Paul's Best Songs (Solo and Post Beatles)

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B J Conlee

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We've done this before but how about an updated 25 Best Song list including songs from McCartney III and Egypt Station.

1. Maybe I'm Amazed (still the best in my opinion...studio version)

2. Band on the Rund (never get tired of this classic,multi-part song from the Band on the Run Album)

3. Live and Let Die (forget the live versions; the studio version is still the best)

4. I Don't Know (a recent classic from Egypt Station)

5. Wanderlust (great one from Tug of War)

6. Little Willow (great one from Flaming Pie)

7. Calico Skies (another great one from Flaming PIe)

8.Riding to Vanity Fair (great one from Chaos and Creation)

9. Dominoes (great one from Egypt Station)

10. Seize the Day (great one from McCartney III)

11. Tug of War (title song from the album Tug of War)

12. The End of the End (great one from Memory Almost Full)

13. The Kiss of Venus (great one from McCartney III)

14. Too Much Rain (great one from Chaos and Creation)

15. Letting Go (great one from Venus and Mars

16. My Brave Face (great one from Flowers in the Dirt))

17. Early Days (great one from the "New" Album)

18. Put it There (great one from Flowers in th Dirt)

19. Young Boy (another great one from Flaming Pie)

20.Mr. Bellamy (great one from Memory Almost Full)

21. Every Night (great one from the McCartney 1 album)

22. Arrow Through Me (great one from Back to the Egg album)

23. Too Many People (great one from the Ram album)

24. When Winter Comes (great one from McCartney III)

25. Dear Boy (great one from the Ram album)

Very hard to do because I could have easily listed another 20-25 songs. Just shows how good Paul's Post Beatles' discography has been. Many of the songs on this list are from 2005 till his most recent album McCartney III. Maybe we should do another "Best Underated Song List" (songs not promoted by the Record Company at the time of their original album release).

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Yankeefan2

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Ok, this list is supposed to be his best songs not my most liked or commercial. With that understanding, see below. FYI - I would probably change my mind a week later but this is my thoughts now.

1. How Kind Of You

2. Band On The Run

3. Tug Of War

4. Riding To Vanity Fair

5. Maybe I'm Amazed

6. Too Much Rain

7. Little Willow

8. Wanderlust

9. House Of Wax

10. Dance Til We're High

11. Despite Repeated Warnings

12. Early Days

13. Slidin

14. Venus And Mars/Rock Show

15. My Brave Face

16. I Can Bet

17. Dear Boy

18. We Got Married

19. About You

20. Find My Way

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B J Conlee

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Yankeefan2 wrote:
Ok, this list is supposed to be his best songs not my most liked or commercial. With that understanding, see below. FYI - I would probably change my mind a week later but this is my thoughts now.

1. How Kind Of You

2. Band On The Run

3. Tug Of War

4. Riding To Vanity Fair

5. Maybe I'm Amazed

6. Too Much Rain

7. Little Willow

8. Wanderlust

9. House Of Wax

10. Dance Til We're High

11. Despite Repeated Warnings

12. Early Days

13. Slidin

14. Venus And Mars/Rock Show

15. My Brave Face

16. I Can Bet

17. Dear Boy

18. We Got Married

19. About You

20. Find My Way

Great "spur of the mement" list Yankeefan. Your list is pretty close to mine except I didi 25 songs. As I said, I could have easily done another 20-25 songs and I would have included several of your songs that weren't on my original list

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Yankeefan2

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Dang, I forgot 5 songs. Ok, let me list these 5.

21. That Was Me

22. Beware My Love

23. 1985

24. Dominoes

25. Calico Skies

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Nancy R

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BJ, you crack me up! Every song from #5 to #25 is a "great one." 😂

Omni, Atlanta, GA May 18, 1976, Feb. 17, 1990

GA Dome, Atlanta, GA May 1, 1993

Philips Arena, Atlanta, GA May 12, 2002

FedEx Forum, Memphis, TN May 26, 2013

Philips Arena, Atlanta, GA Oct. 15, 2014

Infinite Energy Center, Duluth, GA July 13, 2017

Bon Secours Arena, Greenville, SC May 30, 2019

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B J Conlee

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Nancy R wrote:
BJ, you crack me up! Every song from #5 to #25 is a "great one." 😂

You're right Nancy. I guess I did get a little carried away.

But I think my logic is pretty strong.. I've always thought that Paul's Post Beatles' and Solo "best" songs are equal to his songwriting with the Beatles. The big difference was his consistency. With having 3 great writers within the Fab's, he would rarely have a stinker within his Beatle songs. They had "limited" space for his songs while with the Beatles. But in my opinion his "Best" Post Beatles' and Solo songs are as good as his Beatle period. That is why I labeled so many of his "Best" Solo and 70's / Wings songs great. In all honesty, I think the above songs on my list are truly "great".

Hope you're doing well and enjoying that grandchild.

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B J Conlee

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Yankeefan2 wrote:
Dang, I forgot 5 songs. Ok, let me list these 5.

21. That Was Me

22. Beware My Love

23. 1985

24. Dominoes

25. Calico Skies

Hey Yankeefan...I think your 25 LIst is just as good as mine. The only difference is that you included a few more "underpublicized and under-the-radar" songs which is a good thing.

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McCall

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Created 07/03/2021

B J Conlee wrote:
Nancy R wrote:
BJ, you crack me up! Every song from #5 to #25 is a "great one." 😂

You're right Nancy. I guess I did get a little carried away.

But I think my logic is pretty strong.. I've always thought that Paul's Post Beatles' and Solo "best" songs are equal to his songwriting with the Beatles. The big difference was his consistency. With having 3 great writers within the Fab's, he would rarely have a stinker within his Beatle songs. They had "limited" space for his songs while with the Beatles. But in my opinion his "Best" Post Beatles' and Solo songs are as good as his Beatle period. That is why I labeled so many of his "Best" Solo and 70's / Wings songs great. In all honesty, I think the above songs on my list are truly "great".

Hope you're doing well and enjoying that grandchild.

I agree with this about consistency, and the best songs on Paul's solo albums being as good as his Beatles songs. In fact when I listen to his albums often think of it in terms of which songs are "Beatles worthy" and which aren't.

I think a lot more of his solo songs are Beatles worthy than he is generally given credit for too because it can be hard to see past different production styles. For instance in my opinion a song like Riding to Vanity Fair is Beatles worthy in terms of its quality, but it may not be thought of in those terms because it's production doesn't sound like Beatles production. I consider a lot more than my list below to be Beatles worthy, but my list of his very best songs would be something like:

Maybe I'm Amazed

Dear Boy

Ram On

Little Lamb Dragonfly

Single Pigeon

Bluebird

1882

Live and Let Die

Cafe on the Left Bank

One of These Days

Here Today

Wanderlust

Put It There

Golden Earth Girl

Vanilla Sky

Somedays

Souvenier

English Tea

Riding to Vanity Fair

The End of the End

Early Days

Hosanna

I Don't Know

Happy with You

The Kiss of Venus

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Yankeefan2

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I thought I would post some thoughts on why I selected a few songs on my top 25.

How Kind Of You - Hauntingly somber and beautiful song with great instrumentation. Excellent lyrically describing how when McCartney was "lost " somebody was there for him to lift him back up.

Venus And Mars/Rock Show - This made my list because it is possibly one of the greatest opening numbers of a rock concert I have ever seen.

Find My Way/My Brave Face - Two songs that I find very Beatlesque and if released in an earlier era would probably have been top 10 hits. IMO they are pop perfection.

Early Days - McCartney is wonderful doing songs on acoustic guitar and this song with him going back to when he was young is a classic, his "older" voice really fits this song.

House Of Wax - this is a climatic song with cool blues type of guitar solo. I also find the lyrics very interesting, this song was a "killer" live when McCartney did it in Paris.

Little Willow - Another great McCartney acoustic song about Maureen Starkey who died of cancer and the effect on her children. Wish he would have done this live.

About You - One of his best solo rockers and highlight of "Driving Rain" album.

Despite Repeated Warnigs - Excellent medley with sudden shifts in tempo and mood and lyrically political .

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B J Conlee

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McCall wrote:
B J Conlee wrote:
Nancy R wrote:
BJ, you crack me up! Every song from #5 to #25 is a "great one." 😂

You're right Nancy. I guess I did get a little carried away.

But I think my logic is pretty strong.. I've always thought that Paul's Post Beatles' and Solo "best" songs are equal to his songwriting with the Beatles. The big difference was his consistency. With having 3 great writers within the Fab's, he would rarely have a stinker within his Beatle songs. They had "limited" space for his songs while with the Beatles. But in my opinion his "Best" Post Beatles' and Solo songs are as good as his Beatle period. That is why I labeled so many of his "Best" Solo and 70's / Wings songs great. In all honesty, I think the above songs on my list are truly "great".

Hope you're doing well and enjoying that grandchild.

I agree with this about consistency, and the best songs on Paul's solo albums being as good as his Beatles songs. In fact when I listen to his albums often think of it in terms of which songs are "Beatles worthy" and which aren't.

I think a lot more of his solo songs are Beatles worthy than he is generally given credit for too because it can be hard to see past different production styles. For instance in my opinion a song like Riding to Vanity Fair is Beatles worthy in terms of its quality, but it may not be thought of in those terms because it's production doesn't sound like Beatles production. I consider a lot more than my list below to be Beatles worthy, but my list of his very best songs would be something like:

Maybe I'm Amazed

Dear Boy

Ram On

Little Lamb Dragonfly

Single Pigeon

Bluebird

1882

Live and Let Die

Cafe on the Left Bank

One of These Days

Here Today

Wanderlust

Put It There

Golden Earth Girl

Vanilla Sky

Somedays

Souvenier

English Tea

Riding to Vanity Fair

The End of the End

Early Days

Hosanna

I Don't Know

Happy with You

The Kiss of Venus

Love your list McCall! Your list is quite different than mine but all very good Solo songs.

Probably your most obscure one is 1882. I only heard that song because it was on the special 2nd Disc of the Red Rose Speedway Archive Collection (Target Edition). I loved so many of the obscure songs on that disc including 1882. It was a little long but I liked it. Definitely for a serious Paul Solo Fan.

I love the fact that you included "I Don't Know" and "Happy With You" from Egypt Station. I think both songs are part of his latter era classics. And I love that you include "The Kiss of Venus" on your list from McCartney III. Even though it is still new, I put this song, Seize the Day and When Winter Comes on my top 25 Solo List too. While "Hosanna" wasn't on my list and is ceretainly a deep cut, I just heard it the other day on Spotify and thoroughly enjoyed it. Other Deep cut choices on your list (and not on mine) are Golden Earth Girl, One of These Days, and Cafe on the Left Bankl They are all very good tracks also. Finally I've always loved Single Pigeon and LIttle Lamb Dragonfly from Red Rose Speedway so I'm glad you added them.

Again, great selections.

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B J Conlee

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Yankeefan2 wrote:
I thought I would post some thoughts on why I selected a few songs on my top 25.

How Kind Of You - Hauntingly somber and beautiful song with great instrumentation. Excellent lyrically describing how when McCartney was "lost " somebody was there for him to lift him back up.

Venus And Mars/Rock Show - This made my list because it is possibly one of the greatest opening numbers of a rock concert I have ever seen.

Find My Way/My Brave Face - Two songs that I find very Beatlesque and if released in an earlier era would probably have been top 10 hits. IMO they are pop perfection.

Early Days - McCartney is wonderful doing songs on acoustic guitar and this song with him going back to when he was young is a classic, his "older" voice really fits this song.

House Of Wax - this is a climatic song with cool blues type of guitar solo. I also find the lyrics very interesting, this song was a "killer" live when McCartney did it in Paris.

Little Willow - Another great McCartney acoustic song about Maureen Starkey who died of cancer and the effect on her children. Wish he would have done this live.

About You - One of his best solo rockers and highlight of "Driving Rain" album.

Despite Repeated Warnigs - Excellent medley with sudden shifts in tempo and mood and lyrically political .

Great song descriptions Yankeefan. You're the one that got me into "About You". That's definitely a deep cut on Driving Rain and one of the best songs on the album in my opinion. Still can't believe that Paul and Band never did "About You" on one of his many tours. Instead he still does "Lady Maconna" at every show. My only criticism of Paul.

I also still love Early Days as one of your choices for all the reasons you gave. Again, on his last tour he failed to play this "never done before " song during the "acoustic" portion of that tour and he brings back "Dance Tonight" again. I think it was for like 10-20 shows on this segment of the tour. I just wish someone would tell him...Paul we've done it before "how about Early Days".

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McCall

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Created 08/03/2021 - Edited

Love your list McCall! Your list is quite different than mine but all very good Solo songs.

Probably your most obscure one is 1882. I only heard that song because it was on the special 2nd Disc of the Red Rose Speedway Archive Collection (Target Edition). I loved so many of the obscure songs on that disc including 1882. It was a little long but I liked it. Definitely for a serious Paul Solo Fan.

I love the fact that you included "I Don't Know" and "Happy With You" from Egypt Station. I think both songs are part of his latter era classics. And I love that you include "The Kiss of Venus" on your list from McCartney III. Even though it is still new, I put this song, Seize the Day and When Winter Comes on my top 25 Solo List too. While "Hosanna" wasn't on my list and is ceretainly a deep cut, I just heard it the other day on Spotify and thoroughly enjoyed it. Other Deep cut choices on your list (and not on mine) are Golden Earth Girl, One of These Days, and Cafe on the Left Bankl They are all very good tracks also. Finally I've always loved Single Pigeon and LIttle Lamb Dragonfly from Red Rose Speedway so I'm glad you added them.

Again, great selections.

Thanks! I could just as easily have included pretty much any song from your list onto my list as well, Paul has so many great songs (except, for whatever reason, I'm not much of a fan of the song Band on the Run, I recognize that it's a good song and most consider it a classic, it's just not really to my taste somehow).

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Bruce M.

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My list changes a bit depending on mood, but nothing on McCartney III comes even close to making my list. But here it is in my current mood (in roughly chronological order, not order of preference, which would be impossible):

1. Maybe I'm Amazed

2. Band on the Run

3. Silly Love Songs

4. Here Today.

5. The Pound Is Sinking

6. Wanderlust

7. The World Tonight

8. Somedays

9. Little Willow

10. Lonely Road

11. Too Much Rain

12. Jenny Wren

13. Only Mama Knows

14. Mr. Bellamy

15. The End of the End

16. You Tell Me

17. My Valentine

18. New

19. Confidante

20. Dominoes

21. Hand in Hand

22. Do It Now.

23 - 25. This is cheating, but this is about where I get to a bunch of songs I love and rank about equally, just slighly below those above. At any given moment these slots could be filled by Junk, Too Many People, San Ferry Anne, Getting Closer, Young Boy, Calico Skies, Little Willow, People Want Peace and three or four others.

"The only true patriotism, the only rational patriotism is loyalty to the nation all the time, loyalty to government when it deserves it."

--Mark Twain

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toris

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Created 09/03/2021 - Edited

In NO order:

And I am sure my list will change on a daily basis…

Maybe I’m Amazed (although, always at number one)

Mull of Kintrye

Band on the Run

Little Lamb Dragonfly

My Love

Silly Love Songs

Rock Show

Goodnight tonight

Coming Up

With A Little Luck

Beautiful Night

Too Much Rain

No More Lonely Nights

So Glad to See You Here

Tug of War

Ballroom Dancing

Daytime Night-time Suffering

Ebony and Ivory (yep!... you heard right!)

Stranglehold

The Back Seat of my Car

It’s Not True

Bluebird

Golden Earth Girl

Call Me Back Again

Live and Let Die

I am sure I have left off too many.....

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B J Conlee

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Bruce M. wrote:
My list changes a bit depending on mood, but nothing on McCartney III comes even close to making my list. But here it is in my current mood (in roughly chronological order, not order of preference, which would be impossible):

1. Maybe I'm Amazed

2. Band on the Run

3. Silly Love Songs

4. Here Today.

5. The Pound Is Sinking

6. Wanderlust

7. The World Tonight

8. Somedays

9. Little Willow

10. Lonely Road

11. Too Much Rain

12. Jenny Wren

13. Only Mama Knows

14. Mr. Bellamy

15. The End of the End

16. You Tell Me

17. My Valentine

18. New

19. Confidante

20. Dominoes

21. Hand in Hand

22. Do It Now.

23 - 25. This is cheating, but this is about where I get to a bunch of songs I love and rank about equally, just slighly below those above. At any given moment these slots could be filled by Junk, Too Many People, San Ferry Anne, Getting Closer, Young Boy, Calico Skies, Little Willow, People Want Peace and three or four others.

Great list as always Bruce. I also love your additional picks like: The Pound is Sinking, Lonely Road, Somedays, Too Much Rain, Jenny Wren etc.

Granted I like McCartney III better than you but I had to add songs like: Seize the Day, The Kiss of Venus and When Winter Comes to my list. And Slidin and Find My Way wasn't far behind also.

How do like the idea of Paul and his Full Band doing a small scale concert and doing songs "live" from McCartneyIII, Egypt Station, New, Memory Almost Full and Chaos and Creation. That would be my "dream" concert with the setlist being "all songs having never been performed before in a Concert. What a show that could be and with his very talented Band, I don't think the major part of the pressure would be on Paul. They are all individually great players so they just have to follow Paul's lead from the albums. And most importantly, they can help Paul with the vocals.

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B J Conlee

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toris wrote:
In NO order:

And I am sure my list will change on a daily basis…

Maybe I’m Amazed (although, always at number one)

Mull of Kintrye

Band on the Run

Little Lamb Dragonfly

My Love

Silly Love Songs

Rock Show

Goodnight tonight

Coming Up

With A Little Luck

Beautiful Night

Too Much Rain

No More Lonely Nights

So Glad to See You Here

Tug of War

Ballroom Dancing

Daytime Night-time Suffering

Ebony and Ivory (yep!... you heard right!)

Stranglehold

The Back Seat of my Car

It’s Not True

Bluebird

Golden Earth Girl

Call Me Back Again

Live and Let Die

I am sure I have left off too many.....

Toris...except in the early 80's when Ebony and Ivory was being played on every AM and FM Pop radio station every 5 minutes, I really like Ebony and Ivory too. When you hear it now on a Soul playlist like Pandora or Spotify, it sounds good. My wife who is not a big Paul/Bealtes fan likes it too.

PS I lof3 your Press to Play, Back to the Egg and Singles' choices too.