2022 Grammy Awards
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"I can see your point but I think a bit differently. 100 years from now, people will listen to his solo work without all the baggage that he has to deal with the past 50 years. Someone will listen to Tug of War, Chaos or Electric Arguments or Egpyt Station and just say what great songs are on these albums. In the 1980s, McCartney was so uncool but today, he is more accepted. Part of that is because all the nonsense that went down after the Beatles break up and how he was painted by the music press. But young people today don't care about that. My nephews are in their 30s and they used to make fun of my love of Paul but now they are asking me about solo Paul as in different times I have sent them something from Flaming Pie or Chaos or Egypt Station. I think in 100 years, they will listen to Calico Skies (for example) and think it is as good as something on the White Album and they won't care that it was not a Beatles song. Instead, a McCartney song will be a McCartney song. I least I hope that is the case. Of course, Paul even ignores the past 42 years since Wings broke up but I think that 100 years, people will listen to the Beatles and will discover solo Paul without the baggage of being an ex-Beatle"
The problem with your point is that you had to send your nephews the music and I am willing to bet they would not have tried listening to Paul's solo music on their own. It is a good sign that when they listened to it they did appreciate it. 100 years from now, I don't see people listening to CHAOS, EA etc because if the name Paul McCartney is mentioned they will head right to his Beatle music IMO. Paul is more accepted now because he is almost 80 and is a living legend. People understand the time he has left is dwindling and their appreciation of him is greater. The breakup of the Beatles was over 50 years ago and if people watched the recent "Get Back" film they will not see him as a villain causing the breakup of the group.In the end, I am just disappointed that Paul did not continue to promote his solo music more because I really do believe it will be forgotten which makes me sad.
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^ I agree. Except for a few solo exceptions like Maybe I'm Amazed, Live And Let Die, Band On The Run and the like, his solo career will be largely forgotten.
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I think part of the problem has been that Paul is so prolific. So, for example, when Kate Bush releases a new album, it is very much 'an event' and people in general take notice. When Paul releases a new album its just 'another album' to join all his 'other albums'so it tends to get overlooked. Which is a great shame in the case of McCartney lll (and its songs) as it was his best album in a long time.
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Kestrel wrote:
I think part of the problem has been that Paul is so prolific. So, for example, when Kate Bush releases a new album, it is very much 'an event' and people in general take notice. When Paul releases a new album its just 'another album' to join all his 'other albums'so it tends to get overlooked. Which is a great shame in the case of McCartney lll (and its songs) as it was his best album in a long time.
I couldn't name one Kate Bush song!
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NJR wrote:
Kestrel wrote:
I think part of the problem has been that Paul is so prolific. So, for example, when Kate Bush releases a new album, it is very much 'an event' and people in general take notice. When Paul releases a new album its just 'another album' to join all his 'other albums'so it tends to get overlooked. Which is a great shame in the case of McCartney lll (and its songs) as it was his best album in a long time.
I couldn't name one Kate Bush song!
I'm not surprised, I don't think she ever broke through in the US but does have a small loyal following. In the UK though she's obviously more well known and very respected.
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I wish Paul would show more respect for his later work in his concert set lists, but I must say I don't for one second buy the notion that if he just played a few more newish tunes at his shows that this would somehow cement appreciation for his solo work. I've seen plenty of shows by artists I didn't know that well -- maybe a couple familiar hits but not much else -- and even if I liked the other tunes they played, I never remembered any of them after just one listening. Paul has played Here Today on pretty much every tour for over 20 years, and most non-fans still don't know it.
The fact is that casual listeners know an artist's hits and that's it, and Paul stopped having hits after the mid-eighties. Nothing is going to change that. I think the only thing that Paul could have done to meaningfully increase awareness of his later work is to really promote the reissues -- both playing tracks in his shows and reminding people the record was just rereleased: "Now we're going to do a tune from an album from a while back called Red Rose Speedway -- hope you like it because we just released a remastered version." He's never really done that with the reissues.
But even that would just up awareness of his solo work by maybe 5%. But he still should play more solo stuff just because a lot of it's really good.
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^ What he said.
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Bruce M. wrote:
I wish Paul would show more respect for his later work in his concert set lists, but I must say I don't for one second buy the notion that if he just played a few more newish tunes at his shows that this would somehow cement appreciation for his solo work. I've seen plenty of shows by artists I didn't know that well -- maybe a couple familiar hits but not much else -- and even if I liked the other tunes they played, I never remembered any of them after just one listening. Paul has played Here Today on pretty much every tour for over 20 years, and most non-fans still don't know it.
The fact is that casual listeners know an artist's hits and that's it, and Paul stopped having hits after the mid-eighties. Nothing is going to change that. I think the only thing that Paul could have done to meaningfully increase awareness of his later work is to really promote the reissues -- both playing tracks in his shows and reminding people the record was just rereleased: "Now we're going to do a tune from an album from a while back called Red Rose Speedway -- hope you like it because we just released a remastered version." He's never really done that with the reissues.
But even that would just up awareness of his solo work by maybe 5%. But he still should play more solo stuff just because a lot of it's really good.
Agreed. I think he should play much more of his solo music for himself, for "us" the fans, and simply because it's great.
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McCall wrote:
Bruce M. wrote:
I wish Paul would show more respect for his later work in his concert set lists, but I must say I don't for one second buy the notion that if he just played a few more newish tunes at his shows that this would somehow cement appreciation for his solo work. I've seen plenty of shows by artists I didn't know that well -- maybe a couple familiar hits but not much else -- and even if I liked the other tunes they played, I never remembered any of them after just one listening. Paul has played Here Today on pretty much every tour for over 20 years, and most non-fans still don't know it.
The fact is that casual listeners know an artist's hits and that's it, and Paul stopped having hits after the mid-eighties. Nothing is going to change that. I think the only thing that Paul could have done to meaningfully increase awareness of his later work is to really promote the reissues -- both playing tracks in his shows and reminding people the record was just rereleased: "Now we're going to do a tune from an album from a while back called Red Rose Speedway -- hope you like it because we just released a remastered version." He's never really done that with the reissues.
But even that would just up awareness of his solo work by maybe 5%. But he still should play more solo stuff just because a lot of it's really good.
Agreed. I think he should play much more of his solo music for himself, for "us" the fans, and simply because it's great.
Also agree. I'd love to hear more of his more recent work.
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"I wish Paul would show more respect for his later work in his concert set lists, but I must say I don't for one second buy the notion that if he just played a few more newish tunes at his shows that this would somehow cement appreciation for his solo work. I've seen plenty of shows by artists I didn't know that well -- maybe a couple familiar hits but not much else -- and even if I liked the other tunes they played, I never remembered any of them after just one listening. Paul has played Here Today on pretty much every tour for over 20 years, and most non-fans still don't know it."
If Paul played more of his solo stuff live there might not be much more appreciation for his solo career but he would show appreciation to all those people who have spent their money on his solo albums and would love to hear more of it live. The reason most non-fans don't know "Here Today" is because they are usually "first timers" and clueless about any music that is not a Beatle song. Maybe they may know a Wings hit or two but that is the extent of it. If they have never seen him live, they will have never heard the song since all they care about is the Beatles and that is fine.
Years ago, I went to see Elton John and I had not seen him since the 70's. He played quite a bit off his new album (Peachtree Road) at the time and I had not heard the album before the show. I really enjoyed the new songs and after the concert bought the album. The difference between Elton and Paul was Elton actually told the audience about the new songs and said how much he like making the album. In other words, he tried to "sell" his new material to his fans. Paul on the other hand, says something real quick like "This is a new song" and is almost apologetic to the audience that he is playing it IMO.
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Bruce M. wrote:
I wish Paul would show more respect for his later work in his concert set lists, but I must say I don't for one second buy the notion that if he just played a few more newish tunes at his shows that this would somehow cement appreciation for his solo work. I've seen plenty of shows by artists I didn't know that well -- maybe a couple familiar hits but not much else -- and even if I liked the other tunes they played, I never remembered any of them after just one listening. Paul has played Here Today on pretty much every tour for over 20 years, and most non-fans still don't know it.
The fact is that casual listeners know an artist's hits and that's it, and Paul stopped having hits after the mid-eighties. Nothing is going to change that. I think the only thing that Paul could have done to meaningfully increase awareness of his later work is to really promote the reissues -- both playing tracks in his shows and reminding people the record was just rereleased: "Now we're going to do a tune from an album from a while back called Red Rose Speedway -- hope you like it because we just released a remastered version." He's never really done that with the reissues.
But even that would just up awareness of his solo work by maybe 5%. But he still should play more solo stuff just because a lot of it's really good.
Bruce...you make a couple of great points. I also don't believe if Paul played more Solo Songs on tour that it would magically advance consumers' awareness of Paul's 2nd Career (His Post Beatles' Catalog). I do believe that if he came out with a new CD package with many of the extra songs that never appeared on his original Albums it would help a great deal especially if this package had the right publicity to endorse it. I just posted a project suggestion for Paul and MPL (in the While You Were Out Section) where the whole CD would offer these kind of extra, leftover type songs. Take a look at my proposed Tracklist. If they were on 1 inexpensive package and with the right publicity I think people (especially casual Beatle and Paul Solo fans) would be very surprised at the quality of these hidden gems and how many he has written. The problem with many of these Archive Remaster Collections is that they are way too expensive for the average person so that fans never get to appreciate all these pretty much "unknown" songs. Putting them all in an inexpensive package would bring awareness to how prolific Paul has been. Putting them all in one inexpensive place will accomplish this goal of reaching his target customers and how good his 2nd Career (his Post Beatles' Career) has been.
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B J Conlee wrote:
Bruce M. wrote:
I wish Paul would show more respect for his later work in his concert set lists, but I must say I don't for one second buy the notion that if he just played a few more newish tunes at his shows that this would somehow cement appreciation for his solo work. I've seen plenty of shows by artists I didn't know that well -- maybe a couple familiar hits but not much else -- and even if I liked the other tunes they played, I never remembered any of them after just one listening. Paul has played Here Today on pretty much every tour for over 20 years, and most non-fans still don't know it.
The fact is that casual listeners know an artist's hits and that's it, and Paul stopped having hits after the mid-eighties. Nothing is going to change that. I think the only thing that Paul could have done to meaningfully increase awareness of his later work is to really promote the reissues -- both playing tracks in his shows and reminding people the record was just rereleased: "Now we're going to do a tune from an album from a while back called Red Rose Speedway -- hope you like it because we just released a remastered version." He's never really done that with the reissues.
But even that would just up awareness of his solo work by maybe 5%. But he still should play more solo stuff just because a lot of it's really good.
Bruce...you make a couple of great points. I also don't believe if Paul played more Solo Songs on tour that it would magically advance consumers' awareness of Paul's 2nd Career (His Post Beatles' Catalog). I do believe that if he came out with a new CD package with many of the extra songs that never appeared on his original Albums it would help a great deal especially if this package had the right publicity to endorse it. I just posted a project suggestion for Paul and MPL (in the While You Were Out Section) where the whole CD would offer these kind of extra, leftover type songs. Take a look at my proposed Tracklist. If they were on 1 inexpensive package and with the right publicity I think people (especially casual Beatle and Paul Solo fans) would be very surprised at the quality of these hidden gems and how many he has written. The problem with many of these Archive Remaster Collections is that they are way too expensive for the average person so that fans never get to appreciate all these pretty much "unknown" songs. Putting them all in an inexpensive package would bring awareness to how prolific Paul has been. Putting them all in one inexpensive place will accomplish this goal of reaching his target customers and how good his 2nd Career (his Post Beatles' Career) has been.
B J and Bruce - it is in the Not Such A Bad Boy forum/section.
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Yankeefan2 wrote:
"I wish Paul would show more respect for his later work in his concert set lists, but I must say I don't for one second buy the notion that if he just played a few more newish tunes at his shows that this would somehow cement appreciation for his solo work. I've seen plenty of shows by artists I didn't know that well -- maybe a couple familiar hits but not much else -- and even if I liked the other tunes they played, I never remembered any of them after just one listening. Paul has played Here Today on pretty much every tour for over 20 years, and most non-fans still don't know it."
If Paul played more of his solo stuff live there might not be much more appreciation for his solo career but he would show appreciation to all those people who have spent their money on his solo albums and would love to hear more of it live. The reason most non-fans don't know "Here Today" is because they are usually "first timers" and clueless about any music that is not a Beatle song. Maybe they may know a Wings hit or two but that is the extent of it. If they have never seen him live, they will have never heard the song since all they care about is the Beatles and that is fine.
Years ago, I went to see Elton John and I had not seen him since the 70's. He played quite a bit off his new album (Peachtree Road) at the time and I had not heard the album before the show. I really enjoyed the new songs and after the concert bought the album. The difference between Elton and Paul was Elton actually told the audience about the new songs and said how much he like making the album. In other words, he tried to "sell" his new material to his fans. Paul on the other hand, says something real quick like "This is a new song" and is almost apologetic to the audience that he is playing it IMO.
I totally agree that Paul really doesn't promote his new music in his shows, even the few tunes that he does play. I don't get it. He goes to the trouble to do something like "Carpool Karaoke" to launch a new album (which I loved) but does almost nothing when he's in front of tens of thousands of people who paid a lot of money to see him. It's genuinely baffling.
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Bruce M. wrote:
Yankeefan2 wrote:
"I wish Paul would show more respect for his later work in his concert set lists, but I must say I don't for one second buy the notion that if he just played a few more newish tunes at his shows that this would somehow cement appreciation for his solo work. I've seen plenty of shows by artists I didn't know that well -- maybe a couple familiar hits but not much else -- and even if I liked the other tunes they played, I never remembered any of them after just one listening. Paul has played Here Today on pretty much every tour for over 20 years, and most non-fans still don't know it."
If Paul played more of his solo stuff live there might not be much more appreciation for his solo career but he would show appreciation to all those people who have spent their money on his solo albums and would love to hear more of it live. The reason most non-fans don't know "Here Today" is because they are usually "first timers" and clueless about any music that is not a Beatle song. Maybe they may know a Wings hit or two but that is the extent of it. If they have never seen him live, they will have never heard the song since all they care about is the Beatles and that is fine.
Years ago, I went to see Elton John and I had not seen him since the 70's. He played quite a bit off his new album (Peachtree Road) at the time and I had not heard the album before the show. I really enjoyed the new songs and after the concert bought the album. The difference between Elton and Paul was Elton actually told the audience about the new songs and said how much he like making the album. In other words, he tried to "sell" his new material to his fans. Paul on the other hand, says something real quick like "This is a new song" and is almost apologetic to the audience that he is playing it IMO.
I totally agree that Paul really doesn't promote his new music in his shows, even the few tunes that he does play. I don't get it. He goes to the trouble to do something like "Carpool Karaoke" to launch a new album (which I loved) but does almost nothing when he's in front of tens of thousands of people who paid a lot of money to see him. It's genuinely baffling.
Paul believes that he is performing the songs he imagines people who are there want and expect to hear. He has said that when he goes to any concert he asks himself what he wants and expects to hear from whatever artist. That's his approach to the songs he selects for hiimself. "The Long and Winding Road," just one example, could have been dropped ages ago. It's not a must. Just not sure why he imagines it is. People don't think of him as a contemporary artist still creating new music because he doesn't see or think of himself that way either when he's out on tour.
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Beatles4Ever wrote:
Bruce M. wrote:
Yankeefan2 wrote:
"I wish Paul would show more respect for his later work in his concert set lists, but I must say I don't for one second buy the notion that if he just played a few more newish tunes at his shows that this would somehow cement appreciation for his solo work. I've seen plenty of shows by artists I didn't know that well -- maybe a couple familiar hits but not much else -- and even if I liked the other tunes they played, I never remembered any of them after just one listening. Paul has played Here Today on pretty much every tour for over 20 years, and most non-fans still don't know it."
If Paul played more of his solo stuff live there might not be much more appreciation for his solo career but he would show appreciation to all those people who have spent their money on his solo albums and would love to hear more of it live. The reason most non-fans don't know "Here Today" is because they are usually "first timers" and clueless about any music that is not a Beatle song. Maybe they may know a Wings hit or two but that is the extent of it. If they have never seen him live, they will have never heard the song since all they care about is the Beatles and that is fine.
Years ago, I went to see Elton John and I had not seen him since the 70's. He played quite a bit off his new album (Peachtree Road) at the time and I had not heard the album before the show. I really enjoyed the new songs and after the concert bought the album. The difference between Elton and Paul was Elton actually told the audience about the new songs and said how much he like making the album. In other words, he tried to "sell" his new material to his fans. Paul on the other hand, says something real quick like "This is a new song" and is almost apologetic to the audience that he is playing it IMO.
I totally agree that Paul really doesn't promote his new music in his shows, even the few tunes that he does play. I don't get it. He goes to the trouble to do something like "Carpool Karaoke" to launch a new album (which I loved) but does almost nothing when he's in front of tens of thousands of people who paid a lot of money to see him. It's genuinely baffling.
Paul believes that he is performing the songs he imagines people who are there want and expect to hear. He has said that when he goes to any concert he asks himself what he wants and expects to hear from whatever artist. That's his approach to the songs he selects for hiimself. "The Long and Winding Road," just one example, could have been dropped ages ago. It's not a must. Just not sure why he imagines it is. People don't think of him as a contemporary artist still creating new music because he doesn't see or think of himself that way either when he's out on tour.
He already dropped TLAWR ages ago. He can't hit the notes anymore. In 2019 he didn't do Yesterday!
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NJR wrote:
Beatles4Ever wrote:
Bruce M. wrote:
Yankeefan2 wrote:
"I wish Paul would show more respect for his later work in his concert set lists, but I must say I don't for one second buy the notion that if he just played a few more newish tunes at his shows that this would somehow cement appreciation for his solo work. I've seen plenty of shows by artists I didn't know that well -- maybe a couple familiar hits but not much else -- and even if I liked the other tunes they played, I never remembered any of them after just one listening. Paul has played Here Today on pretty much every tour for over 20 years, and most non-fans still don't know it."
If Paul played more of his solo stuff live there might not be much more appreciation for his solo career but he would show appreciation to all those people who have spent their money on his solo albums and would love to hear more of it live. The reason most non-fans don't know "Here Today" is because they are usually "first timers" and clueless about any music that is not a Beatle song. Maybe they may know a Wings hit or two but that is the extent of it. If they have never seen him live, they will have never heard the song since all they care about is the Beatles and that is fine.
Years ago, I went to see Elton John and I had not seen him since the 70's. He played quite a bit off his new album (Peachtree Road) at the time and I had not heard the album before the show. I really enjoyed the new songs and after the concert bought the album. The difference between Elton and Paul was Elton actually told the audience about the new songs and said how much he like making the album. In other words, he tried to "sell" his new material to his fans. Paul on the other hand, says something real quick like "This is a new song" and is almost apologetic to the audience that he is playing it IMO.
I totally agree that Paul really doesn't promote his new music in his shows, even the few tunes that he does play. I don't get it. He goes to the trouble to do something like "Carpool Karaoke" to launch a new album (which I loved) but does almost nothing when he's in front of tens of thousands of people who paid a lot of money to see him. It's genuinely baffling.
Paul believes that he is performing the songs he imagines people who are there want and expect to hear. He has said that when he goes to any concert he asks himself what he wants and expects to hear from whatever artist. That's his approach to the songs he selects for hiimself. "The Long and Winding Road," just one example, could have been dropped ages ago. It's not a must. Just not sure why he imagines it is. People don't think of him as a contemporary artist still creating new music because he doesn't see or think of himself that way either when he's out on tour.
He already dropped TLAWR ages ago. He can't hit the notes anymore. In 2019 he didn't do Yesterday!
Oh, thank you. I hadn't kept proper track of that, I guess. It's been awhile since I last saw him. Longer than I thought, I guess. But I stick with my main point......Paul creates his playlist largely based on what he believes fans expect to hear from him. He may throw a new song in here and there, but....by and large....he doesn't promote his new work in a way that would demonstrate to concert attendees that Paul is still a contemporary artist.
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Beatles4Ever wrote:
NJR wrote:
Beatles4Ever wrote:
Bruce M. wrote:
Yankeefan2 wrote:
"I wish Paul would show more respect for his later work in his concert set lists, but I must say I don't for one second buy the notion that if he just played a few more newish tunes at his shows that this would somehow cement appreciation for his solo work. I've seen plenty of shows by artists I didn't know that well -- maybe a couple familiar hits but not much else -- and even if I liked the other tunes they played, I never remembered any of them after just one listening. Paul has played Here Today on pretty much every tour for over 20 years, and most non-fans still don't know it."
If Paul played more of his solo stuff live there might not be much more appreciation for his solo career but he would show appreciation to all those people who have spent their money on his solo albums and would love to hear more of it live. The reason most non-fans don't know "Here Today" is because they are usually "first timers" and clueless about any music that is not a Beatle song. Maybe they may know a Wings hit or two but that is the extent of it. If they have never seen him live, they will have never heard the song since all they care about is the Beatles and that is fine.
Years ago, I went to see Elton John and I had not seen him since the 70's. He played quite a bit off his new album (Peachtree Road) at the time and I had not heard the album before the show. I really enjoyed the new songs and after the concert bought the album. The difference between Elton and Paul was Elton actually told the audience about the new songs and said how much he like making the album. In other words, he tried to "sell" his new material to his fans. Paul on the other hand, says something real quick like "This is a new song" and is almost apologetic to the audience that he is playing it IMO.
I totally agree that Paul really doesn't promote his new music in his shows, even the few tunes that he does play. I don't get it. He goes to the trouble to do something like "Carpool Karaoke" to launch a new album (which I loved) but does almost nothing when he's in front of tens of thousands of people who paid a lot of money to see him. It's genuinely baffling.
Paul believes that he is performing the songs he imagines people who are there want and expect to hear. He has said that when he goes to any concert he asks himself what he wants and expects to hear from whatever artist. That's his approach to the songs he selects for hiimself. "The Long and Winding Road," just one example, could have been dropped ages ago. It's not a must. Just not sure why he imagines it is. People don't think of him as a contemporary artist still creating new music because he doesn't see or think of himself that way either when he's out on tour.
He already dropped TLAWR ages ago. He can't hit the notes anymore. In 2019 he didn't do Yesterday!
Oh, thank you. I hadn't kept proper track of that, I guess. It's been awhile since I last saw him. Longer than I thought, I guess. But I stick with my main point......Paul creates his playlist largely based on what he believes fans expect to hear from him. He may throw a new song in here and there, but....by and large....he doesn't promote his new work in a way that would demonstrate to concert attendees that Paul is still a contemporary artist.
I hadn't seen him do TLAWR since Oct. 15, 2014 in Atlanta. He didn't do it when I saw him next in 2017. You can always check the Tour Archives here:
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Beatles4Ever wrote:
Bruce M. wrote:
Yankeefan2 wrote:
"I wish Paul would show more respect for his later work in his concert set lists, but I must say I don't for one second buy the notion that if he just played a few more newish tunes at his shows that this would somehow cement appreciation for his solo work. I've seen plenty of shows by artists I didn't know that well -- maybe a couple familiar hits but not much else -- and even if I liked the other tunes they played, I never remembered any of them after just one listening. Paul has played Here Today on pretty much every tour for over 20 years, and most non-fans still don't know it."
If Paul played more of his solo stuff live there might not be much more appreciation for his solo career but he would show appreciation to all those people who have spent their money on his solo albums and would love to hear more of it live. The reason most non-fans don't know "Here Today" is because they are usually "first timers" and clueless about any music that is not a Beatle song. Maybe they may know a Wings hit or two but that is the extent of it. If they have never seen him live, they will have never heard the song since all they care about is the Beatles and that is fine.
Years ago, I went to see Elton John and I had not seen him since the 70's. He played quite a bit off his new album (Peachtree Road) at the time and I had not heard the album before the show. I really enjoyed the new songs and after the concert bought the album. The difference between Elton and Paul was Elton actually told the audience about the new songs and said how much he like making the album. In other words, he tried to "sell" his new material to his fans. Paul on the other hand, says something real quick like "This is a new song" and is almost apologetic to the audience that he is playing it IMO.
I totally agree that Paul really doesn't promote his new music in his shows, even the few tunes that he does play. I don't get it. He goes to the trouble to do something like "Carpool Karaoke" to launch a new album (which I loved) but does almost nothing when he's in front of tens of thousands of people who paid a lot of money to see him. It's genuinely baffling.
Paul believes that he is performing the songs he imagines people who are there want and expect to hear. He has said that when he goes to any concert he asks himself what he wants and expects to hear from whatever artist. That's his approach to the songs he selects for hiimself. "The Long and Winding Road," just one example, could have been dropped ages ago. It's not a must. Just not sure why he imagines it is. People don't think of him as a contemporary artist still creating new music because he doesn't see or think of himself that way either when he's out on tour.
It's like Recording Studio Paul and On Tour Paul are two entirely separate people. I'll always find that baffling.
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Bruce M. wrote:
Beatles4Ever wrote:
Bruce M. wrote:
Yankeefan2 wrote:
"I wish Paul would show more respect for his later work in his concert set lists, but I must say I don't for one second buy the notion that if he just played a few more newish tunes at his shows that this would somehow cement appreciation for his solo work. I've seen plenty of shows by artists I didn't know that well -- maybe a couple familiar hits but not much else -- and even if I liked the other tunes they played, I never remembered any of them after just one listening. Paul has played Here Today on pretty much every tour for over 20 years, and most non-fans still don't know it."
If Paul played more of his solo stuff live there might not be much more appreciation for his solo career but he would show appreciation to all those people who have spent their money on his solo albums and would love to hear more of it live. The reason most non-fans don't know "Here Today" is because they are usually "first timers" and clueless about any music that is not a Beatle song. Maybe they may know a Wings hit or two but that is the extent of it. If they have never seen him live, they will have never heard the song since all they care about is the Beatles and that is fine.
Years ago, I went to see Elton John and I had not seen him since the 70's. He played quite a bit off his new album (Peachtree Road) at the time and I had not heard the album before the show. I really enjoyed the new songs and after the concert bought the album. The difference between Elton and Paul was Elton actually told the audience about the new songs and said how much he like making the album. In other words, he tried to "sell" his new material to his fans. Paul on the other hand, says something real quick like "This is a new song" and is almost apologetic to the audience that he is playing it IMO.
I totally agree that Paul really doesn't promote his new music in his shows, even the few tunes that he does play. I don't get it. He goes to the trouble to do something like "Carpool Karaoke" to launch a new album (which I loved) but does almost nothing when he's in front of tens of thousands of people who paid a lot of money to see him. It's genuinely baffling.
Paul believes that he is performing the songs he imagines people who are there want and expect to hear. He has said that when he goes to any concert he asks himself what he wants and expects to hear from whatever artist. That's his approach to the songs he selects for hiimself. "The Long and Winding Road," just one example, could have been dropped ages ago. It's not a must. Just not sure why he imagines it is. People don't think of him as a contemporary artist still creating new music because he doesn't see or think of himself that way either when he's out on tour.
It's like Recording Studio Paul and On Tour Paul are two entirely separate people. I'll always find that baffling.
This is very true. He's endlessly creative in the studio, always creating new songs in all kinds of genres and experimenting. But the concert set lists change so little.