

7. The Other Me (from Pipes of Peace)

8. Through Our Love (from Pipes of Peace)

9. Simpe As That (Special song for the Anti-Heroin Project)

10. No Values (from Give My Regards to Broad Street)

11. Lindiana (unreleased song)

12. Footprints (from Press to Play and one of Paul's best forgotten songs)

13. Yvonne  (Unreleased during the Press to Play sessions and a great song)

14. Move Over Busker (from Press to Play)

15. Only Love Remains (from Press to Play)

16. Tough on a Tightrope (Bonus track on Press to Play CD)

17. My Brave Face (from Flowers in the Dirt)

18. Distractions (from Flowers in the Dirt)

19. Put It There (I especially like the live version on his "Flowers" tour)

20. Back on My Feet (B-side)

21. Lovliest Thing (B-side)

22. The Lovers that Never Were (Paul and Elvis Costello Acoustic Demo)

23. Tommy's Coming Home (Paul and Elvis Costello Demo)

24. So Like Candy (Paul and Elvis Costello Demo)

I know I'm leaving out a handful of really good deep cuts and raritieis but I'm stopping now.  Again, it's not strictly the entire or specific tracklist but more the overall concept that Paul has so many underappreciated and unknown gems.  This is why he needs an Anthology that focuses on each era of his full career.  More Decade disc suggestions to follow.

"Not Such A Bad Boy" from Broad Street would be fun addition to your list.  "We Got Married" from FITD is underrated song IMO, live version is pretty cool.

You're so right.  I had "Ode to a Koala Bear" on my list too but I had to make cuts to just bring it down closer to 20.  "Ode to a Koala Bear was the B-side to Say Say Say I believe.  I don't believe that Michael Jackson was on "Ode" at all.  "This One" from Flowers would be another good addition. The 80's list was more difficult than the 70's since Paul had quite a bit fewer Top 10 hits in the 80's.