5-10 Solo Songs Never or Very Rarely Performed Live
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RMartinez:
yankeefan7:
B J Conlee:
yankeefan7:
B J Conlee:
Paul has expressed his frustration several times over the last 20 years about the Lennon/McCartney "credits" issue on Beatle songs that he wrote either totally by himself or almost totally alone. The latest interview appeared in the Esquire Magazine which we discussed a little on this Site. I understand his frustration over this but, in my opinion, Paul just doesn't win here. No matter what we think as highly educated Macca fans, to many people he appears at best to be petty and self centered. At worst, his critics are pointing out that he is taking up this fight when his former partner isn't around to give us his input. I think the other factor is that so much has been published about the Beatle Lennon/McCartney Catalog. The songs have been so thoroughly analyzed that Paul really doesn't have to worry about his status in this partnership. So many of the great Paul Beatle songs have already been credited to him as the main or sole writer. Paul doesn't have to really worry. Anyway, it got me thinking that Paul has toured incessantly over the last 10-15 years and he hasn't done nearly enough in my opinion to "enhance" his own Solo Career at his concerts. I believe he easily has 10-20 Solo songs that have "classic" potential but are hardly known to the vast majority of music fans in general. I'm talking about songs that just has his name in the credits. When Paul does a Solo song live for the first time he always gets a lot of free publicity from U-Tube and other sites. The longer he plays some of these great little- known songs on tour the more publicity he gets. It is not just the concert attendees that get to hear them. I wished he would look at this factor as a motivation to play more of his great or potentially great tracks. Making more really good McCartney Solo songs more known to the public is a far better approach to his legacy rather than complaining about Lennon/McCartney credit issues. Interested in your list. Here is mine with the album it came from: 1. Tug of War (Tug of War) -- Everybody should know this song like a Hey Jude 2.Wanderlust (Tug of War) -- Everybody should know this song like a Let It Be 3. Take It Away (Tug of War) -- Yes, it is more known, but Paul should remind them and also let younger people perhaps hear it for the 1st time. 4. Early Days (New) -- the best song on New yet not as known as it should be 5. House of Wax (Memory Almost Full) -- Yes Paul played it once or twice (Paris show) but why stop there. Let people know this song. 6. That was Me (Memory Almost Full) -- Like the song above where Paul played it once or twice. Why not play it on a full tour...great lyrics 7. World Tonight (Flaming Pie) -- great rocker that should be better known as well 8. Little Willow (Flaming Pie) -- great song with very touching lyrics that people hardly know in general 9. Somedays (Flaming Pie) -- very much like Little Willow; should be known so much more than it is. 10. Getting Closer (Back to the Egg) -- something from the 70's that needs to be far better known; just a great rocker like Junior's Farm.
Great songs and I totally agree, will add a couple below. Let me add, that "Little Willow" would be great addition to acoustic set and he could dedicate it to Ringo's children with Maureen Starkey. "That Was Me" actually opened show in Paris, got very good reception. 1) Promise To You Girl (CHAOS) - one of the few upbeat songs and has a nice little guitar solo. 2) About You (Driving Rain) - very good rocker that unfortunately was not played during that tour 3) Too Much Rain (CHAOS) - One off the best songs on CHAOS 4) What It Is (Run Devil Run) - One of the three McCartney originals from this record and great 50's style rocker. 5) Dance Til We're High (Electric Arguments) - should have been a single IMO
_____________________________________________________ Yankeefan, Love your choices. Great mix of songs too. Thought of some more: *Friends to Go (Chaos) -- could be a tribute to George *Ever Present Past (Memory Almost Full) - great hooks *Young Girl (Flaming Pie) -- never done live *Hope of Deliverance -- I know he did this song a few times but seldom in the US *Mull of Kintyre -- I know he has done this a few times but this is another one that should be heard as part of Paul's greatest Solo Songs * With a Little Luck (Londontown) -- well known in the day but never done live *Ballroom Dancing (Tug of War) -- a fun song never done live *The Pound is Sinking -- great rock song We almost have enough songs for a full concert. I know I'm dreaming but damn it would be great if Paul would do a special concert at a few choice venues (Post Beatles Only) Hell, if he started a new tour and added 6 of all these choices, I guess I should be thrilled. But man, I only wish Paul had done a special concert covering the bulk of these songs (and maybe a few more) 5 or 10 years ago.
I agree. Several months ago, I floated the idea that he should have done a show like you mention in a few small venues around the world. (London, NYC, etc). Record all the performances and make a "live" CD from it and only make it available to Paul McCartney board members. Kind of like a special "bootleg" for his fans. Mr. McCartney could have made this a limited edition CD, think he did that CHOBA. I bet the band would have had a blast doing a entire show of new songs for the most part.
But you are assuming Paul actually cares about devoted fans. Does he? What has he done in the last two decades to indicate he does? Show like the MTV Unpluged show and the theater shows of 1992 were the last time he seemed to care.
"But you are assuming Paul actually cares about devoted fans. Does he? What has he done in the last two decades to indicate he does?" I don't think he cares about the devoted fans, he just seems obsessed with the people seeing him for the first time. If he truly cared, he would understand that there are people who have been constantly buying his new albums/CD's for years and would actually like to hear more of it live. News flash for Mr. McCartney, "Tug Of War" was a #1 album and it was not just due to the song "Here Today", play some other songs from this album. These fans have put money in your pockets for many years and not one concert and done fans. All Mr. McCartney would have to do to satisfy me would be to take the 14 songs out of 39 that are not Beatle songs and mix them up better. Spend some time with the band and rehearse some songs you have never done before (exp. Take It Away or Dance Til We're High) and revisit some songs like "My Brave Face" that you have not done in 25 years. It is probably too late for him to do this at his age, wish he would have 5-10 years ago.
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Bruce M.:
I can't prove this, but I think Paul is one of those people who really, really wants everyone to like him and hates for the audience to be unhappy even for a moment. When he plays newer stuff onstage, he can sense the lessened enthusiasm from most of the crowd. So he limits those "down" moments to a few tunes from the album he's promoting at the moment and a handful of other less-known songs, but he mostly gives people the tunes he knows will produce wild applause and have everyone singing along. Arguably one could chalk this up to insecurity, but I'm not going to psychoanalyze. He is in this sense the exact opposite of Dylan, who's often seemed to enjoy messing with his audience and upending the crowd's expectations. Arguably, there's a happy medium in between those 2 extremes -- say, half a dozen more solo tunes and a few more variations on the arrangements of familiar Beatles/Wings hits. But Paul ain't gonna go there. And as some have said, it does become sort of a vicious cycle, as songs that have been filed and forgotten for 20 years tend to stay forgotten, and get even less response if he does play one of them. Sigh... That said, I'm not sure it's that Paul doesn't respect his solo work. I think he believes most fans don't know or respect it. And he's not entirely wrong, but I wish he's pull against the current a bit more than he does.
I concur
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Well, I think Paul has reached out to his devoted fans. In the past ten years he has played Too Many People, C Moon, 1985, Rock Show, Mrs. Vanderbilt, Another Girl, TemporarySecretary, All Together Now, Ram On, Letting Go, Benefit of Mr. Kite, Another Day, She Came in Through the Bathroom Window, Rita Meter Maid, One After 909, etc. And after 18 shows, I rarely see the bathroom runs others talk about. The only songs still on my wish list are Martha My Dear and Smile Away.
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wingsoverkc:
Well, I think Paul has reached out to his devoted fans. In the past ten years he has played Too Many People, C Moon, 1985, Rock Show, Mrs. Vanderbilt, Another Girl, TemporarySecretary, All Together Now, Ram On, Letting Go, Benefit of Mr. Kite, Another Day, She Came in Through the Bathroom Window, Rita Meter Maid, One After 909, etc. And after 18 shows, I rarely see the bathroom runs others talk about. The only songs still on my wish list are Martha My Dear and Smile Away.
Every song you mentioned is over 30 years old, I don't think that is reaching out to devoted fans. IMO devoted fans are people who not only loved the Beatle/Wings days but also have supported his solo career for many years.
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yankeefan7:
RMartinez:
yankeefan7:
B J Conlee:
yankeefan7:
B J Conlee:
Paul has expressed his frustration several times over the last 20 years about the Lennon/McCartney "credits" issue on Beatle songs that he wrote either totally by himself or almost totally alone. The latest interview appeared in the Esquire Magazine which we discussed a little on this Site. I understand his frustration over this but, in my opinion, Paul just doesn't win here. No matter what we think as highly educated Macca fans, to many people he appears at best to be petty and self centered. At worst, his critics are pointing out that he is taking up this fight when his former partner isn't around to give us his input. I think the other factor is that so much has been published about the Beatle Lennon/McCartney Catalog. The songs have been so thoroughly analyzed that Paul really doesn't have to worry about his status in this partnership. So many of the great Paul Beatle songs have already been credited to him as the main or sole writer. Paul doesn't have to really worry. Anyway, it got me thinking that Paul has toured incessantly over the last 10-15 years and he hasn't done nearly enough in my opinion to "enhance" his own Solo Career at his concerts. I believe he easily has 10-20 Solo songs that have "classic" potential but are hardly known to the vast majority of music fans in general. I'm talking about songs that just has his name in the credits. When Paul does a Solo song live for the first time he always gets a lot of free publicity from U-Tube and other sites. The longer he plays some of these great little- known songs on tour the more publicity he gets. It is not just the concert attendees that get to hear them. I wished he would look at this factor as a motivation to play more of his great or potentially great tracks. Making more really good McCartney Solo songs more known to the public is a far better approach to his legacy rather than complaining about Lennon/McCartney credit issues. Interested in your list. Here is mine with the album it came from: 1. Tug of War (Tug of War) -- Everybody should know this song like a Hey Jude 2.Wanderlust (Tug of War) -- Everybody should know this song like a Let It Be 3. Take It Away (Tug of War) -- Yes, it is more known, but Paul should remind them and also let younger people perhaps hear it for the 1st time. 4. Early Days (New) -- the best song on New yet not as known as it should be 5. House of Wax (Memory Almost Full) -- Yes Paul played it once or twice (Paris show) but why stop there. Let people know this song. 6. That was Me (Memory Almost Full) -- Like the song above where Paul played it once or twice. Why not play it on a full tour...great lyrics 7. World Tonight (Flaming Pie) -- great rocker that should be better known as well 8. Little Willow (Flaming Pie) -- great song with very touching lyrics that people hardly know in general 9. Somedays (Flaming Pie) -- very much like Little Willow; should be known so much more than it is. 10. Getting Closer (Back to the Egg) -- something from the 70's that needs to be far better known; just a great rocker like Junior's Farm.
Great songs and I totally agree, will add a couple below. Let me add, that "Little Willow" would be great addition to acoustic set and he could dedicate it to Ringo's children with Maureen Starkey. "That Was Me" actually opened show in Paris, got very good reception. 1) Promise To You Girl (CHAOS) - one of the few upbeat songs and has a nice little guitar solo. 2) About You (Driving Rain) - very good rocker that unfortunately was not played during that tour 3) Too Much Rain (CHAOS) - One off the best songs on CHAOS 4) What It Is (Run Devil Run) - One of the three McCartney originals from this record and great 50's style rocker. 5) Dance Til We're High (Electric Arguments) - should have been a single IMO
_____________________________________________________ Yankeefan, Love your choices. Great mix of songs too. Thought of some more: *Friends to Go (Chaos) -- could be a tribute to George *Ever Present Past (Memory Almost Full) - great hooks *Young Girl (Flaming Pie) -- never done live *Hope of Deliverance -- I know he did this song a few times but seldom in the US *Mull of Kintyre -- I know he has done this a few times but this is another one that should be heard as part of Paul's greatest Solo Songs * With a Little Luck (Londontown) -- well known in the day but never done live *Ballroom Dancing (Tug of War) -- a fun song never done live *The Pound is Sinking -- great rock song We almost have enough songs for a full concert. I know I'm dreaming but damn it would be great if Paul would do a special concert at a few choice venues (Post Beatles Only) Hell, if he started a new tour and added 6 of all these choices, I guess I should be thrilled. But man, I only wish Paul had done a special concert covering the bulk of these songs (and maybe a few more) 5 or 10 years ago.
I agree. Several months ago, I floated the idea that he should have done a show like you mention in a few small venues around the world. (London, NYC, etc). Record all the performances and make a "live" CD from it and only make it available to Paul McCartney board members. Kind of like a special "bootleg" for his fans. Mr. McCartney could have made this a limited edition CD, think he did that CHOBA. I bet the band would have had a blast doing a entire show of new songs for the most part.
But you are assuming Paul actually cares about devoted fans. Does he? What has he done in the last two decades to indicate he does? Show like the MTV Unpluged show and the theater shows of 1992 were the last time he seemed to care.
"But you are assuming Paul actually cares about devoted fans. Does he? What has he done in the last two decades to indicate he does?" I don't think he cares about the devoted fans, he just seems obsessed with the people seeing him for the first time. If he truly cared, he would understand that there are people who have been constantly buying his new albums/CD's for years and would actually like to hear more of it live. News flash for Mr. McCartney, "Tug Of War" was a #1 album and it was not just due to the song "Here Today", play some other songs from this album. These fans have put money in your pockets for many years and not one concert and done fans. All Mr. McCartney would have to do to satisfy me would be to take the 14 songs out of 39 that are not Beatle songs and mix them up better. Spend some time with the band and rehearse some songs you have never done before (exp. Take It Away or Dance Til We're High) and revisit some songs like "My Brave Face" that you have not done in 25 years. It is probably too late for him to do this at his age, wish he would have 5-10 years ago.
I agree. He would not even have to put THAT much work into doing something different by playing songs he has done with this band in the last 13 years and learn, say, My Brave Face, Martha My Dear, Oh Darling, and What You're Doing. Here would be a sample set list: YOU WON'T SEE ME JET MY BRAVE FACE FINE LINE JUNIOR'S FARM TOO MANY PEOPLE COME AND GET IT 1985 FLAMING PIE FOOL ON THE HILL MARTHA MY DEAR HOPE OF DELIVERANCE TILL THERE WAS YOU I'M LOOKING THROUGH YOU MICHELLE NEW GETTING BETTER WHAT YOU'RE DOING LETTING GO ONLY MAMA KNOWS ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE THE WORD ALL THINGS MUST PASS HERE THERE AND EVERYWHERE JUNK YESTERDAY LET IT BE LADY MADONNA LIVE AND LET DIE HEY JUDE OH DARLING TWENTY FLIGHT ROCK BLUE SUEDE SHOES I'LL GET YOU PLEASE PLEASE ME
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Sorry, but he could never do Oh! Darling justice today.
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Nancy R:
Sorry, but he could never do Oh! Darling justice today.
Exactly, he needed to do that at least 10-15 years ago.
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Nancy R:
Sorry, but he could never do Oh! Darling justice today.
I agree. But that doesn't stop him from singing Maybe I'm Amazed or others he really can't sing well anymore. Anyway, it is more an IDEAL set list than a REAL one! We all know he isn't going to deviate much, if at all, for the next leg of this on-going tour.
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yankeefan7:
Bruce M.:
I can't prove this, but I think Paul is one of those people who really, really wants everyone to like him and hates for the audience to be unhappy even for a moment. When he plays newer stuff onstage, he can sense the lessened enthusiasm from most of the crowd. So he limits those "down" moments to a few tunes from the album he's promoting at the moment and a handful of other less-known songs, but he mostly gives people the tunes he knows will produce wild applause and have everyone singing along. Arguably one could chalk this up to insecurity, but I'm not going to psychoanalyze. He is in this sense the exact opposite of Dylan, who's often seemed to enjoy messing with his audience and upending the crowd's expectations. Arguably, there's a happy medium in between those 2 extremes -- say, half a dozen more solo tunes and a few more variations on the arrangements of familiar Beatles/Wings hits. But Paul ain't gonna go there. And as some have said, it does become sort of a vicious cycle, as songs that have been filed and forgotten for 20 years tend to stay forgotten, and get even less response if he does play one of them. Sigh... That said, I'm not sure it's that Paul doesn't respect his solo work. I think he believes most fans don't know or respect it. And he's not entirely wrong, but I wish he's pull against the current a bit more than he does.
Honestly, have you ever been to a concert where the audience went crazy for every song?.
Yep. Plenty. Las Vegas Joint. Tokyo Dome 13 (three shows). Manchester, England...
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toris:
Bruce M.:
I can't prove this, but I think Paul is one of those people who really, really wants everyone to like him and hates for the audience to be unhappy even for a moment. When he plays newer stuff onstage, he can sense the lessened enthusiasm from most of the crowd. So he limits those "down" moments to a few tunes from the album he's promoting at the moment and a handful of other less-known songs, but he mostly gives people the tunes he knows will produce wild applause and have everyone singing along. Arguably one could chalk this up to insecurity, but I'm not going to psychoanalyze. He is in this sense the exact opposite of Dylan, who's often seemed to enjoy messing with his audience and upending the crowd's expectations. Arguably, there's a happy medium in between those 2 extremes -- say, half a dozen more solo tunes and a few more variations on the arrangements of familiar Beatles/Wings hits. But Paul ain't gonna go there. And as some have said, it does become sort of a vicious cycle, as songs that have been filed and forgotten for 20 years tend to stay forgotten, and get even less response if he does play one of them. Sigh... That said, I'm not sure it's that Paul doesn't respect his solo work. I think he believes most fans don't know or respect it. And he's not entirely wrong, but I wish he's pull against the current a bit more than he does.
I concur
I can't prove this but I believe Ringo is truly a happy man, absolutely comfortable in his skin. I don't believe Paul is. I don't believe he ever was.
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yankeefan7:
Nancy R:
Sorry, but he could never do Oh! Darling justice today.
Exactly, he needed to do that at least 10-15 years ago.
No, 1976!
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yankeefan7:
Bruce M.:
I can't prove this, but I think Paul is one of those people who really, really wants everyone to like him and hates for the audience to be unhappy even for a moment. When he plays newer stuff onstage, he can sense the lessened enthusiasm from most of the crowd. So he limits those "down" moments to a few tunes from the album he's promoting at the moment and a handful of other less-known songs, but he mostly gives people the tunes he knows will produce wild applause and have everyone singing along. Arguably one could chalk this up to insecurity, but I'm not going to psychoanalyze. He is in this sense the exact opposite of Dylan, who's often seemed to enjoy messing with his audience and upending the crowd's expectations. Arguably, there's a happy medium in between those 2 extremes -- say, half a dozen more solo tunes and a few more variations on the arrangements of familiar Beatles/Wings hits. But Paul ain't gonna go there. And as some have said, it does become sort of a vicious cycle, as songs that have been filed and forgotten for 20 years tend to stay forgotten, and get even less response if he does play one of them. Sigh... That said, I'm not sure it's that Paul doesn't respect his solo work. I think he believes most fans don't know or respect it. And he's not entirely wrong, but I wish he's pull against the current a bit more than he does.
Honestly, have you ever been to a concert where the audience went crazy for every song?.
Yep. Plenty. Las Vegas Joint. Tokyo Dome 13 (three shows). Manchester, England...
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moptops:
yankeefan7:
Bruce M.:
I can't prove this, but I think Paul is one of those people who really, really wants everyone to like him and hates for the audience to be unhappy even for a moment. When he plays newer stuff onstage, he can sense the lessened enthusiasm from most of the crowd. So he limits those "down" moments to a few tunes from the album he's promoting at the moment and a handful of other less-known songs, but he mostly gives people the tunes he knows will produce wild applause and have everyone singing along. Arguably one could chalk this up to insecurity, but I'm not going to psychoanalyze. He is in this sense the exact opposite of Dylan, who's often seemed to enjoy messing with his audience and upending the crowd's expectations. Arguably, there's a happy medium in between those 2 extremes -- say, half a dozen more solo tunes and a few more variations on the arrangements of familiar Beatles/Wings hits. But Paul ain't gonna go there. And as some have said, it does become sort of a vicious cycle, as songs that have been filed and forgotten for 20 years tend to stay forgotten, and get even less response if he does play one of them. Sigh... That said, I'm not sure it's that Paul doesn't respect his solo work. I think he believes most fans don't know or respect it. And he's not entirely wrong, but I wish he's pull against the current a bit more than he does.
Honestly, have you ever been to a concert where the audience went crazy for every song?.
Yep. Plenty. Las Vegas Joint. Tokyo Dome 13 (three shows). Manchester, England...
Well you are lucky, saw him from 1976 to 2011 and there was always a few songs that got polite applause.
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Off the top of my head "solo" songs I would love to hear include: The Back Seat of My Car (from Ram) Mamunia (from Band On the Run) Ballroom Dancing (from Tug of War) Tug of War (from Tug of War) No More Lonely Nights (from Give My Regards to Broadstreet) Beautiful Night (from Flaming Pie) ...short list.
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yankeefan7:
Bruce M.:
I can't prove this, but I think Paul is one of those people who really, really wants everyone to like him and hates for the audience to be unhappy even for a moment. When he plays newer stuff onstage, he can sense the lessened enthusiasm from most of the crowd. So he limits those "down" moments to a few tunes from the album he's promoting at the moment and a handful of other less-known songs, but he mostly gives people the tunes he knows will produce wild applause and have everyone singing along. Arguably one could chalk this up to insecurity, but I'm not going to psychoanalyze. He is in this sense the exact opposite of Dylan, who's often seemed to enjoy messing with his audience and upending the crowd's expectations. Arguably, there's a happy medium in between those 2 extremes -- say, half a dozen more solo tunes and a few more variations on the arrangements of familiar Beatles/Wings hits. But Paul ain't gonna go there. And as some have said, it does become sort of a vicious cycle, as songs that have been filed and forgotten for 20 years tend to stay forgotten, and get even less response if he does play one of them. Sigh... That said, I'm not sure it's that Paul doesn't respect his solo work. I think he believes most fans don't know or respect it. And he's not entirely wrong, but I wish he's pull against the current a bit more than he does.
Honestly, have you ever been to a concert where the audience went crazy for every song? Mr. McCartney should be more realistic and honestly not care so much. Lets say he did 20 Beatle songs instead of his normal 25, that would be more songs than quite a few artists do the entire show. Throw in 4-5 Wings songs that are pretty well known and you got close to 2 hrs of hits. IMO that is giving everybody including first timers a pretty darn good show so if you do 10 songs in almost three hours that they are not familiar and did nor like then they are pretty spoiled. If Mr. McCartney picked some of the songs we mentioned it would be some pretty darn good music which if the crowd did not go crazy at least they could appreciate some of it.
________________________________________________________ Yankeefan, Could not agree more. One would think that a person of Macca's stature would have far greater motivations than to pick a setlist based solely on the biggest guaranteed audience response. He has such a Catalog that he is guaranteed to get that response on many songs anyway. Also, he has been performing at big venues for so long (since 1963 or so) that you would also think that he would be somewhat immune from the screams and adulation. Doing a non high recognition song would be a nice change from a motivation point of view. If I was one of his children, I would tell him that by adding more of his best Solo songs (from 1980 on) to his setlist and therefore more known to the general music public and younger fans is a far greater goal for his legacy. He would be proving that he is even more than a Beatle and that his Post Beatles's career is pretty stellar too. And if you look closer at the songs on this thread, none of these in my opinion are marginal songs. The list of songs here are for the most part, high quality songs that just didn't resonate at the time they were released. That doesn't mean they aren't very good songs. Like you said, you are talking about 10 songs or so that are not so widely known. It would not change the fact that the 1st timers and basically Beatle Paul fans only would still get an amazing show. And it wouldn't be surprising if some of these people would find a new Paul song that they love at the same time.
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B J Conlee:
yankeefan7:
Bruce M.:
I can't prove this, but I think Paul is one of those people who really, really wants everyone to like him and hates for the audience to be unhappy even for a moment. When he plays newer stuff onstage, he can sense the lessened enthusiasm from most of the crowd. So he limits those "down" moments to a few tunes from the album he's promoting at the moment and a handful of other less-known songs, but he mostly gives people the tunes he knows will produce wild applause and have everyone singing along. Arguably one could chalk this up to insecurity, but I'm not going to psychoanalyze. He is in this sense the exact opposite of Dylan, who's often seemed to enjoy messing with his audience and upending the crowd's expectations. Arguably, there's a happy medium in between those 2 extremes -- say, half a dozen more solo tunes and a few more variations on the arrangements of familiar Beatles/Wings hits. But Paul ain't gonna go there. And as some have said, it does become sort of a vicious cycle, as songs that have been filed and forgotten for 20 years tend to stay forgotten, and get even less response if he does play one of them. Sigh... That said, I'm not sure it's that Paul doesn't respect his solo work. I think he believes most fans don't know or respect it. And he's not entirely wrong, but I wish he's pull against the current a bit more than he does.
Honestly, have you ever been to a concert where the audience went crazy for every song? Mr. McCartney should be more realistic and honestly not care so much. Lets say he did 20 Beatle songs instead of his normal 25, that would be more songs than quite a few artists do the entire show. Throw in 4-5 Wings songs that are pretty well known and you got close to 2 hrs of hits. IMO that is giving everybody including first timers a pretty darn good show so if you do 10 songs in almost three hours that they are not familiar and did nor like then they are pretty spoiled. If Mr. McCartney picked some of the songs we mentioned it would be some pretty darn good music which if the crowd did not go crazy at least they could appreciate some of it.
________________________________________________________ Yankeefan, Could not agree more. One would think that a person of Macca's stature would have far greater motivations than to pick a setlist based solely on the biggest guaranteed audience response. He has such a Catalog that he is guaranteed to get that response on many songs anyway. Also, he has been performing at big venues for so long (since 1963 or so) that you would also think that he would be somewhat immune from the screams and adulation. Doing a non high recognition song would be a nice change from a motivation point of view. If I was one of his children, I would tell him that by adding more of his best Solo songs (from 1980 on) to his setlist and therefore more known to the general music public and younger fans is a far greater goal for his legacy. He would be proving that he is even more than a Beatle and that his Post Beatles's career is pretty stellar too. And if you look closer at the songs on this thread, none of these in my opinion are marginal songs. The list of songs here are for the most part, high quality songs that just didn't resonate at the time they were released. That doesn't mean they aren't very good songs. Like you said, you are talking about 10 songs or so that are not so widely known. It would not change the fact that the 1st timers and basically Beatle Paul fans only would still get an amazing show. And it wouldn't be surprising if some of these people would find a new Paul song that they love at the same time.
"Like you said, you are talking about 10 songs or so that are not so widely known. It would not change the fact that the 1st timers and basically Beatle Paul fans only would still get an amazing show. And it wouldn't be surprising if some of these people would find a new Paul song that they love at the same time." I am sure Mr. McCartney could space these 10 songs among the big hits so he would not have too much of a let down from the first timers. When I saw him at Citifield, there were two women sitting next to my wife and I and they did not know "Sing The Changes". They could tell I obviously knew it and told me they really liked it and what album was it from.
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moptops:
I can't prove this but I believe Ringo is truly a happy man, absolutely comfortable in his skin. I don't believe Paul is. I don't believe he ever was.
I can see where you're coming from. I think Paul was at his happiest and most comfotable the years he was with Linda.
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Nancy R:
moptops:
I can't prove this but I believe Ringo is truly a happy man, absolutely comfortable in his skin. I don't believe Paul is. I don't believe he ever was.
I can see where you're coming from. I think Paul was at his happiest and most comfotable the years he was with Linda.
I agree.
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B J Conlee:
yankeefan7:
Bruce M.:
I can't prove this, but I think Paul is one of those people who really, really wants everyone to like him and hates for the audience to be unhappy even for a moment. When he plays newer stuff onstage, he can sense the lessened enthusiasm from most of the crowd. So he limits those "down" moments to a few tunes from the album he's promoting at the moment and a handful of other less-known songs, but he mostly gives people the tunes he knows will produce wild applause and have everyone singing along. Arguably one could chalk this up to insecurity, but I'm not going to psychoanalyze. He is in this sense the exact opposite of Dylan, who's often seemed to enjoy messing with his audience and upending the crowd's expectations. Arguably, there's a happy medium in between those 2 extremes -- say, half a dozen more solo tunes and a few more variations on the arrangements of familiar Beatles/Wings hits. But Paul ain't gonna go there. And as some have said, it does become sort of a vicious cycle, as songs that have been filed and forgotten for 20 years tend to stay forgotten, and get even less response if he does play one of them. Sigh... That said, I'm not sure it's that Paul doesn't respect his solo work. I think he believes most fans don't know or respect it. And he's not entirely wrong, but I wish he's pull against the current a bit more than he does.
Honestly, have you ever been to a concert where the audience went crazy for every song? Mr. McCartney should be more realistic and honestly not care so much. Lets say he did 20 Beatle songs instead of his normal 25, that would be more songs than quite a few artists do the entire show. Throw in 4-5 Wings songs that are pretty well known and you got close to 2 hrs of hits. IMO that is giving everybody including first timers a pretty darn good show so if you do 10 songs in almost three hours that they are not familiar and did nor like then they are pretty spoiled. If Mr. McCartney picked some of the songs we mentioned it would be some pretty darn good music which if the crowd did not go crazy at least they could appreciate some of it.
________________________________________________________ Yankeefan, Could not agree more. One would think that a person of Macca's stature would have far greater motivations than to pick a setlist based solely on the biggest guaranteed audience response. He has such a Catalog that he is guaranteed to get that response on many songs anyway. Also, he has been performing at big venues for so long (since 1963 or so) that you would also think that he would be somewhat immune from the screams and adulation. Doing a non high recognition song would be a nice change from a motivation point of view. If I was one of his children, I would tell him that by adding more of his best Solo songs (from 1980 on) to his setlist and therefore more known to the general music public and younger fans is a far greater goal for his legacy. He would be proving that he is even more than a Beatle and that his Post Beatles's career is pretty stellar too. And if you look closer at the songs on this thread, none of these in my opinion are marginal songs. The list of songs here are for the most part, high quality songs that just didn't resonate at the time they were released. That doesn't mean they aren't very good songs. Like you said, you are talking about 10 songs or so that are not so widely known. It would not change the fact that the 1st timers and basically Beatle Paul fans only would still get an amazing show. And it wouldn't be surprising if some of these people would find a new Paul song that they love at the same time.
"If I was one of his children, I would tell him that by adding more of his best Solo songs (from 1980 on) to his setlist and therefore more known to the general music public and younger fans is a far greater goal for his legacy." Always wondered what his children liked the most. Of course, I can't imagine they don't love Beatle songs but part of me thinks that have to enjoy songs both of their parents did together even more.
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yankeefan7:
Always wondered what his children liked the most. Of course, I can't imagine they don't love Beatle songs but part of me thinks that have to enjoy songs both of their parents did together even more.
Oh! Of course his kids have to love their parents music more. There were there in the auditorium. Red lights, green lights...lol. Not the strawberry wine though...too young. But I doubt they grew up to Beatles music when they lived with Paul McCartney! I remember an interview with James & he quite fancied Nirvana...but that was when he got older.